by Linda Straker
Government has disclosed that it will be presenting the 2017 Budget on Friday, 25 November 2016, and as part of the preparation it is consulting civil society organizations and other stakeholder groups in the community.
The consultation started last week when officials from the Ministry of Finance and Energy meet with some stakeholders. On Monday 19 September, and Tuesday 20 September, the Ministry met with Civil Society (Churches, NGOs) and Unions, respectively. All meetings were held at the Ministry of Finance Conference Room.
So far, the Ministry has met with the members of the Agricultural and Fishing sectors and the Business Community, including the Grenada Employers’ Federation.
“The consultations have been very engaging and many interesting and practical suggestions have been put forward. The Government will be assessing the suggestions to determine what is practical to implement in 2017 and what may require further research and analysis,” said a news release from the Ministry.
The Ministry is also currently engaged in consultations with the other Ministries and Departments throughout the Public Service. “Consultations are also being planned with other stakeholders including stakeholders in Carriacou and Petite Martinique. The dates for these consultations will be announced shortly,” the release said.
Grenada’s Homegrown Structural Adjustment Programme which had the blessing of the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and other international donor comes to an end on 31 December 2016 and the 2017 Budget will be the first outside of the 3 year SAP which began 1 January 2014.
Finance Minister, Prime Minister Dr Keith Mitchell recently said that when the programme was about to commence civil society organizations were consulted and so his Government will be going back to the organizations to hear from them in moving forward.
