GOVERNMENT will be seeking to ease the escalating cost of living for Barbadians as soon as the economy improves further, says Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs Chris Sinckler.
For now though the best thing Government can do to assist the average Barbadian is “to ensure that we keep Barbados’ economy and the very fabric of this society stable and together”.
In tomorrow’s BIG INTERVIEW, Sinckler explains there is little the Government can do at this time to relieve the situation faced by Barbadians as the economy is still not out of the woods.
“Whilst one is discomforted by the situation in relation to prices . . . I think that the average citizen is aware of what is happening now, as it was in 2008, is being driven by exogenous factors, many of which, or most of which we have very little control over,” said Sinckler.
The minister conceded that the Government was earning more than it had projected from increasing the excise tax on gasoline, due to the price hikes on that commodity so far this year. But he said cutting this tax as a way to reduce prices at the pump, would have to be examined within the context of Government’s overall revenues.
“You have to take the things in totality and deal with them in that perspective. But one cannot deny that this is a fairly difficult situation and I think we will have to ride it out and see where interventions can be made and ever so subtly to help Barbadians through this very difficult period,” Sinckler said. (SP)
