Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Dr. the Right Honourable Keith Mitchell has received international recognition as Finance Minister of the Year for the Caribbean.<\/p>\n
The award, from Global Markets, was presented as part of activities during the just concluded annual \u00a0meetings \u00a0of \u00a0the \u00a0World \u00a0Bank \u00a0and \u00a0International \u00a0Monetary\u00a0 Fund \u00a0in \u00a0Bali, \u00a0Indonesia.<\/p>\n
In a letter to the Prime Minister announcing his selection for the award, Chairman of the GlobalMarkets\u00a0\u00a0 Editorial\u00a0 \u00a0Committee\u00a0 \u00a0said\u00a0 \u00a0\u201cGrenada\u2019s\u00a0 \u00a0economic\u00a0 \u00a0progress\u00a0 \u00a0under\u00a0 \u00a0your stewardship in the past half-decade has been highly impressive. But for the country to have continued to improve its fiscal position and GDP growth since the IMF programme was successfully completed in 2017 was of particular note to economists and analysts.<\/p>\n
The turnaround story \u2014 involving rapid debt reduction, better administration of revenues, and fiscal surpluses among other achievements \u2014 has owed much to your leadership.\u201d<\/p>\n
Prime Minister Mitchell said he is elated and humbled to receive this award and dedicated it to all of Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a very significant honour for Grenada as a whole and I am humbled by the receipt of this award on behalf of the country. I see this as an award for all the people of Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique. Without their support for the Government\u2019s initiatives and making the sacrifices that were necessary in 2013 when we initiated the Structural Adjustment Programme, we would not have had this award today.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dr. Mitchell said the award is clearly based on the performance of the country and the fact that Grenada has reached a level of economic success that is now the envy of a lot of countries, regionally and internationally.<\/p>\n
Dr. Mitchell also recognised the role of the social partners including non-governmental organisations, and the religious community who helped to make the country\u2019s economic turnaround possible.<\/p>\n
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\u201cI want to give credit to our social partners, trade union leadership and all workers in the country. I also give my appreciation to the leadership of the business community and the business community in general because they all had to make the sacrifices, in terms of increased taxes at that particular time, to reach where we are today,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The Prime Minister used the opportunity to publicly acknowledge his Cabinet colleagues for their support of the economic measures. \u201cThe Cabinet members had to sell a difficult initiative at a time when people were already hurting, just after we won elections in 2013. They have demonstrated a sense of character and leadership which was absolutely necessary in supporting and going forward and so, this award equally belongs to them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Current and former staff of the Ministry of Finance were commended by the Prime Minister for their role in advising him on the tough choices that were necessary.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s a win for everybody and I hope and pray this is a clear demonstration to all concerned that when we make sacrifices, the result and the benefits will flow to the country as a whole. I feel a sense of elation and I\u2019m truly humbled by this award; it belongs to all of us.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Grenadian leader said the underlying lesson here is fiscal responsibility. \u201cYou have to be responsible in everything you do.<\/p>\n
If you are managing any activity, for example in your home, you cannot be making X dollars and spending X plus Y dollars; you have to live within your means. Successive governments over the years, including the NNP, were living beyond our means – getting into debts and not having the necessary means to repay it.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s why we went down in a real sense, so the lesson to be learnt is that we must conduct ourselves, fiscally and otherwise, in a responsible way.\u201d<\/p>\n