Budget hope

Minister of Finance Chris Sinckler will deliver his third and most eagerly anticipated Budgetary Proposals today since being appointed to the position in September 2010 by late Prime Minister David Thompson weeks before his death.
With the country still fighting off the effects of a global economic slowdown that has hit hard Barbados’ main trading partners; the eagle eyes of two international rating agencies monitoring developments in the country; a hungry Opposition party; and a general election looming, what Sinckler delivers will be important on several fronts.
Barbados Chamber of Commerce & Industry president Lalu Vaswani has asked Sinckler to use whatever methods he has at his disposal to put more money in the hands of consumers.
He pointed out that many of the austere measures in the 2010 Budget had restricted consumer spending and had dampened activity in a consumer-driven economy.