PM King's $1.2 Billion Budget Pays Tribute to Sir John
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Contact: Chris Satney
Monday, 21 April 2008 – Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Honourable Stephenson King presented his first budget as Prime Minister to the House of Assembly Monday, to a theme that pays tribute to the man he replaced as Head of government.
The 2008/2009 Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure of EC$1.159, 816, 206 has the theme: “From Vision to implementation, rally our people for development in an era of global opportunities and challenges”.
Prime Minister King said his budget ensures the late Sir John Compton’s legacy is fulfilled through the transformation of his vision into reality of prosperity and sustainable development.
“It is clear that the only way we can realise our development objectives is for us to rally our people, harness all our resources and put our shoulders to the wheel. Rallying our people means we must fully prepare them for their role in the development process and such preparation must of necessity entail a heavy emphasis on education, training and human resource development,” he told Parliament.
Prime Minister King admits the local economy has, as with other countries in Caribbean and the world, experienced major challenges.
The global economy, he said, expanded by 4.2 percent in 2007 reflecting a strong performance of emerging markets which largely offset the moderation in the United States economy, over the review period.
Global inflation, the prime minister said, is on the increase, driven by ever increasing food and energy prices.
He said: “The price of food commodities increased by 15.2 percent as result of substantial increases in the price of bananas, wheat, rice milk and dairy products. The upturn in food prices was spurred by higher grain prices, brought about by rising demand for biofuels, poor weather conditions and supply disruptions in many countries.”
The House of Assembly will return on Wednesday and Thursday for two days of debate on the fiscal estimates. |
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