Budget Presentation delivered Thursday morning, with PM Browne asking public servants to be reasonable in their expectations

Prime Minister Gaston Browne presented the  Appropriations Bill, 2023, to the Parliament on Thursday morning, March 2, and highlighted a few accomplishments of his administration during the last year.

Under the theme “Reset, Recover, Revitalize,”  Browne says his administration plans to fully revitalize the economy for the benefit of all.

He says it is optimistic about the future of Antigua and Barbuda, saying that while many factors slowed growth, it was not halted.

The country, Browne says, experienced growth of 8.5 percent in its Gross Domestic Product (GDP), but this is projected to increase to 9.4 percent.

Browne says the country experienced a three-year growth of 8.2 percent per annum, which, he claims, has never been achieved by any other administration.

The prime minister also spoke to the cost of living – the spike in which, he says, was fueled by external factors, including the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in the Ukraine, which resulted in high fuel prices.

Browne says the Government is now in a position to give public servants an increase this year – although he implored them to be reasonable in their expectations – and hinted at another increase by 2024 if the economy continues on its upward trajectory.

He says the reclassification of other public- sector workers, outside of the teachers who have already been satisfied, will continue this year.