The Washington-based International Monetary Fund (IMF) says the citizenship by investment (CBI) programme that the New Democratic Party (NDP) administration plans to introduce could “modestly increase fiscal revenue” but also carries risks and must be designed carefully.
“The goal of the programme would be to maximise fiscal revenue,” Sergei Antoshin, the IMF mission chief for St. Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG), said at a joint press conference with Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Godwin Friday, in Kingstown on Tuesday.
“The optimal design of the programme is a single donation or fund option, while an investment or real estate route is strongly discouraged,” Antoshin said, adding that “CBI revenue should be used solely for debt reduction”.
The Friday-led New Democratic Party administration has said it remains committed to introducing a CBI programme in SVG, despite opposition from the Unity Labour Party.
It was among the promises that the party made on its way to a 14-1 victory in the November 2025 general election, ending the ULP’s 25 years in office.
Antoshin said the IMF does not support the creation of a new national development bank, as proposed by the NDP government.
This was based on “high fiscal risks and regional experience”, a position consistent with the opposition’s
“The proposed bank would entail upfront capitalisation and ongoing fiscal costs, which would be inconsistent with needed fiscal consolidation efforts and could create additional contingent liabilities,” Antoshin said.
“Instead, policy efforts should focus on strengthening existing credit intermediation channels.”
The IMF expressed its opinions a week after Parliament began debating a private member’s motion by government senator, Chelsea Alexander, calling for the establishment of a development bank.
Opposition Leader Ralph Gonsalves opposed the motion, tracing the history of such institutions in SVG.
However, Friday rejected his position as lacking imagination, saying that the opposition leader was against the creation of a single entity to perform what Gonsalves’ government had eight entities undertake.
The debate on the motion is slated to continue in Parliament at a date to be decided.
