Budget Alert

Acknowledgement

Budget Alert originated from the Fiscal Alert production of the Bain’s Sisters that was hosted by the late George Grant. On the publication of this first series of Budget Alert, the Bain Sisters acknowledge the life and contribution of the veteran journalist George Grant to national development, fand specifically the use of his broadcasting skills and medium to facilitate dialogue on the issues touching and concerning the citizens of Grenada.

Fiscal Alert with the Bain Sisters – Laurel Bain, Gemma Bain-Thomas, and Dr. Janice Bain used the platform of George Grant’s Grenada Broadcast to air a weekly programme which commenced in October 2019 and continued until March 2020. George facilitated the programme every Monday morning on his Gudday Grenada.

Fiscal Alert was a new addition to his broadcasting, and we reveled in sharing knowledge and experience on fiscal policies and other economic and social issues. George was happy to accommodate Fiscal Alert, as in his own words, the programme was an eye opener. Initially, we agreed on a twenty-minute feature; but many times, were accommodated beyond the time allotted.

The Bain Sisters bonded quickly with George. His matter of fact but easy going way of doing things filtered through. We looked forward to and were ready every Monday morning for Fiscal Alert in keeping with the theme, Knowledge is Power, and Experience is the Greatest Teacher. George embraced Fiscal Alert as it sought to bring the business of government closer to the people by improving their understanding of government policies and measures in a straightforward and simple manner.

The Fiscal Alert Team is indebted to George for the use of his platform; and for giving us the opportunity and a forum to engage and educate the citizens of Grenada on economic and social issues.

The last communication between the Bain’s Sisters and George Grant was on April 25th, 2020, when we shared information with him of Dr. Janice Bain’s activities on the frontline in fighting the Covid-19 in the USA. In his unique way, George commended her for her service. We are thankful to George for his service and contribution to national development. Budget Alert emanated from the engagement with George Grant to whom this Budget Alert is dedicated.

Introduction

Budget Alert is a series of Articles on economic and fiscal issues in Grenada, emanating from the national budgets. In Grenada, and in the other countries of the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU), fiscal policy is the main instrument for managing the economy.¹ Fiscal policy is generally pursued through the implementation of the national budget.

The national budget is described as the financial plan for the country. Ideally, the first step in the preparation of the national budget is a determination of the available financial resources which are domestic revenue, grants, and loans. These financial resources are then allocated among competing expenditure items namely salaries, wages, goods, services, transfers, and subsidies which are necessary for Government to undertake its operations. Financial resources are also channeled into Government capital projects, net lending and to debt repayments. The details of the budget are presented in the Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure. The Appropriation Bill, which is approved by Parliament for expenditure for a particular purpose during a financial year, is the legal document that accompanies the Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure.

Budget Alert highlights some of the economic and fiscal issues from the 2021 National Budget in a series of Articles. It commences with proposals for transforming Grenada’s economy, and includes proposals for the 2021 and 2022 national budgets. Among the Articles are issues related to the national debt; the repurchase of the WRB shares in the Grenada Electricity Services Company (GRENLEC); the status of Government finances; and the reform of the Fiscal Responsibility Act. Budgeting is a continuous process and issues in one fiscal year inform the policies and programmes that would be outlined in the next national budget.

Budget Alert is a reliable and credible source of information on issues arising from the national budgets. See Appendix 1 with the dates of the publication of the Budget Alert articles in 2021.

1 The countries of the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union are:

Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, The Commonwealth of Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, St Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, and St Vincent and the Grenadines.

They are members of the organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) which was established by the Treaty of Basseterre in 1981. They currently operate under the Revised Treaty of Basseterre of 2010. The countries are members of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank. which was established by the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) Agreement of 1983 as a common Central Bank to serve these countries. The countries are also members of Caricom.

Transforming the Economy

Proposals for the 2021 National Budget

It is budget time again. It will be the 2021 National Budget. The public eagerly awaits the Budget Speech, as delivered by the Minister for Finance, detailing government’s policies, and programmes for the economic and social transformation of Grenada. At the pinnacle of the budget presentation would be the strategy for protecting the health of the nation. The Budget Speech will obviously be the most visible. The other important documents would be the Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure and the Appropriation Bill.

On Budget Day, the public will be informed of how the government intends to raise revenue to finance its expenditure for 2021. The Budget Speech will provide information on government’s priorities for 2021 and its taxation policy. The action of the government to raise revenue and the direction of its spending will impact on all in the economy, either as individuals, households, businesses, and both government and non-government organisations.

The finalisation of the 2021 budget should be at an advanced stage. The Finance Committee of Parliament, based on the Public Finance Management Act, should as of 1st November 2020 be thoroughly examining the estimates of Revenue and Expenditure for 2021. The Finance Committee by then should have the Medium-Term Debt Management Strategy (2021 – 2023) which provides a comprehensive analysis of the public sector debt, the risks inherent in the debt and the Government’s strategy for mitigating the risks. 

In this Covid-19 recessionary environment, what are the expectations for the 2021 National Budget? Fundamental to the presentation of the Budget is a comprehensive assessment of the current and forecasted economic and social conditions. The Covid-19 crisis has resulted in a steep decline in GDP and in serious social dislocation particularly in the areas of employment, education, and many social activities. The result of this assessment will determine the priorities for the 2021 Budget and in the medium term.

The focus of the 2021 National Budget should be on stabilising the economy, addressing the issues of the vulnerable groups and economic recovery. While doing this, government should also be remodelling the pillars for transforming the economy by undertaking a thorough and critical examination of the National Sustainable Development Plan.

In stabilising the economy, a primary focus should be on halting further decline in incomes and by extension GDP. However, while addressing the decline in incomes, the stabilisation of the economy should be extended to the social sectors particularly education and health. The education sector has been displaced, the health services inadequate and the informal sector has been left in distress. The stabilisation programme must be well integrated with the recovery strategy.

The recovery strategy should immediately focus on increasing employment and reducing imports (which are foreign exchange leakages) by consciously developing the agriculture sector, inclusive of livestock and fishing. This should be combined with supporting and encouraging cottage type agro-processing which could be undertaken in small facilities. However, the objective should be to reduce the import bill while generating employment. This will allow for the informal sector and other vulnerable groups to be integrated in the recovery strategy. The 2021 National Budget should indicate the technical