President of the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) Verla DePeiza has called on Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley to present a Budget “as a matter of urgency”.
De Peiza said this would give direction to planned recovery.
The DLP president was responding to the Central Bank’s quarterly report on Wednesday and said “the statistics of the most recent Central Bank report bear absolutely no relation to the reality faced by many Barbadians today”.
“It is meaningless to the average Barbadian to report growth of 5.5% in the economy without stressing that this is when compared to the previous period and/or the same period of last year. Because that is the only context within which it makes sense and we know 5.5% over nothing is really no growth.
“The scale of the economic recession we now are in belies the statistics. It has taken an enormous toll on households, on businesses, on jobs and opportunities.
De Peiza said this “is compounded by this Government’s failure to care and mitigate these outcomes by creating a safety net for its people”.
The DLP president had a number of questions:
“Why has there been no extended access to unemployment benefits? This was done by the former DLP administration with less resources than what this current Government continually boasts of.
“Why have there been no holistic measures to cushion the impact of rising prices in the market? What makes matters even worse is this Government’s failure to honour its promise to workers to secure their severance payments. Hundreds still cannot get from their former employers.”
De Pezia said a clear policy plan is needed and these issues can be addressed by the presentation of a budget.
“This would provide direction for a planned recovery, as opposed to the current perception of this government holding its breath while waiting for tourism to take a breath.
She said a plan would also set out a roadmap for diversification of the economy, particularly as it relates to agriculture. (PR)
