MONTSERRAT’S GOVERNMENT ADVISES CITIZENS ON COPING WITH THE COST OF LIVING

As the cost-of-living crisis continues to hit economies worldwide, governments are being forced to devise country-specific ways to ease the impact on their citizens.

The British Overseas Territory of Montserrat has adopted a unique approach.

The government’s message is for residents to adapt their lifestyles in pragmatic ways to offset the cost of living’s impact on their personal and family budgets.

The message from the island’s Premier, Reuben Meade, is for residents to adopt creative and practical belt-tightening, as the government’s ability to offer relief is limited.

As explained by the Premier, aid- and import-dependent Montserrat is particularly vulnerable to global economic shocks more than other similar-sized territories.

“The geopolitics will continue to affect us and affect our prices. It affects everything that we buy from overseas. Motor vehicle prices are going to go up, food prices are going to go up, building materials are going to go up.”

Once a thriving mini mecca for international music stars, other celebrities and tourists, Montserrat has suffered severe economic setbacks following the eruption of its Soufriere Hills volcano between 1995 and 2010.

The island’s capital was destroyed and around two-thirds still remain off-limits.

The territory now relies on British aid to fund around two-thirds of the government’s budget.

BELT-TIGHTENING

Speaking on a radio programme of his ruling United Alliance party, Mr Meade urged residents to adapt their lifestyle, including cutting back on activities that might not be necessary but still incur costs, such as unnecessary driving. He urged a refocusing on local production to replace, especially imported foodstuffs, while outlining possibilities for small-to medium-scale commercial food processing and export opportunities, with some level of government concessions.

“We have to do whatever we can to increase our local productive capacity and also to create an export capacity,” Mr Meade stated. “We have to look at how we create a year-round production mechanism…We have to look at how we move away from how we are accustomed to doing things.”

The government has launched a concessionary loan programme for local enterprises, along with some import cost concessions, but has ruled out a fuel subsidy as unaffordable.

Although much of the island’s productive farming land was decimated in the eruptions, Montserrat still has huge tracts of accessible farming land.

According to the Montserrat Premier: “We tend to compare Montserrat with what’s happening in other territories. One - we are an aid-dependent territory; two - we are under very tight scrutiny (from the British government) in terms of our budget and our budget management; three - we don’t have the option of going to outside agencies to secure financing; four- we can’t borrow (without the approval of the British government).”

Mr Meade also stated: “Yes, there are things which we’d like to do, but until we generate enough revenue to support financing by developing the private sector, then we’ll always remain constrained in terms of what we can do.”

HEALTHCARE COSTS

Meanwhile, Montserrat’s Minister for Health, Dr Ingrid Buffonge, is asking residents of Montserrat to take personal responsibility for their health as a way of controlling the cost of healthcare in Montserrat.

According to a report on the state-owned Radio Montserrat, Dr Buffonge said the Government does not have the financial resources to fully fund healthcare for residents like the United Kingdom’s National Health Services (NHS) scheme.

She said this makes it important for individuals to take greater responsibility for maintaining their health and planning for future healthcare costs.

“The reality is that the Government of Montserrat does not have money to commit to paying for the healthcare of Montserratians as they do in the UK. We’re not about to send our tax dollars to the UK as much as many of us would love so that we here can become part of the health service.”

Dr. Buffonge explained that “the move is really to ask patients to take responsibility for their health. So on the one hand, that means making sure you’re getting exercise, you’re eating the right things, you’re getting your medical appointments, and you’re preventing the complications of NCDs(non-communicable diseases).”

The Montserrat Minister of Health is also considering a local health insurance scheme in an arrangement with private-sector providers.