#BTColumn – Taxpayers paying for incompetence

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the author(s) do not represent the official position of Barbados TODAY.

by Ryan Walters

When I read the headline “$2B for BERT II”, on the front page of the Sunday Sun dated Oct 16, 2022, it instantly caught my attention.

Why? Because it is totally mind-boggling that in less than four years after writing off close to one billion dollars ($1B) of VAT owed to the Government by corporations this administration now must borrow the same amount of money, $1 billion, for budgetary support.

Let’s not forget the removal of the National Social Responsibility Levy (NSRL). And while I joined Bajans in celebrating its removal because we were promised lower prices somehow we were hoodwinked. We ended up burdened by prices higher than when the NSRL was applied as no consumer prices fell. Apparently, we are left to assume that the entities that controlled the prices are the ones that benefitted. So, in essence, since 2018 the Government relinquished almost another $1.2B in revenue collection.

None of those initiatives redounded to the benefit of the public as we did not see a reduction in prices. But here the Government is today, in a financial quandary again after giving away $2.2B and now borrowing the same sum.

It has now become almost routine that each week we hear of a new financial arrangement that this Government has committed the country and future generations of Barbadians to. These “overseas deals” are often to the tune of billions and millions of dollars. To date, what is our overall debt to all these lending agencies?

We continue to be saddled with astronomical debt, yet we get few details on exactly how the money is spent when received. We hear what it was intended for, but we do not get any reports on actuals. It would be nice if the taxpayers were furnished with a report of all expenditure for borrowings in the first BERT program.

What is amazing is the fact that in the face of this infinite borrowing Government is still failing to get the country back on a growth path.

Borrowing money without a concise plan to restructure and grow the economy and without a plan to earn to repay the said loans is akin to an individual obtaining a loan from a bank while simultaneously receiving their layoff papers from their employer. How on earth are you going to repay it?

It is downright nonsensical to go on a borrowing spree when you have not outlined specifically how you will spend the money upon getting it and more importantly how you will pay it back when the time comes.

We do not have to be mathematicians or economists to know that Government’s math is simply not adding up. This administration’s management of the country’s financial affairs continues to be horrifying.

The facts point to a government that must take responsibility for its actions over the last few years. Giving away revenue on one hand and then burdening taxpayers by borrowing on the other.