Two top economists have joined the call for Government to implement its growth strategies now as it faces the possibility of being ignored by international investors.
Barbados Economic Society president Jeremy Stephen told the WEEKEND NATION that unless Government implements growth initiatives such as the Four Seasons and Almond Beach resort projects, confidence in the Barbados economy will worsen.
“We at the BES believe that if the Barbados Government is not able to implement any growth initiatives as outlined in the Budget, that is make sure the financing of the Four Seasons project bears fruit so that construction resumes post-haste, as well as the Almond Beach project . . . and about two or three other projects – if those are not put into place then it is very likely that the confidence within this economy will dip a lot more,” he stated.
He made the comment yesterday after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) released its forecast of negative 0.8 and 1.1 per cent growth for Barbados – the worst in the Western Hemisphere.
Former BES head Ryan Straughn said the IMF forecasts should not be downplayed since they generally act as a benchmark for investors to know where to put their money.
“Investors do not have the kind of information which IMF officials would collect when they visit a country . . . and the IMF was here in July prior to the investment road show [by the Minister of Finance] in the international market. Given that Barbados is the only country that isn’t projected to grow, that of itself would signal to the market that something is not right here,” Straughn stated.