Prime Minister hints at possible downsizing of the public sector

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With the glaring uncertainty surrounding the sustainability of Antigua and Barbuda’s Citizen By Investment Programme (CIP), the Minister of Finance, Prime Minister Gaston Browne indicated that, “if we lose CIP revenues, we will end up in a total crisis”.

Though the government has made a forecast that CIP revenues in 2019 could stand at $132 million, there has been recent uncertainty as to the viability of the CIP/CBI industry in the Caribbean in the coming years.

Several countries of interest to CIP applicants such as the United States and Canada have changed travel and immigration policies in response to the growing number of persons gaining citizenship as a result of the Caribbean programme.

“I do accept that if we lose the revenue, it will create some difficulties. And, maybe under those circumstances, we will be forced to maybe downsize, which is something that we’re totally against. But, provided that those revenues remain viable and consistent, we’re going to utilise them to cover our expenditure,” Browne explained earlier this week.

Salaries, wages and debt repayments account for 115 percent of total tax revenues collected, according to the finance minister.

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