Opposition Leader Mia Mottley wants the David Thompson administration to present this year’s Financial Statement and Budgetary Proposals as a matter of urgency.Mottley made this call on Sunday night at Combermere School while addressing a joint Barbados Labour Party (BLP) St Michael North East/St Michael Central meeting.The St Michael North East MP charged that the Barbadian public and the sectors of the economy “cannot take the pressure any longer”.She said: “This country needs urgent action in the form of a Budget. Companies cannot hold strain for much longer. Travelling officers are not receiving their travelling [allowances] and pensioners, who expect assistance with the payment of their water bills, are not receiving that assistance. The country needs a Budget to know how the tourism industry would be stabilised over the next 12 to 14 months. The Thompson administration provided $25 million to assist the tourism sector, but claims in excess of $75 were submitted.”Turning to the agricultural sector, Mottley told the gathering that sugar estates in the St Michael North East constituency could not sustain the losses for much longer. The Opposition Leader said that while the cost of production was $96 per tonne of sugar canes, farmers were being paid $56 per tonne by sugar factories.She recalled that during his tenure as Prime Minister of Barbados, Owen Arthur ensured that yearly incentives were offered to the agricultural sector during his Budgetary presentations.“Arthur offered these incentives to keep the agricultural sector viable. If sugar production dies, the rum industry will also die with the loss of foreign exchange. Sugar production also stabilises the top soil. If the island goes out of sugar production, the island’s landscape will look similar to that of St Kitts. As a tourist destination we cannot afford to have large tracts of unattractive wastelands dotting the landscape. In addition, non-sugar agriculture will be affected,” Mottley explained.She noted that the agricultural sector needed “a mere $20 million” out of a $4 billion budget to keep it viable.Addressing the concerns of the manufacturing sector, the St Michael North East MP said manufacturers had begun to express concern over the imminent introduction of a three per cent environmental levy on all goods manufactured in Barbados. (WG)
