The 2020/21 Budget Estimates fulfills the government's obligation pursuant to the Finance Act Cap. 15.01 to submit annual estimates of revenue and expenditure for approval by Parliament. It provides details of the annual spending plans , projected revenue collections and programme performance information of all governmental units or departments. It embodies the principles of performance budgeting and seeks to provide data that is consistent with international reporting requirements. In that regard, this document complies with reforms undertaken by the Accountant General’s Department in 2019-20 which resulted in a change, not only in the nomenclature of programmes (in order to better reflect the services delivered by governmental units) but also the reclassification of expenditure in accordance with GFS and IPSAS requirements. Hence, the 2020/21 Budget Estimates includes organizational segments such as Department, Division, Cost Centre, Programme and Sub-programme. These are reflected in the schedules for Operating, Capital and Project Expenditure, in addition to the programme performance information.

Further reforms to be undertaken are expected to reflect COFOG (Classification by Functions of Government) which will enhance the quality of the information provided to users. In the usual manner, the format in this publication lays out the financial summaries indicating the fiscal position of Government in the previous fiscal year and upcoming fiscal year. The summary position of recurrent and capital expenditure for 2020/21 are highlighted by Standard Object Classification (SOC) including accompanying explanatory notes and classifications for funds and expenditure. Revenue is presented by departments in a detailed object classification followed by expenditure and performance details by department.

The 2020-21 Budget Estimates have been prepared under very difficult circumstances influenced primarily by the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic. These conditions are expected to worsened as a result of the adverse shocks created by the COVID Pandemic on the world economy including St. Lucia. As a consequence, the 2020-21 Budget Estimates reflects these realities as Government adjusts its spending plans to incorporate both mitigation and recovery plans to deal with the impact of pandemic. Adjustments have been made to revenue projections, project operating, and capital expenditure to create some the fiscal space to enable the Government to allocate additional resources to deal with the crisis.

Recognizing the significant reduction in revenues anticipated during the fiscal year, departments and agencies are encouraged to continue to embrace the challenges of aligning resource requirements to demonstrated performance results while at the same time doing more with less, as the allocation of resources will necessarily be informed by revenue performance and success in resource mobilization efforts.

As usual, it is our expectation that the Budget Estimates document as presented will facilitate better understanding by public officials, the business sector, the international community and the general public.

Finally, the Estimates are the result of the collaborative efforts of staff of the Department of Finance, Department of Economic Development, the Technical and Policy Committees, the private sector as well as other government departments including the National Printing Corporation. The Department of Finance is most grateful for all partners who contributed and wishes to express our sincere appreciation to everyone involved in the preparation of the Estimates.