The country is on the right track but the pace of economic growth needs to be increased.
This is the view of co-chair of the Barbados Economic Recovery and Transformation (BERT) Programme Monitoring Committee, Edward Clarke.
Clarke, who is also chairman of the Barbados Private Sector Association, had earlier said that Government had met or surpassed many of the targets set in the last quarter of last year.
He stressed it was critical that Government continued to meet its targets, as failure to do so could jeopardise the country’s ability to access more funding from crucial financial partners.
“It is critical, though, that we meet the targets of the country and I think at this stage we have to have a positive outlook,” Clarke noted.
But he said he felt the country and its economy were on the right track.
“The growth needs to speed up a bit but I think we are on the right track in trying to fix the holes that were there, and now it is transformation time,” Clarke said.
He stressed the reorganisation of seven keys sectors of the economy, including Immigration, the Town and Country Planning Department and the Barbados Licensing Authority, was critical to the transformation of the economy.
“That is why I think it is extremely critical, as Senator [Kay] McConney has identified what I call the seven sisters, the seven enterprises that have to be transformed to make businesses in Barbados faster, fitter, more efficient. That is going to help us to achieve these targets. But it has to be done in a structured manner.” ( HLE)
