Basseterre, St. Kitts, April 20, 2016 (SKNIS): Prime Minister Dr. the Honourable Timothy Harris has expressed pleasure with the commendation from Timothy Antoine, Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) Governor concerning the fiscal health of St. Kitts and Nevis in relation to the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU), during his monthly press conference today (April 20.)
Prime Minister Harris stated that Governor Antoine had given the government “high praise” for its “outstanding management of the economy.”
“He also commented on the fact that so much economic activity was happening in St Kitts and Nevis, in contrast to the rest of the member states of the sub-region,” Prime Minister Harris said, referring to Governor Antoine’s remarks during a meeting with Cabinet held April 18.
A press release issued by the Prime Minister’s Press Secretary Valencia Grant detailed that the ECCB Governor had commended the Federal Government for being on target to meet the ECCB debt-to-GDP ratio target of 60% by the end of 2016. At December 2015, St. Kitts and Nevis’ debt-to-GDP ratio was said to stand at 61.64 percent compared to 76.04 percent for the eight-member ECCU. The Press Secretary’s release quotes Governor Antoine as tangibly noting the fiscal progress of the Federation.
“That is an important milestone coming from where you were not so long ago at 150% or more. Now, the question is, ‘How will St. Kitts and Nevis proceed once you hit the target?’ It is a very important question,” the ECCB Governor said.”
During his press conference, Prime Minister Harris revealed that preliminary data show that for the period January to March 2016, the Federal Government realized a Recurrent Account surplus of $65.4 million, an overall surplus of $70.9 million, and a primary surplus of $75.3 million. He cited this as proof that the country is being managed well and “running good.”
“These results surpassed the targets for the period with the surplus on the Recurrent Account exceeding the 2016 budget by a whopping 20.8 percent, while the overall and primary surpluses were higher than projected at 7.4 percent and 5.5 percent respectively,” Prime Minister Harris said.