Caribbean Times 4th Issue - Thursday 29th September 2016

2 c a r i b b e a n t i m e s . a g
Thursday 29th September 2016
By Everton Barnes
The government has bored
a huge hole in arguments presented
on radio Wednesday
by United Progressive Party’s
Leader, Senator Harold
Lovell, regarding projected
growth rate for the national
economy.
In a lengthy Observer Radio
interview, Lovell correctly
said economic growth for the
year 2014 (UPP lost the election
in June that year) was recorded
at 4.7 percent, but had
declined to 3.2 percent by the
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Lovell’s claims not true
end of 2015 (actual rate according
to the ECCB was 3.8
%). Additionally, the former
finance minister said economic
growth for 2016 was projected
at ‘just over’ 2 percent.
But according to figures
presented by the Ministry of
Finance indicated that economic
activity while dipped
slightly in 2015, will see a
rebound this year. “In Antigua
and Barbuda GDP growth for
2016 is projected to be 4.1%
for 2016 based on ECCB projections,”
the statement noted.
Further, according to the
finance ministry’s statement,
overall, fiscal performance
for the period January to June
2016 improved by 8 million
or 56.6%, compared to the
same period in 2015 ($20. 9
million surplus in 2016 compared
to $13.3 million deficit
in 2015).
The ministry is also reporting
improvements in revenue
collections for the first six
months of the year, compared
with the corresponding period
last year. “An analysis of revenue
performance shows total
revenue and grants amounted
to $451.7 million, a $65.1
million increase compared to
the same period last year,” it
noted.
The ministry identified the
main contributors to this improvement
in revenue performance
as; (a) current revenue
increased by $25.3 million
or 6.5 %, from $385 million
over the period January to
June 2015 to $410 million
over the same period 2016,
and (b) an increase in capital
revenue of $39.7 million
during 2016 when compared
to $1.2 million received in the
first half of 2015. Additionally,
the statement said of the
increase in current revenue,
tax revenue for the period under
review contributed $28.2
million, 8.7% greater than the
tax revenue collected over the
same period in 2015.
Responding to Lovell’s
claims, Cabinet spokesman
Lionel Max Hurst described
the UPP leader as ‘the worst
performing finance minister’
in Antigua and Barbuda’s history,
noting that he presided
over three years of negative
growth which resulted in a
25% reduction in GDP and
the loss of 10-thousand jobs.
Hurst stated that since the
ABLP took office growth has
been continuous noting that
GDP is likely to surpass 4 percent
this year. He also pointed
to revenue performance
which has outstretched the
2015 amounts by ‘tens of millions’
of dollars.
The Cabinet spokesman
drew attention to abolition of
Personal Income Tax at the
end of June and stated that
despite this move, the government
is projecting that
revenues will still surpass
last year’s figures. He said
Lovell’s claims are ‘untrue’
and are ‘obviously based’
on an IMF report of October
2015, but which do not reflect
the actual performance of
the economy ‘on the ground’
11-months later.