BARBADOS WILL STAY on the rigid course advised by Standard & Poor’s, but it will not slash hundreds of jobs in order to quickly lower the country’s deficit.
Minister of Finance Chris Sinckler made that promise yesterday at the opening ceremony of the Financial Services Commission at Warrens, emphasizing that S&P’s recent reclassification of Barbados’ economic outlook was in sync with Government’s programme.
“What S&P is saying is that Barbados needs to stick to its fiscal programme. They’ve not said that the programme is wrong, they say we need to stick to the programme through the next year, ensure that you bring the deficit down, and take whatever additional measures may be required to ensure that you buttress and enforce that fiscal deficit consolidation,” he said in an interview afterwards.
But he added that Government would not “under-reach or overcompensate”.
Full story in tomorrow’s Daily Nation.
