Budget Speech 2011 - Government of Grenada

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weaker global growth in the outlook. Weaknesses in major developed economies continue to drag the global recovery and pose risks for world economic stability in the coming years. There will be no quick fix for the problems these economies are still facing in the aftermath of the financial crisis”. End of quote. In 2011, the global economy is projected to grow by 4.2 per cent driven by emerging countries such as China, India and Brazil. The USA is projected to grow by 2.3 percent and the Euro zone by 1.5 per cent. The economic prospects for these advanced economies remain uncertain. Unemployment in the USA remains stubbornly high at 9.4 per cent. Moreover, many of these countries are now shifting from fiscal stimulus to austerity measures to address mounting debts caused by huge budget deficits. In the UK, for example, these measures include a permanent increase in the VAT rate from 17% to 20%, cuts in the salaries of public servants, cuts in the number of government employees, rising tuition costs for university students and major cuts in some government programmes. The global recovery is also being threatened by rising food and fuel prices in recent weeks. 2.2 Recent Economic Performance of CARICOM In CARICOM’s final news conference for 2010, the current economic situation was summarized by Dr. Maurice Odle, Economic Adviser to the Secretary-General of CARICOM as follows and I quote: “The problem with our economies is that they are very structurally dependent. They are very open economies and therefore they are vulnerable to any downturn in the world economy. “In our case, the problem is that the economic recovery in Europe and the United States – who are our major economic trading partners – is 2011 Budget Statement Page 7
not accompanied by significant job growth. What you really have is what economists call a phenomenon of jobless growth. Dr. Odle also pointed to the downturn in tourism as a major problem affecting economies in the region. He said and I quote: “If you don’t have a job, it is very unlikely that you would want to extend your savings on a holiday overseas”. End of quote He also stated that foreign direct investment has dried up because of the downturn in tourism. Finally, he referred to the serious unemployment situation in the Caribbean. Table I Recent Economic Performance of Selected CARICOM countries Country 2008 2009 Forecast 2010 Forecast 2011 Barbados -0.2 -4.0 -0.9 3.0 Belize 3.8 -1.5 2.0 2.3 Jamaica -0.9 -3.0 -0.1 1.9 Guyana 2.0 3.0 2.9 3.1 Trinidad 2.4 -3.5 1.2 2.5 and Tobagoo Source: World Economic Outlook, International Monetary Fund, October 2010 According to the World Economic Outlook (October 2010), most of CARICOM’s larger economies declined in 2009. For example, Trinidad & Tobago contracted by 3.5 percent. Last year, these economies showed signs of a slow recovery. This year, the pace of recovery will continue albeit slowly. Page 8 2011 Budget Statement
Page 1 and 2: GOVERNMENT OF GRENADA 2011 Budget S
Page 3 and 4: 5.8 Strengthening Economic Manageme
Page 5 and 6: Page 4 2011 Budget Statement
Page 7: At home, many of us lost loved ones
Page 11 and 12: Mr. Speaker, the data show that the
Page 13 and 14: 3.0 LOCAL DEVELOPMENTS 3.1 Performa
Page 15 and 16: In an effort to provide additional
Page 17 and 18: It is useful to understand how Gove
Page 19 and 20: Based on the revised GDP, Grenada
Page 21 and 22: This year, our VAT Unit will intens
Page 23 and 24: Improving the Business Climate •
Page 25 and 26: o o 6 acres of avocados 10.6 acres
Page 27 and 28: • Provided every primary and seco
Page 29 and 30: Violence Act - landmark legislation
Page 31 and 32: We pointed out that there are sever
Page 33 and 34: We commenced the process of tax ref
Page 35 and 36: In preparing this strategy we have
Page 37 and 38: will depend on two additional criti
Page 39 and 40: The individual freedoms we enjoy in
Page 41 and 42: Public Debt - $188.3 million (or 24
Page 43 and 44: 4. Improved marketability of fish p
Page 45 and 46: Support for Airlift It should be no
Page 47 and 48: in securing vacations and is workin
Page 49 and 50: We are working closely with the Off
Page 51 and 52: to explore the technical and commer
Page 53 and 54: the three (3) sites, thus negating
Page 55 and 56: In a real sense, C@ribNET is a cata
Page 57 and 58: And Grenada is not alone. Having re
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Project Grenville Market Developmen
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The report showed that of the perso
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To our dismay, the design works wer
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Its development goal is to contribu
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Programme. This initiative will tar
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VI. Support for Existing Businesses
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and we will continue to offer that.
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persons whose employment was involu
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This year, Government will continue
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9. Creating training and educationa
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The Grenada Home Improvement Scheme
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4. To commence work on the Top Hill
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The Sustainable Development Council
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The updated Public Service Rules an
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These achievements included: • Su
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all sectors of our society. NaDMA w
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The Organisation of Eastern Caribbe
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Mr. Speaker, we have articulated a
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Page 94 2011 Budget Statement
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Budget Speech 2011 - Government of Grenada

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