Prime Minister Harris deceives the nation; says there is no IMF report on the economy of St Kitts and Nevis
Basseterre, St Kitts, November 4, 2019 – St Kitts and Nevis’ Prime Minister Dr the Hon Timothy Harris has again deceived the nation when he told a news reporter at a press conference on Monday afternoon, “the IMF basically has not provided a report to us.”
Dr Harris, who is also the Minister of Finance, was asked by WINNFM’s Jermaine Abel about the 2018 Article IV Consultation on the St Kitts and Nevis economy.
“There is no IMF report. There is none to be given. The IMF basically has not provided a report to us. The situation with respect to us has not changed, so there is nothing for us to give,” Dr Harris told reporters and the Nation.
Dr Harris has blocked the IMF from making public its findings on the St Kitts and Nevis economy for 2018.
An IMF team led by Mission Head, Dr Arnold McIntyre, visited St Kitts and Nevis late June/early July 2018 and presented their report to the IMF Executive Board in Washington, DC.
“On September 14, 2018, the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) concluded the consideration of the Article IV consultation with St Kitts and Nevis. Under Article IV of the agreement, the IMF has a mandate to exercise surveillance over the economic, financial and exchange rate policies of its members in order to ensure the effective operation of the international monetary system. The IMF’s appraisal of such policies involves a comprehensive analysis of the general economic situation and policy strategy of each member country. IMF economists visit the member country, usually once a year, to collect and analyze data and hold discussions with government and central bank officials. Upon its return, the staff submits a report to the IMF’s Executive Board for discussion. The Board’s views are subsequently summarized and transmitted to the country authorities. The authorities have not consented to the publication of the staff report and the related press release,” the IMF said in a statement.
Dr Harris has also blocked a September 2019 visit by another IMF Team to evaluate the economic situation in the twin.
For the third consecutive year, Prime Minister Harris has boycotted major sessions of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund Annual Meetings and is not in the official IMF/World Bank photo of participants.
Dr Harris sneaked out of St Kitts on the afternoon of Friday 19th October arriving in Washington, DC. late Friday night/early Saturday morning, the last day of meetings held on the sidelines.
Dr Harris was not accompanied by an officer in the Ministry of Finance.
