by Marlon Madden
Prime Minister Mia Mottley is urging local private sector operators to be more aggressive in pursuing business in other countries across the region in an effort to earn more and help grow the Barbados economy.
Mottley made the call recently while urging “owners of capital to come to the table” and invest in various projects across a range of sectors.
“There are too few owners of capital willing to participate in the private sector in formal ways. This country will only make it if everybody makes COVID recovery their business, and that means equally the owners of capital,” said Mottley.
She was addressing the recent Barbados Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) luncheon, which was held at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre under the theme Building Bridges for a Successful Economic Recovery.
Pointing to Barbadian firms over the years being taken over by other regional and international companies, Mottley said: “I don’t necessarily have a problem fully with it if we are prepared to be active and controlling in a larger entity, but it comes down to the mind and mental approach”.
“I don’t have a problem with Trinidad coming in here. I have a problem with Barbadians not going into Trinidad, and that is what I mean having owners of capital at the table.
“I have no problem with NCB Capital Markets coming here from Jamaica, but I have a problem with us not going into Jamaica more aggressively,” she said.
“The reality is, Barbados has the unique opportunity of leading the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) at a governmental level, but what we are not seeing is the hunger or the appetite for expansion, and the culture of contentment that informed our behaviour prior to COVID has to change . . . We have to be able to see greater aggression on the part of our local private sector if we are going to survive these times,” she said.
Mottley said, at the same time, the local business community should also help to make the island more attractive in order to help attract more international investment for various projects in research and life sciences.
Additionally, the Prime Minister said it was about time that the private sector played a greater role in building out the medical and education services sectors and seek out new opportunities in the blue economy.
“We need to take control of the opportunities that exist, along with other Caribbean private sector people to solve the problem of logistics in the region, in particular the sea bridge, especially if food and nutritional security has to come from within this region now,” she said.
Mottley’s comments came as Barbados’ special envoy to Suriname Senator Althea Wiggins announced that this month, a delegation from Suriname would be in Bridgetown to network and meet with private sector members so they could seek out new partnerships and investment opportunities.
Prime Minister Mottley is also in the process of planning a delegation from Barbados to Guyana early next year.
Last month, Minister of Housing Dr William Duguid led a team from his ministry to Guyana to discuss investment opportunities in Georgetown’s housing and construction sectors, and to strengthen collaborative efforts between the two countries.
marlonmadden@barbadostoday.bb
