An International Monetary Fund (IMF) staff mission led by Dominique Simard, visited St. Vincent and the Grenadines from February 22 to March 3, 2016, to conduct discussions for the 2016 Article four Consultation.
Discussions were held with the Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves; the leader of the opposition, Arnhim Eustace; the director general of the ministry of finance; other senior government officials, public and private sector labour unions, and a broad range of private sector representatives.
At the conclusion of the visit, the mission team said in a statement that economic activity is picking up and is expected to be further sustained by the airport’s entry in operations.
The IMF mission said Public debt has increased steadily since 2008, but noted that this country has committed to reducing its public debt to 60% of GDP by 2030, in line with the agreement among Eastern Caribbean Currency Union countries.
The mission however recommended that more ambitious fiscal consolidation is needed to meet the public debt target, and build adequate buffers against natural disasters.
It also noted that while St. Vincent and the Grenadines has relatively sound banks and leads the region in the supervision of credit unions, continued monitoring of the financial system is needed.
