The economy of St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) is better than it has been in a long time.
Camilo Gonsalves, Minister of Finance, made the aforementioned statement on a recent WEFM broadcast of the Issue at Hand programme.
Gonsalves addressed the matter while noting the public debt, which is $2.4 billion.
The Finance Minister stated that, while the debt must be monitored, the government had previously alerted the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and Vincentians that the debt would rise in the near future when some of these significant projects, most notably the port project, were constructed.
“We’re borrowing a lot of money, and it’s a massive project; however, after that project is complete, the debt is scheduled and is forecast to stabilise while our economy still continues to grow.”
“So the debt-to-GDP ratio will decline in the medium term. So it’s something to watch, and of course we are always subject to the vagaries of climate change.”
According to Gonsalves, if the island gets struck by a storm or hurricane now, even the best-laid precautions will fail.
“Everything would be turned upside down, and we may have to, you know, re-adjust and trim our sales differently, but where we are right now, we think that we’re comfortable.”
Gonsalves said: Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves has long articulated a vision for the economy of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
“We have been following that vision doggedly,” he said.
