ST. JOHN’S, Antigua, CMC – The Antigua and Barbuda government on Thursday said it will present to the next sitting of Parliament the report of the Fiscal Resilience Oversight Committee (FROC), whose main task includes assessing government revenues, expenditures, deficits, debt levels, and adherence to fiscal resilience principles.
A statement issued following the weekly Cabinet meeting said that the FROC report had been presented by its chairman, former Minister of Finance Dr. L. Errol Cort, and that “the future is bright for Antigua and Barbuda.”
The FROC provides independent monitoring and oversight of the government’s compliance with fiscal rules and targets set out in the Fiscal Resilience guidelines approved in 2021, and the statement said that Cabinet had agreed to have the latest report “tabled during the next sitting of Parliament, accompanied by a Resolution for debate”.
The statement said that several “positive results and turnaround” had been reported by the FROC Deputy Chair, Professor Justin Robinson of the University of the West Indies Five Islands Campus.
It noted that the growth of the domestic product (GDP) stood at six percent, the “strongest in the Caribbean, “ excluding Guyana, and that inflation eased to approximately five to six percent.
The statement stated that the fiscal balance has shifted from a deficit of EC$91.9 million (One EC dollar equals US$0.37) in 2023 to a positive balance of EC$86.4 million in the previous year.
It said that the debt to GDP had improved to 62.3 per cent “within touching distance of the ECCB (Eastern Caribbean Central Bank) 60 per cent anchor” and that the primary surplus recorded, “the first since 2016, reversing a long pattern of primary deficits”.
The statement noted that there were approximately 49,000 jobs in the labour market and that some of the risks to the economy include what it termed “sticky expenditures,” in which wages and pensions limit rapid expenditure compression, requiring medium-term discipline.
“As it pertains to Governance & Transparency, the FROC advised Cabinet to maintain focus on primary balance target (≥ 1.5–2.0 percent of GDP), acknowledge ECCB 60 per cent debt guide,” noting that “65–70 per cent may be manageable if capacity to pay remains strong and primary surpluses persist.”.
The statement said that a delegation from the Ministry of Finance, headed by the Financial Secretary, also took the opportunity to update the Cabinet on current macro-fiscal conditions, outcomes from the recent International Monetary Fund (IMF) staff visit last week, and key milestones for preparation of the 2026 national budget scheduled for December 4 this year.
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