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July 5th, 2017

St.Kitts-Nevis Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Dr. Hon. Timothy Harris is all smiles at the latest report from the IMF on the economic performance of the twin island federation.

On June 16, 2017, the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) concluded the Article IV consultation  with St. Kitts and Nevis.

 The IMF St.Kitts Nevis Article IV Consultation report released today indicates that the federation  has attained the strongest growth and fiscal performance in the ECCU region in recent years, with public debt set to meet the ECCU’s 60 percent of GDP target in 2018. The strong macroeconomic performance owes much to the robust Citizenship-by-Investment (CBI) inflows as well as overall prudent macroeconomic policies.

Growth is expected to average around 3 percent in the medium term under the current policies and conservative assumptions about future CBI flows. The public infrastructure investment and higher tourism growth as source market growth accelerates and new tourism facilities come on stream through 2019 is expected to be the main drivers of the expected continued impressive growth performance of the federation. Stronger-than-expected CBI inflows from the ongoing reforms and continued oil-price weakness could surprise on the upside and result in even greater and moroe enhance economic growth.

IMF Executive Directors welcomed the PM Harris led Team UNITY Government’s commitment to sound economic management and continued efforts to strengthen their policy framework which has resulted in favorable outcomes. The medium‑term outlook is also favorable, with public debt expected to fall below the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union target in 2018, well ahead of other member states.

The Directors lauded and welcomed the Team UNITY Govt’s  commitment to establish a Growth and Resilience Fund to preserve and manage the fiscal savings from CBI inflows. They also supported continued efforts to improve compliance with international AML/CFT standards, implement risk‑based supervision, and maintain open communications to reduce correspondent banking risks.

The St.Kitts-Nevis Government of National Unity has managed to perform exceptionally well as they have also maintained a surplus of funds despite the numerous activities and initiatives, which have been implemented over two years since taking office. Their fiscal performance continues to be lauded by instituions such as the the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB), the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) in addition to the  International Monetary Fund (IMF).