BROOKLYN, NY – As the COVID-19 vaccination continues, Prime Minister Dr. Timothy Harris said his Team Unity administration is now shifting its attention to returning the twin-island federation to its strong pre-COVID-19 economic position.
He said the pandemic’s prolonged impact would continue throughout 2021, affecting countries at varying levels, but there is a reason for optimism.
“For St. Kitts and Nevis, despite the estimated deep contraction in economic activity in 2020, the economic outlook is forecast to be modest with an estimated growth of 5.5 percent in 2021 and 5.0 percent in 2022,” Prime Minister Harris said on the Tuesday edition of ‘Leadership Matters.’
He indicated that his government had implemented a fiscal strategy for the medium term (2021 – 2023). One of the objectives is to facilitate recovery and reignite the economy by adopting a pro-growth approach to developing and executing the capital budget for 2021 and beyond.
“We expect that the key sectors that would drive our economic recovery would include construction, manufacturing, agriculture, ICT, and services, including tourism,” he said.
“Notably, construction activity, which generally contributes about 16 percent to GDP, would be positively impacted by ongoing projects such as the resurfacing of the island main road and residential construction. The construction of other major projects including the solar farm, the new Basseterre High School, and health centers around the island is also expected to contribute to the projected growth in 2021.”
According to the Prime Minister, the government was taking every necessary measure to help rebuild the economy by providing support to various sectors through tax incentives and other financial and policy-based support.
“Examples of these would include the First Time Homeowners initiative whereby duty-free concessions are provided on materials each year. Up to February 2021, duty-free was provided on residential building materials totaling $4.6 million. Tax exemptions on building materials and equipment were also provided for larger non-residential projects. We have the Government Employees Mortgage program and the Citizens Mortgage Facility all being executed through the Development Bank,” he pointed out.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Harris urged residents to take the COVID-19 vaccine, saying that it will further put the country along the path to recovery.
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