THE NOTION THAT SOMEHOW I dislike the governor of the Central Bank, Dr DeLisle Worrell, is petty. In fact, I have every reason to like, respect and admire the governor for his stellar contribution to the economics profession.
However I am equally entitled to be critical of him, once the criticism can be justified.
The notion above has been espoused by the minister of finance among others on several occasions. There is not one occasion that empirical evidence was not provided to justify my alternative perspectives on the Barbados economy. Truth be told, it has not been difficult to identify flaws in the analyses of the Government’s economic spokesmen.
The current administration deliberately offloaded the major responsibility for speaking on the economy to the governor, except, of course, in Parliament. This policy was consistent with the declared mantra that “Barbados is more than an economy, it is a society.” In essence, the Government was attempting to reduce the economy’s importance in any objective evaluation of its performance.
Perhaps, the strategy was adopted in recognition of the administration’s shortage of talent in the area of economic analysis. This is understandable as the area does not attract the numbers that go, for example, to the legal profession and have an interest in politics. It is okay to call “a spade a spade”.
In the circumstances, given the well-earned reputation of the central bank since the 1970s, it made sense for the Government to attempt to pass on such a responsibility to the institution. This would mean that a perceived non-political figure has responsibility for a significant chunk of the politics of the Government. If allowed to go unnoticed, the voice of the governor becomes the voice on the economy.
In spite of the writer’s consistency and accuracy in analysing the Barbados economy, there is no escaping the political tag. In some sense, it is unfortunate because there have been physicians in politics whose medical assessments were not perceived to be tainted by their politics. The difference in perception would require an analysis that appreciates societal, not just class, biases.
In a political system that revolves around parliamentary democracy, the real economic discussions on the country’s development path would have been contracted out to the central bank. This is the political intent of espousing the mantra that “Barbados is more than an economy, it is a society”. Such attempts in politics to play with the voters’ minds are very deliberate.
Contrary to what the mantra says, there is no developed society that is not driven by an economy. All talk and no money makes a society very primitive indeed. According to the official statistics, there is less money in the economy now than 10 years ago. This speaks volumes of the country’s underperformance. Unfortunately, the societal decay has been equally impressive.
Over the next eighteen months, Barbadians are expected to forget all that went in the last eight years and look to the future with renewed optimism. Again, the central bank is to be a major voice in singing this new hope. The voice is however not what it was in the past.
Sometimes in looking to make a difference, one has to question the author of the proposed change. Such intent is difficult to question but the means by which the change is expected to occur is much easier to question. From its inception, the central bank earned a reputation for speaking on economic issues but it never thirsted to become the dominant voice. As seductive as such a desire is, it is a poisoned chalice.
In recent times, the bank is even trying to champion the cause of alternative energy in Barbados. It has stepped into the fiscal arena with such a passion that it minimises the mission and purpose of the ministry of finance and economic affairs. The path of power has become inverted. In the legal profession, junior attorneys go to the seniors’ offices for meetings and likewise senior attorneys go to the offices of Queen’s Counsel. The path of authority is clearly establishedas it should be in politics.
It is imperative for me to put context to some of the things in the political arena to give the readers a better understanding of the why, and not just the what, of happenings in the economy. There is no doubt that the economy and the society are linked, but whether the link is good or bad rests in the domain of the politicians. Beware of the Greeks bearing gifts.
• Dr Clyde Mascoll is an economist and Opposition Barbados Labour Party advisor on the economy. Email: [email protected]
