Good initiatives; need to be managed – Atherley

Former Opposition Leader Bishop Joseph Atherley has given a thumbs up to the measures announced by Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley to help Barbadians cope with the rising cost of living.

However, he is warning Government to keep a close eye on the private sector to make sure that they follow through with making the adjustments to the prices of their goods and services.

Atherley, who is chairman of the Alliance Party for Progress (APP), also saluted the private sector for being part of the arrangements that allow for consumers to benefit from lower prices, but said it must not be forgotten that prior to the war between Russia and Ukraine, inflation trends were evident in Barbados.

He said consumers crying out about high prices started long before the ongoing war in Europe, which has made the situation worse.

“Having said that, the move is a good move. I do not think ultimately all that could have been done has been done and we hope that we would hear from the Government further in terms of further ease.

“But, I want to know that there is in place, a proper and functional mechanism for managing. The private sector in Barbados has perhaps to some extent, justifiably attracted the criticism of exploiting consumers when the occasion presents itself. And one remembers when we had some adjustments to the NSRL [National Social Responsibility Levy] and you would have imagined that prices would have come down but they didn’t,” he said.

Last Thursday, during a televised broadcast, Prime Minister Mottley announced that the Value Added Tax (VAT) would be reduced from 17.5 to 7.5 per cent for the first 250 kilowatt hours of electricity for residential customers and that the VAT would be removed from scores of supermarket items for at least the next six months. Mottley also announced the Schools Meals Department will provide lunches to all school-aged children from July 25 to September 2, 2022.

Meanwhile, Atherley who served as Opposition Leader from June 2018 until January 2022, said he is not of the opinion that the Government has done enough to address the concerns in the energy sector, which is one of the principal drivers of the economy.

He said that while he is satisfied that householders would be benefiting from the reduction on VAT on the electricity bills, sufficient has not been done for those in the transport sector who have been crying out.

“Taxi drivers for instance, who have not had an increase in their fares for years have been complaining before this last couple of years.

“They are feeling the pressure in the transport sector and if you don’t effectively address what results in the energy cost that consumers must pay, whether it is in the domestic sector or the business sector, then you have not really done much because energy is one of the principal drivers of all the activities in which we engage.

“Supermarkets and every business entity operate based on energy production. If you are not going to address that more effectively you are sort of stopping short of where you perhaps should have been able to go in your attempts to ease the pain on the pockets of consumers,” he said.

And while Atherley is pleased that students will be offered school meals during the summer vacation, he is concerned about the logistics regarding how the beneficiaries will get the meal.

He added that he hoped the students and parents who will access the meals would be able to do so with a sense of dignity.

“We do not want to create situations where people are made to look as though they are dependent on the state for basic food items in a desperate way and that it is only a certain category or class of people.

“Whatever we do the logistics must be such that we don’t create cost issues for family and households and that we don’t erode the dignity of households, particularly of children,” Atherley said.