Prime Minister to Address Strategic Areas for Growth in First Budget Speech

[dropcap]P[/dropcap]rime Minister Honourable Allen Michael Chastanet and Minister for Finance, Economic Growth, Job Creation, External Affairs and the Public Service, Honourable Allen Michael Chastanet will on Tuesday 09 May 2017 at 5:00 p.m. table the Appropriation Bill 2017/2018 and deliver his first Budget Address.

At the House of Assembly Meeting the Prime Minister will present a roadmap for the country and focus on the implementation of programmes, projects and policies to “Build a New Saint Lucia.”

The Prime Minister will lay out the Government’s specific plans for this year as well as the strategic priority areas for the next four years including Creating Sustainable Employment, Social Reengineering, Tourism, Agriculture, Security and Justice, Energy and Climate Change.

On Wednesday April 26^th 2017 the Government announced an expanded capital programme in support of stimulating economic activity. During his summary on the Estimates of Expenditure the Prime Minister proposed expenditure amounting to $1.513 billion dollars.

The Prime Minister will tomorrow evening outline the medium to long term fiscal strategy which includes the announcement of tax reforms. Notably, the Government has already announced increased injection of capital into agriculture, infrastructure and social programmes.

The Debate on the Appropriation Bill follows from Wednesday, May 10, 2017 at 4:00 p.m., Thursday, May 11 and Friday, May 12, 2017 at 9:00 a.m.

Live coverage of the House can be viewed at:

Government of Saint Lucia Web Portal – www.govt.lc/portal-launch

Government of Saint Lucia Facebook Page – https://www.facebook.com/SaintLuciaGovernment/

Government of Saint Lucia YouTube Channel at http://youtube.govt.lc/