Presenting a stark “tale of two cities,” Ambassador Kevin Hope, Advisor in the Office of the Prime Minister, laid out the harsh macroeconomic realities facing St. Vincent and the Grenadines while simultaneously pitching an ambitious plan for growth and stabilization.
Speaking to international development partners, Hope revealed that by the end of 2025, the national fiscal deficit sat at 12.3% of GDP. He warned that a combination of exogenous shocks—such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the La Soufrière volcanic eruption, Hurricane Beryl, and the war in Ukraine—alongside domestic fiscal slippages and an expanding public wage bill, has created an unsustainable debt path. If no action is taken, the national debt is projected to surge to 144.5% of GDP by 2031.
To course-correct, Hope announced the government’s commitment to a Growth and Stabilization Plan aimed at doubling the long-term growth rate to 5% and achieving the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union’s target of a 60% debt-to-GDP ratio by 2035.
Hope stressed that fiscal sustainability is non-negotiable, and outlined a vision focused on reducing the national poverty rate (currently 25.8%) and a staggering youth unemployment rate of 35%. The government’s structural transformation relies heavily on empowering the private sector and diversifying the economy through four main pillars:
- Agriculture
- The Blue Economy
- Tourism
- The “New Economy”, which encompasses Information and Communication Technology (ICT), sports, and the creative and cultural sectors.
Hope urged development partners to assist in unlocking this “economic animal” by investing in youth technical skills and entrepreneurship to fix the current labor mismatch.