Private sector believes it could be two years before sustainable recovery is realized

The Barbados Private Sector Association (BPSA) hopes the latest adjustments to the COVID-19 Directives mark the beginning of the end of harsh restrictions which brought the local business community to its knees over the last two years.

Association President Trisha Tannis, told Barbados TODAY on Monday that if the country had finally reached the latter stages of the pandemic, the economy would need at least another two years to recover.

However, the business leader is pleased with what she believes is a clear indication of the Government’s intention to manage the situation much differently than before.

“We believe this is the beginning of the end of the pandemic,” Tannis declared.

“I don’t think we are at the end clearly, but I do think that we need to look now at how we manage the pandemic, and I think the removal of the curfew is the first signal that we are, as a country, beginning to manage it differently.

We are acknowledging that it isn’t necessarily an issue of cases anymore, but we need to probably start monitoring our mortality rate. [The Omicron variant] is something that is highly infectious but has low mortality rates and is leaning more so towards a common influenza or common cold type status and the world is clearly at the stage where it is no longer willing to suffer disruption to our lives, disruption to our economies for a disease that is increasingly less fatal,” the BPSA president added.

Over the weekend, Minister of Health and Wellness Ian Gooding-Edgehill announced the discontinuation of a nighttime curfew that has been in place for almost a year. Public health officials also opened the way for pleasure craft, party cruises and sporting activity to get going and also for an increase in the numbers allowed on public transportation.

Underscoring the “deleterious” impact of the pandemic period on the business sector, Tannis acknowledged that the road to recovery would be long and winding.

“I think it will still take another couple of years for there to be anything that we can class as sustainable recovery,” said Tannis.

The Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association (BHTA), declared that operators of catamarans, nightclubs, tour companies and restaurants are all delighted about the recent developments.

“This will have an immediate positive impact on service delivery as they will not have to rush patrons and can manage capacity in a way that allows them to be more viable,” declared the new BHTA Chairman Renée Coppin.

“Critically, it will also improve the ability of their staff to get home without the stress of the curfew,” she added.

On the other hand, the tourism association raised questions about the hosting of weddings and other “milestone events” where the level of restriction is unclear, and also the country’s entry protocols – a bone of contention for some time.

In the meantime, as part of the country’s economic redevelopment, the Tannis called for a double-pronged approach that, in the first instance, supports the swift recovery of established sectors like tourism, construction and manufacturing. However, the revival of the small business sector has also been considered critical as many enterprises continue to fold.

“That is a concern to us because we do think that the small business sector is affected and that you need to watch as it relates to a true indicator of the health of the economy. We do need to nurture and incubate the small businesses and entrepreneurial sector because that is where grassroots wealth creation occurs,” said Tannis.

Economic diversification in areas like the renewable energy and digital sectors, along with accelerated efforts to improve the ease of doing businesses are also included in the association’s roadmap.

“There are opportunities there and I do believe that we have to have the political will to start carving legislation and regulation around some of these new, innovative sectors so that we can actually stand on the global stage and present ourselves as a viable jurisdiction for these sectors to grow and to thrive, Tannis added.

In the meantime, she reiterated that both businesses and consumers would continue to be affected by instability on the world market that is expected to cause commodity shortages over the next six months.
kareemsmith@barbadostoday.bb