{"content":[{"text":"Executive Board Assessment","bbox":{"left":0.147181,"top":0.108405,"width":0.23839300000000002,"height":0.01677899999999999}},{"text":"St. Lucia’s near-term growth prospects are favorable, but policy adjustments will be needed to \n strengthen longer-term growth. The commencement of large public infrastructure projects is \n expected to substantially boost growth in 2020-22 but will raise public debt and weaken the \n external position. However, a deeper-than-expected slowdown in major source markets for \n tourism, energy price shocks, disruptions to global financial markets, and loss of CBR all \n represent downside risks. St. Lucia’s high vulnerability to natural disasters constitutes an ever- \n present risk to both growth and the fiscal outlook. Longer-term growth continues to be impeded \n by the high public debt, lingering vulnerabilities in the financial system, and structural \n impediments to private investment. On the other hand, there is an upside that infrastructure \n investment could catalyze a greater-than-expected expansion of the tourism sector and related \n activities. While the overall external position is assessed to be broadly consistent with the level \n implied by fundamentals and desirable policies, St. Lucia still has considerable competitiveness \n challenges, particularly in its non-tourism sector, that need to be addressed.","bbox":{"left":0.147181,"top":0.146884,"width":0.720348,"height":0.23656000000000002}},{"text":"Fiscal policies should be geared toward rebuilding policy space and ensuring public debt \n converges to the regional target of 60 percent of GDP by 2030. The debt-financed infrastructure \n investments, despite being on semi-concessional terms with long-run repayment largely covered \n by dedicated revenue streams, will move public debt further away from the regional target. The \n need to invest in climate resilience and the uncertainty over future CIP revenues pose additional \n challenges to public finances. Without policy adjustments, debt vulnerabilities are elevated, and \n public debt does not stabilize over the near term.","bbox":{"left":0.147181,"top":0.40398,"width":0.723686,"height":0.12662299999999993}},{"text":"The government’s near-term focus should be on revenue-enhancing measures and investments \n that build resilience to climate related shocks. In addition to limiting current spending growth \n (particularly the public wage bill), additional revenues should be mobilized from the proposed \n hotel accommodation fee, the introduction of a carbon tax, and reducing the scope of VAT \n exemptions. Since some of these measures will likely be regressive, they should be introduced in \n parallel with targeted transfers that offset the impact on poor and vulnerable households. The \n National Health Insurance system should also be introduced in a fiscally responsible manner. \n Concerted efforts are also needed to mobilize donor grants to fund investments in climate \n resilience. If there is over-performance of the CIP, or of other revenue sources, it should be \n directed toward financing a self-insurance fund to bolster the economy’s resilience against \n natural disasters.","bbox":{"left":0.147181,"top":0.551164,"width":0.728503,"height":0.19991899999999996}},{"text":"A fiscal rule would help anchor fiscal policy over the medium term and support consolidation \n efforts. To be effective, the fiscal rule should encompass a comprehensive definition of fiscal \n activities, including the fiscal costs of natural disasters and the lumpy expenditure associated \n with infrastructure investment, and should be part of a broader fiscal responsibility framework \n that embeds appropriate institutional and governance arrangements to ensure both the appropriate \n degree of flexibility as well as enforceability of the fiscal rule. The fiscal rule will also need to be","bbox":{"left":0.147181,"top":0.771657,"width":0.7326539999999999,"height":0.10765199999999997}},{"text":"©International Monetary Fund. Not for Redistribution","bbox":{"left":0.25817,"top":0.975327,"width":0.4609049999999999,"height":0.018171999999999966}}],"images_bbox":[],"images_bbox_not_text_overlap":[]}