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(Caribbean News Now) ANTIGUA — An International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission led by Geoffrey Bannister visited Antigua and Barbuda during April 29–May 3, to undertake the tenth and final review under the stand-by arrangement (SBA) approved by the Fund’s executive board on June 7, 2010.
The mission held meetings with Minister of Finance Harold Lovell, senior officials of the Ministry of Finance, the Antigua and Barbuda Investment Authority, members of the Citizenship by Investment Advisory Committee, and representatives of statutory bodies and the local business community.
The mission also held a videoconference with the governor and key staff of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank.
At the conclusion of the mission, Bannister issued the following statement in St John’s:
Excerpt:
“As this is the final review under the SBA, it is an opportune time to reflect on the performance of the authorities’ program over the past three years. The Government of Antigua and Barbuda has come a long way. From an overall fiscal deficit of 18 percent of GDP in 2009, and a debt-to-GDP ratio of 102 percent, the authorities’ program of fiscal consolidation and structural reforms, together with debt relief from external and domestic creditors, resulted in an average overall deficit of 1.7 percent of GDP from 2010-12 and brought the debt-to-GDP ratio down to 89 percent at end-2012. These results were achieved during a period of significant economic contraction, in the face of a difficult external economic environment and domestic financial challenges. The authorities’ reform commitment started to pay dividends in 2012 when the economy saw positive growth for the first time in three years. For 2013, we expect this positive trend to continue, with a further recovery in growth and a small overall fiscal surplus. Despite these successes, the road ahead will not be easy and it is important that the authorities maintain fiscal discipline to secure the hard-won gains of the past three years.
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