ON THE EVE of government’s intended lay-off of thousands of public officers, the new head of the Private Sector Association believes that the business sector has to fill the breach.
Speaking to the media yesterday following a handover ceremony at Hilton Barbados, new chairman Alex McDonald said it was time to move beyond the gloom and look toward what the private sector could do “to step into that breach”.
“If there are going to be consolidations what will the service fall-off be and how can the private sector step up and step into those places so that Government doesn’t have to lift that load by itself,” he said when asked about the cuts.
McDonald, a former CEO of LIME Barbados, took over the chairmanship from John Williams.
With regard to displaced workers, he encouraged them to look at where they could fit in even during these tough economic times.
“What we have to do is to see where we can turn this from a negative into a positive. That is the big thrust,” he said.
McDonald does not believe there is any panic among business owners at this time, but he said there was a level of cautious waiting, which he warned could also lead to procrastination.
“I don’t think there is a level of panic; there is a level of cautious waiting but the result may actually be the same because if you do nothing the result is that you are not going to hire anybody or you are not going to bring in new stuff. You are just going to rally out and see what the effect is.”
In terms of investment opportunities, McDonald once again detected a cautionary approach among businessmen but he called for less talk and more action toward growth.
The man he replaced, John Williams, said Barbados was now paying a high price for not taking serious action earlier during the economic crises.
He recalled that he warned back in 2011 when he assumed the leadership of the association that Barbados did not have to rely on someone from outside to tell the country what it needed to do and that “we were mature and responsible enough” to develop and implement the measures needed to bring us back onto the right path.
He said at that time many people characterised this as negative thinking or doom and gloom and continued as if no serious action was required.
“Regrettably this denial has cost us dearly and we have a much higher price to pay now,” he said.
Williams also called for action without any further delay. (MB)
