Government to begin payment of judgment claims in February

by Curlan Campbell, NOW Grenada

• Government owes judgment claims amounting to $57.3 million
• Payments to begin end of February

Government is expected to begin payments of millions in judgment claims. Outlined in page 518 of the 2019 Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure, under the section Public Debt, shows that government owes judgment claims as of 2018 amounting to $57.3 million.

Oliver Joseph, Minister responsible for Trade, Industry, Co-operatives and Caricom Affairs announced the government’s intentions to start these payments at the end of February. These claims were ordered to be paid out by the courts to individuals and institutions which have successfully sued the Government of Grenada.

“We got over $108 million in grants because of our performance and with this grant money we can now pay down on unpaid claims that were in the treasury. We can pay judgment claims that people who have sued the government in the past who are awaiting their money, the cabinet has taken a decision to start paying this month.”

The minister stated that improved economic performance has allowed the government to commit to settling some of its debt obligations with respect to various utility companies. “Because of the way the economy is performing on the revenue side, we are able to collect revenue to meet our monthly expenditure. The way this country is run now every month is like a household, we pay our electricity bill every month, we pay NAWASA every month, we give NIS their deduction every month. No longer are we seeing arrears.”

The government has been lauded by regional and international organisations for their policy of fiscal discipline by ensuring that Grenada records growth in the economy by 5.06%, with a reduction of debt to GDP ratio from 108% to 63% with the aim of further reductions to 55%. According to Joseph, construction grew by over 40%, with the tourism sector experiencing a 20% growth.

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