New year, new moves

Former central bank governor Dr DeLisle Worrell has urged Government to ramp up its renewable energy drive and develop niche tourism among other steps to boost an economy still struggling to recover as a new decade opens.

In his first 2020 newsletter, he called on outside help to reform the public service.

Dr Worrell said: “As we embark on the third decade of the 21st century, Barbadians look to our economic prospects with a mixture of hope and trepidation.

“Our hopes are grounded in our economy’s inherent strengths – our highly regarded tourism services, good transport and communications, reliable public services,
and our resourceful and well-educated work force.”

He said while there was a road to prosperity ahead for Barbados, “major obstacles remain in the path and once they are addressed we can have confident hope for a better future for our country”.

In addition to a “practical” timeframe for ridding the island of fossil fuel use, the former governor of the Central Bank proposed a strategic focus on developing niche areas in tourism, and a revamp of the public sector.

“In order to realise our full potential, there are a number of policies which Government might consider,” Dr Worrell said.

He proposed a focus on food, culture, heritage, sports and other niches in tourism, adding that the private sector should be encouraged to embrace “Barbados’ high-end reputation, and to focus on giving excellent value for money”.

He added: “Barbados’ strength in tourism is the quality and variety of services and activities which our island has to offer.

“Government incentives for tourism should be biased towards continuing to improve quality and variety.

“High volume, low-cost tourism, including large cruise ships, bring risks of overcrowding and environmental degradation.”

The veteran economist also recommended that Government consider contracting the “best international expertise” to conduct a three-year makeover of the public service.

Acknowledging that this would be costly, Dr Worrell said it would be money well spent, if it were designed to bring all Government functions and services to an international standard of performance, comparable to Canada or Singapore.

He also called on Government to publish a strategy document “with a practical time-bound plan for the complete replacement of fossil fuels as a source of energy”.

He said: “Renewable energy has the potential, in time, to provide the economy with a sector of comparable weight to tourism”.

Borrowing from the example of the most successful firms in the industry, Dr Worrell said the future of international business seemed to be in providing marketing, promotional, training and similar services.

He said: “Government agencies should aim to attract international companies to set up offices in Barbados to provide these services to their international clients.”

Dr Worrell also pointed to the need for multilingual abilities, saying it was something highly prized in international commerce.

He suggested that Barbados could enhance its international competitiveness with a comprehensive programme to provide foreign language skills from the primary school level.

He also reiterated his call for Government to consider permanently retiring the Barbados dollar and using the US dollar for all domestic transactions.

“Importantly, Government would have no recourse to creating new money to finance excessively large deficits in the absence of a domestic currency,” said Dr Worrell.

He also believed that Barbados could become a “gateway” into and out of the Caribbean, adding that historically, the island had been such for two centuries or more.

For that to take place, he said Government would need to enter strategic partnerships with international firms for the management of the airport and seaport.

He said: “Government should partner with international companies which have well-established global networks, and the capacity to finance upgrades to the Barbados facilities from their own resources.”

Government is in the process of attracting private sector interest to run the Grantley Adams International Airport.

While an investor is yet to be chosen, Government has promised a 30-year concession, with the intention that the chosen party would invest between $260 million and $300 million to expand and develop the port of entry.
marlonmadden@barbadostoday.bb