Nearly EC$118 million has been approved by Members of Parliament this week to address “the most immediate humanitarian cleanup demands” caused by La Soufriere’s explosive eruption in April.
The 2021 Supplementary Estimates of St Vincent and the Grenadines totalling EC$117.9 million was passed on Wednesday morning, and its funding is expected to finance at least 30 distinct and immediate responses to the disaster.
Finance Minister Hon. Camillo Gonsalces said his ministry has preliminarily estimated that the country will experience a second year of economic contraction ranging from 5 to 8 per cent in 2021 – on top of the 5 per cent COVID-19 related contraction of 2020.
Minister Gonsalves stressed in his presentation that the supplementary budget, which is almost 6 per cent of the country’s GDP, is just the first phase of the government’s response.
