The International Monetary Fund has warned of “economic collapse” in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, which could see the institution takeover policy making decisions.
Two decades of poor economic decision making during COVID-19 from the Gonsalves Government means that the economy is now expected to contract by 6.1% in 2021, with agriculture and related sectors to be severely affected.
Other nations in the Caribbean that have been forced to turn to the IMF to help pay debt have seen the institution become increasingly influential over policies, in effect turning governments into a shell of what they should be.
In St. Kitts and Nevis, the IMF pressured the government to sell land under the land-for-debt swap in order to limit financial risk.
The financial institution has also imposed “exactly wrong” austerity advice to fund bailouts, which mean countries such as Barbados were pressured to cut public sector wages and jobs, leading to a lower quality of healthcare and few nurses, doctors and community workers in a country that was already short on staff.
If St. Vincent and the Grenadines is facing economic disaster, we too could face the threat of being governed by the international organisation because of the miss management of our economy.
Looking at the two most recent Ministers of Finance – Ralph and Camillo Gonsalves – there is little question as to who is responsible for the economic situation our country finds itself in.