ARTICLE - SUBMISION OF BUDGET

SUBMISSION OF BUDGET 121 BILLION GOURDES
(Haiti Libre) -

André Lemercier Georges, the Minister of Finance, submitted yesterday, Wednesday February 15, to the lower house, the state budget for fiscal year 2011-2012 [Finance Bill]. This budget, an increase of 13.8% over the 2010-2011 period, amounts to 121 billion gourdes (± 3 billion U.S. dollars). In front of the deputies the Minister indicated that "The bill that I submit for your consideration has a total envelope of 121 billion gourdes, of which 66.4% is in investment and 33.6% in operations.

This amount marks a progression of 13.8% over 2010-2011. There is sustained growth with the anticipated growth of 7.8% of GDP in real terms, and amplified by both public and private investments. For inflation, it is projected to reach 8%, a marked deceleration from the level reached in 2011.

With regard to resources that are mobilized, current revenues are forecast at 45.6 billion gourdes, an increase of 26.7% in relation to the growth of the economy but also, thanks to the measurement of institutional strengthening of our tax and customs administrations. The tax burden will rise from 11.1% to 13.2%, marking a gradual alignment of our performance on regional averages.

In contrast, donations pledged by the international community will reach 46.4 billion gourdes. The other funding concerns the resources that are promised by Venezuela through the Petro Caribe Fund for a total of 16.9 billion gourdes that will be completed by emissions of Treasury bonds for an amount of 5.2 billion gourdes. While an additional funding is provided through the cancellation of debt vis-à-vis the International Monetary Fund for 2.7 billion gourdes and through the Fund generated by investments for an in-kind support of 2.7 billion. In addition, a special effort was made to improve the quality of government spending and ensure that each gourd will be used in the most effective and most efficient way possible, to ensure the best level of service, to the citizens throughout the territory.

The Government is fully aware of the many social and economic problems, structural and circumstantial, which are the daily lot of most of our brothers and sisters. It intends, with your full cooperation [...] to provide responses, progressive and durable so that the lives of sons and daughters of our country, are gradually and irreversibly changed. There must be an understanding of the orientations of this Finance Bill, and the provisions and measures that are retained. They feed on the vision of leaders at the top level of the executive, who made the bet to lay the foundations for a better future for Haiti's Children, by guaranteeing them ultimately, the access to basic social services, as part of a reconstituted environment and a strengthened rule of law.

Today it is for government, to promote conditions of a sustainable development through economic growth, conditions necessary for massive job creation..."