PM Roosevelt Skerrit to present a budget of $993.6M on July 28

Prime Minister of Dominica Dr Roosevelt Skerit, while acting as the Minister of Finance and Investment, will present the annual budget for the financial year of 2021 - 2022 on the 28th of July 2021. The budget of $993.6 million will be tabled to seek parliamentary approval

Saturday, 17th July 2021

Roseau, Dominica: Prime Minister of Dominica Dr Roosevelt Skerit, while acting as the Minister of Finance and Investment, will present the annual budget for the financial year of 2021 - 2022 on the 28th of July 2021. The budget of $993.6 million will be tabled to seek parliamentary approval This year's fiscal budget is around $25.8M, more than last years budget of 967.8 million dollars. Despite the economic fallback, Dominica had been making efforts to financially assist the general public. The country is also among only a few nations that witnessed zero coronavirus related deaths. Dominica has administered at least 40,004 doses of COVID vaccines so far. Expectations from the Fiscal Budget 2021-2022 Tourism Sector: COVID-19 affected the tourism sector of the whole world harshly, as Dominica is one of the highly preferably destinations of tourism due to its lush mountains and safe environment. But Dominica too witnessed crises due to the halting of tourism during the pandemic time. So people related to this sector are expecting a good portion of the budget. Health Sector: At the contemporary time, the health sector demands a huge amount of money, not only for good hospitals but also for the best health equipment and vaccines too. So this sectors workers and all who are associated with are demanding good assistance from this budget. Farmers & Fishers: As due to Hurricane Elsa, farmers have witnessed huge losses, their crops vanished out. So people are expecting to get a good amount of financial assistance on their crop loss. Also, the coronavirus pandemic has broken its economic pillar. Education: To make a more digitalised and advanced education system of Dominica, teachers and students of Dominica have keen eyes on this budget. Small businessman: Coronavirus pandemic attacked severely on small businesses. Many small enterprises had to close down their businesses due to the COVID-19 pandemic; they expect assistance from the 2021 Fiscal Budget. Farmers: The agriculture sector is anticipating more benefits from the upcoming budget—many experienced losses. The government of the Commonwealth of Dominica – has increased the minimum wages for the citizens on Thursday to provide them with a better standard of living, which would be in effect from 1 September 2021. During the weekly episode of Anou Palay on 29 June 2021, PM Skerrit stated that the government aims to announce the “Future Housing Development Programme” at Warner, targeting public officers, private sector employees, and the diaspora. He stated that there would be 0 interest for public officers on the purchase of the respective residences. “We have been seeing a steady enhancement in the revenue collection, which tells us there is some activity, the pre-pandemic situation is coming back,” Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit added. Under the leadership of Denise Charles, Tourism Minister of Dominica, Dominica is trying to enhance its tourism with various methods. To that, Dominica is preparing for the return of cruise ships. PM Skerrit noted that the tourism ministry is also considering a change in some travel policies, so coming to the country gets hassle-free. Overview of the last budget of Dominica In the 2020-2021 budget, the highest budget allocation was allocated to the Ministry of Finance, with a total sum of $245.7 million. Simultaneously, the Ministry of Education, Human Resource Planning, Vocational Training & national Excellence received the 2nd largest allocation of $74.4 million. Furthermore, the Ministry of Public works and the digital economy was allocated $52.3 million. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Business and Diaspora Relations was given $20.5 million, and the Ministry of Tourism International Trasport and Maritime Initiative got $17.5 million.