Private sector reps back away from lockdown hardline

The two main bodies representing the business community appeared Monday to be softening their stance on extended lockdown measures as a wave of COVID-19 deaths continues to build.

But leaders of both the Barbados Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) and the Barbados Private Sector Association (BPSA), the main spokesman for the island’s merchants, manufacturers and service providers, were keenly watching the Government’s ability to contain the spread of the viral infection and the long-term impact of the lockdown on their member businesses.

President of the Barbados Chamber of Commerce and Industry Trisha Tannis issued a plea to authorities to hold up their end of the bargain and strengthen enforcement of the strict COVID-19 directive.

On Monday, Prime Minister Mia Mottley announced the country would remain on the 7 p.m. to 6 a.m curfew along with a strict ban on non-essential business as part of efforts to curtail community spread of the deadly virus.

In an interview on Monday, Tannis revealed that many businesses were still opposed to an extended lockdown, but acknowledged the current realities are extremely complex.

According to Tannis, the chamber’s opposition to the lockdown is in no way about securing profits for greedy employers. She argued most business owners are squarely focused on curtailing the economic hardship that has been thrust on the country’s working population.

Tannis said: “We see the impacts on people who cannot feed their families. We see the impact on people who cannot support their children. Lockdown is not an easy decision to make and that is the position the business community put before the Government.

“It’s because we see the economic hardship for people in this country and this time it’s worse because it’s less than 12 months since the last [lockdown] and we have high levels of unemployment, businesses on the brink of collapse and for many, this is likely to be the end of the road. There are people in this country that cannot eat unless they work and this is why that very delicate balance is almost impossible between trying to save somebody’s life and trying to feed them at the same time.

“We’ve all been there, we all know what that feels like and we really don’t have to spend a lot of time explaining the severe economic cost of doing this whilst we are still trying to save lives. The challenge really is how we can save lives without completely bringing our economy to a halt and that really comes back to the individual actions of individuals.”

While Tannis has praised the efforts of the COVID-19 Monitoring Unit during the first two-week lockdown, she called for “more focused” attempts to control the virus and punish offenders instead of imposing prolonged restrictions across the board. In fact, she argued that while businesses have largely been effective in curbing person-to-person because of deliberate and effective protocols, the same could not be said of communities.

“It’s good to see the COVID-19 Monitoring Unit being resourced and taking action against offenders and we hope this makes the public more cautious and more responsible, but on the other hand, extending lockdowns in an environment when you are trying to control behaviour that is primarily social will always be challenging.

“We would like to see though maybe a more focused attempt to control the behaviours of those who are deviant as opposed to the more blunt approach of a continued lockdown of everything and we continue to say if this is something that only a few people are doing then focus on the few people and try to get remediation for their actions.”

Over the last few weeks, a major bone of contention for businesses was the uncertainty about the circumstances under which current restrictions would be lifted or extended. These, Tannis argued, should include, for example, metrics such as the percentage of positive cases recorded in a day, also known as the positivity rate.

But this was addressed by public health officials who are now aiming for positivity rates below four per cent and an R-rate of 0.5 or below.

When contacted on Monday, BPSA President Edward Clarke acknowledged while businesses are keen to get back on their feet, the Government’s main objective ought to be the spiralling COVID-19 situation. But he maintains that neither economic stagnation nor government bailouts are sustainable solutions.

Clarke said: “It is alright to give out 250 dollars a week to a small vendor and 750 dollars a week to shopkeepers, but how long can a country sustain that? Who is going to pay for it ultimately? It’s the same thing with the care packages. How long can a country continue that? That is not a way for a country to survive and grow and expand its economy.”

Under the current situation, Clarke noted that businesses would be requesting waivers on penalties and interest for the late payment of obligations like VAT, PAYE and NIS payment.

He added that a major concern for supermarkets is the shortened opening hours and mandatory weekend closures that are resulting in unnecessary crowding.

“If you have a supply and demand, and the supply chain can only accommodate a certain number of operating hours, you are going to get crowded, and the last thing we want in Barbados is that alphabet system again,” he declared. “So I don’t think opening for a couple more hours or so would impact negatively on any spread of the virus. In fact, it should improve it.”

(kareemsmith@barbadostoday.bb)