BARBADOS HAS EVERYTHING it needs to revive the economy and does not have to rush to boost domestic consumption or compare its growth with that of some neighbouring countries whose gross domestic product (GDP) is far less than ours.
This is the view of Central Bank Governor Dr DeLisle Worrell, who insisted that sustainable growth was a marathon and not a sprint, and therefore if Barbados boosted domestic consumption too quickly, it would run out of foreign exchange.
“Only the hopelessly naive will rush to the front of the field. For Barbados, the proper comparison is not with the growth of countries like Guyana and the Dominican Republic whose GDP is less than a third of our own, but with The Bahamas and Bermuda, where GDP is much higher.
“If you compare Barbados’ performance since the 2008 crisis with that of The Bahamas and Bermuda, we see no great difference,” he told the Barbados Chamber of Commerce & Industry (BCCI) during its second 2013 lunchtime lecture at Hilton Barbados last Wednesday.
In his feature address, entitled Growing The Economy, Worrell said Barbados had all it needed to revive the economy, including innovation and entrepreneurship at home and in the diaspora; examples of success in tourism, international business, agro-processing and alternative energy; and being in the top one-third of global competitiveness as measured by the Global Forum.
Worrell also said Barbados had become legendary as a tropical resort destination, while Government and the country’s well established private enterprises had access to domestic and foreign funding.
He called for greater efforts to identify the sources of Government inefficiency, and to devise practical ways of achieving lasting gains in efficiency.
He also urged that appropriate financing arrangements be put in place for innovators; and that every worker and every business owner focus primarily on what each can do to give unsurpassed service and excellent value for money.
“We should have confidence in our ability to renew economic expansion, based on how far we have come in this country,” he said, noting that within two generations Barbadians had transformed this country from Third World to First World status without major natural resources.
“The quality of life in our country is more important than the growth rate. Our Caribbean and Latin American neighbours who are growing have a long way to go before achieving our standard of living. We do not have their backlog of destitution and want. We may therefore take our time to establish sound foundations for growth that will endure, and that we may sustain, whatever the future state of the world,” he said.
Saying that Barbados was in no danger of having to accede to the impositions of the International Monetary Fund or any other agency, since it had $1.4 billion in foreign exchange reserves, Worrell urged that ways be found to increase foreign earnings from tourism, international business, rum, and renewable energy.
“We know what this entails: increasing Government efficiency, developing more appropriate financial strategies, and transforming work attitudes,” he said. (RJ)
