Prime Minister Mia Mottley made clear on Tuesday that her administration, once re-elected, will decide on the way forward with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) at the right time.
Her comments came in response to questions raised on the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) platform earlier this week by St Michael South Central candidate Richard Sealy.
Sealy claimed that Government would likely enter another arrangement following the expiration of the four-year IMF programme, and it would not be as “accommodating” as the current deal.
Director of the Sir Arthur Lewis Institute of Social and Economic Studies (SALISES), Professor Don Marshall, speaking on Down to Brass Tacks on Tuesday, also suggested that the ruling party should engage Barbadians on the IMF deal.
But as she addressed party supporters at a spot meeting in Brittons Hill, St Michael on Tuesday night, Mottley said: “There is no government that has been more transparent about its dealing with the International Monetary Fund than my government and when the programme finishes, we will do the assessment to see what is needed. But you don’t do the assessment before looking at the outturn figures.”
She then waded into the track record of the former Freundel Stuart administration which she described “as the greatest disgrace to the people of St Michael”.
Stuart, who has stayed clear of the political landscape since the party’s 30-nil drubbing in the May 2018 elections, spoke at a meeting in St Michael South where he blasted the record of the Mottley administration.
Insisting that the country has no buffer for error, the Prime Minister declared that Barbadians want progress and action and a Government that cares.
Citing achievements such as the restoration of free university education and the $10 million Trust Loan Fund programme, she noted her Government would continue to put Barbadians first as they build out the country.
Listing manifesto pledges, including the removal of Value Added Tax (VAT) from personal care items and a construction gateway that will provide training for young people to become artisans in preparation for the coming construction boom, Mottley urged Barbadians to stay the course with her administration which has a clear blueprint for development. (SD)
