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In a national address on Wednesday, May 27th, Prime Minister Hon. Dr. Godwin Friday highlighted the urgent need to tackle the country’s critical financial challenges and outlined decisive actions to support households, businesses, and vulnerable groups.

Six months after taking office, Prime Minister Friday reported that a thorough financial assessment revealed significant risks: a national debt-to-GDP ratio of 113 percent in 2025. “…Our debt-to-GDP ratio reached an alarming 113 percent. The overdraft we found exceeded 200 million dollars, more than double what the law provides. We are facing high fiscal deficits because the previous administration let current spending spiral out of control while failing to finish the very capital projects meant to grow our economy,” the Minister of Finance stated.

In light of this, Prime Minister Dr. Friday announced a comprehensive package of fiscal reforms and emergency cost-of-living measures to shield Vincentians from rising global fuel, energy, shipping, and commodity prices while placing the country on a more sustainable economic path.

The Prime Minister said his government is determined to prevent future generations from inheriting an unsustainable debt burden: “If we continue to ignore these warning signs, if we fail to show the responsible leadership required for fiscal discipline, our debt will balloon to 145 percent of GDP by 2031. That’s not such a long time off. We cannot, and we will not, leave the mountain of debt for our children to climb.”

SOURCE: Agency For Public Information (API)