We’re going the wrong way, says UPP

Barbados is lurching from one crisis to another with an opposition party slamming the Mottley administration for hedging most of its bets on hundreds of millions in borrowed money that plunges the country further into indebtedness.

Lynette Eastmond, the vice-chairman of the United Progressive Party (UPP), said in a statement Friday that the administration had not created a cohesive economic policy prescription that will successfully put Barbados on a growth path in a post-COVID-19 environment.

While commending the Government for its handling of the COVID-19 response, the UPP founder called for “a fresh tailor-made strategy for our economic recovery post-COVID”.

Eastmond said her party was not impressed with Labour’s approach to the economic crisis, which she said, was based on borrowed money from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), a few small capital projects that benefited “a narrow band of people”, food hampers, jobs for people cleaning the streets, and “tepid efforts to resuscitate tourism without considering the evolution of the tourism product”.

Condemning the approaches as “unsustainable”, she said they were incapable of producing the growth which Barbados needed to get the economy going again.

“Within Barbados, growth is projected at between one per cent and three per cent. And in reality, this is considered to be optimistic if we continue on the current path,” said Eastmond.

“From 2018 Government’s fundamental strategy seems to have been IMF prescriptions for debt and management and borrowing. The IMF is a bank and except for demanding loan conditions, will not tell Barbados how to grow its economy. Approval of loans by the IMF are not victories for the Barbados economy.”

She added: “The Progressive Party believes that Barbados business community is awaiting fiscal and economic policy guidance from the Government. This is especially necessary for small vulnerable economies like that of Barbados.

“There needs to be wide consultation not only with those in the traditional structures of business such as the social partnership and the Barbados Chamber of Commerce and Industry but also the non-traditional actors. We cannot continue to lurch from crisis to crisis no matter how well they are handled. Measures, tailor-made for the Barbados economy must be implemented as a matter of urgency.”

Eastmond, a former cabinet member in the Owen Arthur administration, said the focus must return to retaining the jobs of Barbadian workers. She also called on supermarket operators to “temper their increase in prices”.

“It is imperative that Government develop a long-term strategy for the Barbados economy, which is linked closely to reforms in education, training and retraining as well as speeding up business processes,” the statement continued.

“The UPP is of the view that COVID-19 has given Barbados the opportunity to embrace technology as a way of life and business. We must take advantage of this opportunity to increase productivity. We must however ensure that we review systems and implement better systems since poor systems digitized will remain poor systems.”

The key tourism industry is expected to take much longer to rebound than many experts had anticipated, the UPP spokeswoman said, adding that the UPP wants a recognition that Barbados needed a new form of investment.

She identified the cultural industries as a possible alternative. But she said little attention had been paid to the industry by the main political parties.

Eastmond declared: “The truth is that no Government has ever supported this sector with any seriousness – not in the way that it has supported sugar, light manufacturing, tourism and international business. Governments have supported individual artists and projects, but no long-term structure was ever created.

“Certainly, now is the time. There must be a focus on technology, culture/creativity, and education as export options each strategically packaged as offerings within the creative economy. These are areas in which a wide cross-section of Barbadians is interested,  including many of our “at-risk” youth.”

According to the UPP, the emphasis should be food security to save foreign exchange, cut food prices, and create jobs. (IMC1)