In a move to assess the nation’s fiscal health, the Cabinet of Antigua and Barbuda recently convened a high-level meeting with a nine-person team from the Ministry of Finance.
The team, comprising key financial officials including the Financial Secretary, Deputy Financial Secretary, Accountant General, Deputy Commissioner of the Inland Revenue Department, Comptroller of Customs, and the Debt Manager, presented a comprehensive report on the country’s revenues, expenditure, and overall treasury status.
The report revealed an increase in government revenues. “From January to June of 2023, revenues totalled a little more than 500 million dollars,” one official stated. Comparing this to the same period in 2024, “Revenues climbed to almost 560 million dollars.”
However, despite this positive trend in revenue generation, the financial picture was not entirely rosy. The team reported that expenditure for the same period “exceeded 780 million dollars.” This significant outlay resulted in a substantial deficit.
“The gap between our revenue and expenditure has created a deficit of a little more than 220 million dollars,” the Cabinet reported.