Stating that the government will continue the initiatives and programs in the 2022/2023 revenue and expenditure forecasts it presented to parliament this week, Prime Minister Philip J Pierre announced that his administration would deliver on the promise made by the former administration and would pay the salary increase. officials by the end of this month.
“I just want to clarify again that the increase for civil servants will be in April 2022 and for salary arrears, the first installment will be in December 2022 and the second installment in March 2023,” Pierre said.
He added that the budget for the financial year 2022/2023 will bring transformative changes that will impact the lives and livelihoods of citizens and that the government will put people first.
“We approached this budget knowing that the current circumstances, national, regional and international, in which we operate and we reinforce our belief that while current resources may be insufficient to meet the needs of all, our collective potential and our determination Putting our economy on a path of inclusive and broad-based growth will empower our people and propel us forward,” said Pierre.
He then gave details of wages and salaries for the current fiscal year, noting that government records indicate that year on year, employee compensation averages about 33.25% of the total annual budget.
“In the 2022-2023 budget, a total provision of $590.70 million for salaries and wages, of which an amount of $560.56 million or 94.89% has been programmed to cover the personal emoluments of employees of central administration while $30.13 million was allocated to cover salaries and other benefits for project staff $108.55 million was allocated for pension benefits, of which $14.15 million of employer contributions to NIC. Overall, employee compensation is expected to increase by 11.88% compared to the current year’s result,” said Pierre, adding that the allocated amount also provides for provisions for in-year promotions and other salary allowances.
Pierre presented a budget of EC$1.8 billion to parliament, the largest of any government in the island’s history, underscoring this by saying that the government will work steadily and tirelessly to accelerate recovery, more to the devastating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“As indicated by the allocations programmed in this budget, we intend to continue to meet the challenges with boldness and confidence. We remain optimistic, assured and anchored in our determination to maintain economic stability and chart a course for sustainable growth and development, Pierre said.
He went on to explain how the budget will be funded, noting that “although we expect moderate improvement in revenue administration and receipt of grants from friendly donors, a significant funding gap remains.”
“Based on the projected level of revenue and grants, the budget targets an overall deficit of $394.57 million for fiscal year 2022-23. When added to the principal repayment for the year, a funding shortfall of $505.1 is projected, which will be funded by a mix of foreign and domestic funding resources. In addition to total revenues and grants of $1.327 million, my government is expected to borrow a total of $505.12 million, or $425.4 million, or 84.2% of the total financing requirement for the year from external sources. Domestic financing should be moderate given that much smaller amounts are programmed mainly from bonds,” Pierre said.
He said this is very much in line with his government’s strategy of relying on external borrowing on concessional terms rather than market debt, which carries higher interest rates.
“The domestic financing requirement stands at $79.7 million, which is expected to come from various means including treasury bills, treasury notes and bonds. The total amount to be mobilized from external sources will be as follows: : Caribbean Development Bank – $57.3 million, International Development Association (IDA) – $82.3 million, Republic of China in Taiwan EXIM Bank – $191.8 million CARICOM Development Fund ( CDF) – $3.06 million, CDB-Inter-American Development Bank – $8.6 million, Canada Clean Energy and Forest Climate Fund – $1.4 million, World Bank (credit for development) – $81 million,” said Pierre.
