* Nicaragua’s legislature has approved the government’s 2021 budget proposal for C$81.528bn (US$2.34bn), up from C$79.199bn in 2020. Income is projected to come in at C$80.67bn, down from C$80.901bn in 2020, leaving a deficit of C$857m. Of the total, 57.1% will go on social spending with public health to receive over C$17bn, or 21% of social spending, up C$800m on 2020, while education will account for 24.6% of spending. Last month the head of Nicaragua’s central bank (BCN),
Ovidio Reyes, said the BCN was forecasting that Nicaragua’s GDP would contract 4.5% in 2020 (within a ±1 percentage point range) due to the impact of the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic and inflation would come in at 3.7% (within a ±0.5% range). However, this does not take into account the damage caused by the recent hurricanes Eta and Iota, which the government recently said would be at least US$742m, or
6% of national GDP on preliminary estimates. Last week
Wálmaro Gutiérrez, the president of the congressional budget commission, said decisions regarding new resources to address the impact of the hurricanes would be taken once the complete cost of the damage had been assessed.
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