ROSEAU, Dominica, Friday July 25, 2014, CMC – Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit is projecting growth in the country’s economy in the new financial year.
In his presentation of the 2013/2014 budget on Wednesday, Skerrit told Parliament that estimates show the economy will grow by 1.5 percent in 2014
He said the main contributors to growth have been agriculture, construction, manufacturing and tourism.
Concerning the agriculture al sector, Skerrit said the government is concerned that growth is being compromised by new and emerging diseases such as Black Sigatoka and the Citrus Greening disease.
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However, with a combination of methods, including the use of pesticides, cutting down infected fields and obtaining new planting materials Dominica is expected to win the war over these diseases.
Within the construction industry, the Prime Minister said infrastructural works undertaken by the government is likely to boost the construction sector.
He said growth in the sector has been supported by a series of government policies including the housing revolution.
“Whether it was created through special loan facilities at the AID Bank and the government Housing Loan Board or through the Housing and Sanitation Program, the construction sector has been positively impacted.”
Where tourism is concerned, he said the sector has seen “mixed fortunes” in terms of growth from 2009 to 2013, averaging one percent with a high of 8.2 percent in 2011.
“This sector is the one that has been most directly affected by the global crisis which started in 2008, hence the 2009 result is not surprising,” he said. “This along with decrease in cruise arrivals meant the level of growth desired in the tourism sector has not been achieved, however preliminary estimates suggest that despite the 1.6 percent decline in 2012, activity in the sector strengthened during 2013 with estimated growth of 2 percent.”
He said activity in the manufacturing sector has remained positive in the past three years with 3.4 percent growth estimated in 2013 with two percent growth expected in 2014.
“The performance in the various sub sectors change from time to time but the imperative is to always find the measures which will encourage growth,” Skerrit said.
He noted that the record of his government in terms of fiscal management “is well known.”
“There has been challenges created by external shocks, such as the impact of the global financial crisis and weather related events and disasters,” he noted. “Despite these, government continues to maintain fiscal discipline while safeguarding the poor and vulnerable.”
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Skerrit predicts Dominica’s economy will grow
