Minister in the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs Ryan Straughn has described Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley’s Budget on Monday as one that was required for the moment.
However, he is insisting that as the Government makes the effort to “shield Barbadians from what is happening externally”, the public and private sector must play a major role in helping the country achieve economic recovery and growth.
While making his contribution to the Appropriation Bill, 2022, on Tuesday, Straughn said that even after battling to keep the country afloat amid economic losses over the past two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Mottley-led administration will continue to provide good leadership.
“Yesterday, you would have heard the Prime Minister deliver what I believe to be a critical part of the transformational agenda for this country, and given the state of the circumstances with respect to the economy, it is absolutely clear, Sir, that we can’t do everything at the same time,” the Minister said.
He gave the assurance that the fiscal discipline the Government exhibited over the last four years will continue, but insisted that the public sector must focus on improvements in the delivery of service, while the private sector should pay close attention to increasing export of products and services.
“And if we can do that, both as the public sector and the private sector, and as individuals that we assess what we do with our time, how we access training, how we improve our circumstances either locally or internationally, then I believe that with that combination aggressively we will be able not just to recover but we will be able to ensure that there is long lasting stability as well as long lasting prosperity for all of our citizens,” Straughn said.
However, he warned that while significant focus is placed on jumpstarting the economy, particularly through the lifting of the COVID-19 protocols, the consequences of the Ukraine-Russia conflict are already being seen and felt.
“I hope that it will be short-lived and I also hope that throughout the course of this year, that we will not see any further disruptions by way of natural disaster. Because the truth is that the economy as it stands now and our capacity as a country to respond, is actually quite constrained. But we have always made choices with respect to when to suspend programmes within Government, how to enhance or increase any social protection mechanism,” Straughn said. (AH)
