With the contraction of the world economy, many states have sought to implement measures to curb expenditure for fear of plummeting into financial crises.
On the opening day of the debate on the Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure for 2013/2014, Prime Minister and Minister for Finance, Dr. Kenny D Anthony, announced an intention to reduce the country’s spending.
In acknowledging the need to restore the fiscal position of the island to a viable and sustainable state, Dr. Anthony presented to the House of Assembly, a draft of the Estimates of Expenditure which is $134 million less than last year’s.
Dr. Anthony explained this shift is to contain the island’s fiscal deficit, which currently stands at an estimated nine percent per GDP.
“The actual out turn for the financial year 2012/2013 was in fact 1.285 billion dollars despite the budgeted estimates. Clearly this proposed increase over the out turn for 2013/2013 reflects to a large extent, upward pressure on the wage bill due to the proposed salary increase to public officers,” he said.
Last year’s approved estimates totalled $1.457 billion. However, this year, the draft estimates is $1.327 billion. The total recurrent expenditure is expected to decline by an estimated 1.6 percent less than the approved estimates for 2012/2013, representing some $947.1 million.
In keeping with its belt–tightening measures, government intends to cut capital expenditure by more than 20 percent.
“At $380.3 million, the proposed capital expenditure budget for 2013/2014 represents 114.6 million or 23.2 percent decrease compared to the approved estimates for 2012/2013,” the finance minister noted.
The overall cuts in expenditure are more likely to be felt mainly in respect of capital expenditure.
The prime minister believes this may be the first time since 1979 that a calculated effort has been made to reduce government’s expenditure.
pardon my ignorance, but why is st lucia budget making news in dominica…their budget effecting ours?
Kenny is the joker in a deck of cards. This guy does not have a clue how to run a country, first he have to cut down on his hefty salary, along with so many press secretaries in the different ministries with $8000.00 to $10,000 salaries monthly. He’s just wasteful and arrogant. If he thinks he’s trying to put St.Lucia out there he’s failing miserably, once a beautiful country now it has gone to the dogs shame on him.
Maybe you are referring to Dominica.to
Dont compare our budgets: last year St Lucia had an estimated budget of $1.457 Billion whilst we had an estimated budget of only $437 MILLION…
Small budgets are not always a bad thing. Large budgets usually mean the government is spending like drinken sailors. The size of the budget is not the key. It is how the money is spend that is important. Would you prefer it that they tax the heck out of you to waste the money in other places?
I am a fan of small goverments.
…and even that we can’t afford!
St Lucia Population = 176,000
Dominica Population = 71,000
The extra 100,000 account for the $Billion dollars
Dominica is even worse off but our leader does not have the balls to do what Kenny has decided to do.
LOL, you missed the gist of the reporting and you went on a cannibal attack.
Can you please re-read and comment appropriately?
In Dominica they don’t have the ball, they are incompetent,lazy, lack vision, and concentrate solely on self and to hell with the country.
St Lucia’s model of borrowing money to subsidize everything, Airline, cruise, Jazz Festival etc has hit a wall.
Please tread lightly with the IM (not your) Friend ..IMF
Cominica is even worse. We have created on island a lazy population depending on handouts from a leader who has grossly failed the country by his poor governance. The economy has hit rock bottom and there seem to be no way out.
This is all well and good, except they are sacrificing the future of the country (capital expenditure) to pay civil servants higher salaries. They wpuld have been better off the freeze wages for 2 to 3 years and divert that money to capital expenditure. Everyone benefits with better infrastructure.