The Mia Mottley administration is being accused of sidelining the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) sector by not adequately providing direct support during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The charge has been leveled by the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) Spokesman on Business, Ryan Walters, who called for the implementation of “a stimulus programme” to prevent pending business closures and rise in unemployment across the MSME sector.
“The small business person plays too great a role in our economy to be discarded. They have families to feed too,” said Walters in a statement.
“The Democratic Labour Party is asking the Government to establish a stimulus programme directly for the micro, small and medium-sized enterprises – a stimulus that is much needed before more of them close; needed to control unemployment levels in the country; and needed to ensure the survival of this very important sector and the people who depend on it for a living,” he added.
Pointing to a 2016 Small Business Association (SBA) national survey, Walters said it revealed that micro and small enterprises accounted for some 92 per cent of formal businesses in Barbados and 60.7 per cent of employment in the private sector.
“Why then does this Government not see it fit to establish a stimulus programme specifically for them?” he questioned.
He said the much anticipated Throne Speech, delivered by Governor General Dame Sandra Mason a week ago, “did nothing in the form of stimulation for small business”.
Dame Sandra had announced that Government would establish a Green and Digital Investment Fund as part of the Barbados Employment and Sustainable Transformation Plan (BEST) for which firms that have re-engaged their workers would be eligible.
In addition to the tourism sector, it will be available to small businesses and to manufacturing and agricultural enterprises.
The fund, primarily to be distributed through investment in the companies by way of a class of shares that mirrors preference shares, will have limited opportunity for grants.
Government has also promised to “enhance access to credit for vendors by recapitalising Fund Access with $20 million and also the Trust Loan programme with a further $10 million”.
Farming and food producer co-operatives and their members will also get assistance in purchasing raw materials and equipment, targeting the growth and development in renewable energy, agribusiness, health and wellness, creative industries, tourism related businesses and manufacturing.
However, Walters said there was a lack of clarity on how the $20 million and $10 million in funds for Fund Access and the Trust Loan programme, respectively, would be disbursed.
“A stimulus package is used by governments to offer tax rebates and incentives to kickstart the economy and save the country from financial crisis. But given recent past experiences with promises, one must ask if putting $30 million into two lending agencies is realistically offering any stimulus for small businesses,” he said.
“There was absolutely no indication how this $20 million to Fund Access and $10 million to the Trust Loan Fund will be used to help already closed businesses re-establish a presence, and no indication regarding how resources will be deployed – outside of offering loans – to assist the most vulnerable enterprises before they fail.”
Walters said the development comes at a time when the small business sector was having its annual Small Business Week celebrations, but given the current situation there was not much to celebrate.
Small Business Week 2020 runs from September 20 to 26 under the theme The Era of Digital Disruption – Thinking Beyond the Box.
“Imagine, we are supposed to be celebrating Small Business Week in Barbados and the Small Business Association (SBA) has nothing to celebrate with or offer its members, nor the wider small business community, in the form of stimulus provided by the Government to assist with these unprecedented times,” said Walters.
“Our last tally of money spent on the sector was $1 million from the previously introduced and failed stimulus package of April 29 this year. These Barbadians have clearly been sidelined once again,” he contended. (MM)
