IN SEPTEMBER 2011, I happily accepted the invitation by the Barbados Chamber of Commerce & Industry to participate in a post-Budget breakfast session. As part of the presentation, I said: “this Budget was a huge mistake that is going to hurt the economy very badly in the long run.” I also said that the Government of Barbados had an expenditure problem since current revenue was inadequate to allow the Government to meet the needs of the society. Sadly, I was right.
The fact that I was not born in Barbados, coupled with the inability of the Government to respond appropriately to the content of my message, opened the floodgates to ministers and other supportes/followers of the ruling Democratic Labour Party to attempt to kill the messenger while skilfully ignoring the message.
I raised the issue of the ridiculous reaction of Government ministers and others with someone whom I thought had my back. That person’s reaction was as shocking as what went on in the Parliament during the rest of the debate on the Budget – the senseless attacks on me by various members of Parliament on the Government side. All of those things combined led me to a simple conclusion: I will leave discussions of economic matters in Barbados to Barbadian economists and others.
Let it be clear to all that no one in the present Government of Barbados can shut me up. Further, when it comes to economics and economic matters, I am fully confident that I have the intellectual capacity to take on any member or members of the Government individually or collectively and be the vanquisher.
The reality, though, is that I do live and work in Barbados. I am also a citizen of this beautiful rock. Am I therefore prepared to sit back idly while those in authority continue to make a mockery of the economic reality facing this country? The answer is yes for the most part, since I’ll leave the commenting on such matters to those born in Barbados. But, on the odd occasion, I will break my silence if only to remind our economic managers that they need once and for all to stop the gimmicks.
Let’s be real. How could the members of this present Government sleep comfortably when night falls, having to live with the nonsense that is presented to them and the Barbadian public every quarter in this country – nonsense that is packaged as a report on the economy for the previous quarter. Excuse me if “nonsense” sounds strong, but I have to use it in the absence of a proper synonym.
Can you imagine that an economy has grown by only 0.3 per cent in the first nine months of 2015 and is projected to grow by 0.5 per cent for the entire year, one per cent in 2016 and two per cent in the years thereafter having been in a depressed state for well over seven years? Yet, we are told that the 0.3 per cent so-called growth has something to do with the construction industry performing less than expected.
Whose expectation is the actual performance of this industry being cast against? What was the expectation based upon in the first instance? I have said it before and I will repeat: If the Government is serious about the economic future of this country, it ought to move with alacrity and find from within or outside of Barbados people who can provide sound advice on fiscal policies, monetary policies and perhaps more importantly structural policies to give the country a chance of reconfiguring its socioeconomic landscape.
Those who are currently responsible for the economic management of this country from the technical side have failed us badly and continue to do so with impunity. The end for them has to be now. The economic gimmicks must stop at this instant, period!
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