Despite the tough economic measures imposed by Government, Barbadians are not struggling to make ends meet.
In fact, Senator Jepter Ince has suggested that Barbadians are still living comfortably, and point to the purchase of new cars to support his argument.
Speaking at yesterday’s Astor B Watts Lecture Series hosted by the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) at its headquarters on George Street, Belleville, the Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs maintained Government made economic decisions in the best interest of the country.
“Barbadians are still able to purchase motor cars, our children are going to school Monday morning and have school meals, our elderly are going to continue to go to the QEH [Queen Elizabeth Hospital] and have quality service,” Ince said.
“In the midst of our declining revenues . . . we had to safeguard the present. And how can we safeguard the present? By making economic decisions in the best interest of Barbados.
“Yes there were layoffs, yes we moved VAT [Value Added Tax] from 15 per cent to 17.5 per cent because it was absolutely necessary. If your revenue for your main sources are declining then tell me what you are going to do . . . . We knew that it was going to be painful but the end results were going to be great and we are already seeing the end results of those decisions,” he added. (RB)