 The Department of Finance has developed a citizen's guide to the 2021-2022 budget, which provides a clear concise and simplified presentation of information on the estimates of revenue and expenditure. This forms part of the government's communication strategy, geared at fostering greater accountability and transparency of the operations of government through increased access to information in the public domain. The Department of Finance is mandated to provide oversight and management of the preparation of the annual estimates of revenue and expenditure, also known as the national budget. Puberant Secretary in the Department of Finance Esther Rigobot said the department has seen the need for greater public awareness and education on how the department delivers on its mandate. It's the responsibility of government agencies to communicate with the wider public. They work program what they're doing initiatives being undertaken and how that would be of benefit to them. P.S. Rigobot made those remarks in reference to the publication of a citizen's guide to the 2021-2022 budget produced by the Department of Finance. She said the guide has simplified the somewhat intimidating over 600 page budget document filled with numbers, figures and estimates. We found it very useful to develop and publish a document that's very easy to read and understand so that the average person, whether it be a student, educator, nurse, doctor, police officer, a farmer, fisherman, regardless, can go through this document within a short period of time and get an appreciation of what's contained in the government's estimates of revenue and expenditure. The citizen's guide, she explained, provides an outline of the budget process. The agencies involved in its preparation, the legal authority, links to supporting documents such as the Governor General and Prime Minister's policy statements, among other pertinent information. It will delineate the expenditures by ministry or department. It would show what the total expenditure is expected to be for this fiscal year and also where the revenues would be derived from both from tax revenue and grants and other loan facilities, as well as bonds and treasury bills. So that is a form of educating the public. The average person needs to get a better appreciation of what government's revenues and expenditures comprise of. And we hope that this guide will do just that. The citizen's guide to the budget has been published on the Government of St. Lucia's web portal, the Department of Finance's website, as well as on the social media pages of the Government of St. Lucia and the NCPC. For the National Competitiveness and Productivity Council, Glenn Simon reporting.