INTRODUCTION
1. The 2022 Budget Strategy Paper (BSP) is part of the annual budget preparatory process, issued to enhance understanding among stakeholders of the broader macro-fiscal issues that will guide prioritisation of budget allocations.
2. This document forms the basis for discussions with stakeholders on proposed national policies, strategies and budgetary allocations for the forthcoming financial year and identifies issues to be addressed in the 2022 National Budget and beyond, drawing from the National Development Strategy 1: 2021-2025 (NDS1) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
3. The aim is to support and reinforce ongoing policy measures towards recovery of domestic economic activity and incomes; facilitate economic growth and further expand the country’s productive capacity; accelerate economic transformation; and build the resilience of the economy against adverse external shocks, hence, the theme ‘Reinforcing Sustainable Economic Recovery and Resilience’.
4. The bold and transformative reforms undertaken by Government since October 2018 have started bearing fruit, notwithstanding the extremely challenging economic environment brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic and climate shocks.
5. Significant progress has been achieved on both the fiscal and monetary fronts with both inflation and exchange rate volatility being largely contained, inflation dramatically slowing down and investor confidence in the economy improving significantly.
6. The 2022 Budget, therefore, is expected to give further impetus to the reform agenda by entrenching macro-economic stability, critical for socio-economic development, whilst protecting the most vulnerable groups of society.
