IT’S NOT UNUSUAL to hear commentators argue that when all the fluff is stripped away there is really no philosophical difference between the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) and the Barbados Labour Party (BLP). That’s perhaps why it has been so easy over the years for even the most staunch members of one to change the colour of his shirt with the greatest of ease any time there is a dispute.
And it is not just that they change parties. At the drop of a hat they can mount that new platform and denounce with apparent conviction the “policies” they may have been spouting for decades.
Under the circumstances therefore it ought not to be a challenge for Prime Minister Freundel Stuart and Minister of Finance Chris Sinckler to give reasonable consideration to the advice of former Prime Minister Owen Arthur regarding Barbados’ relationship with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
It would be hard to find a right-thinking Barbadian who does not harbour some degree of concern about the state of the economy, the way it is being handled by the current administration and the length of time the country has been struggling to raise its head above water, while others appear to be returning to a healthy state.
Owen Arthur is not “the average” Barbadian. He has been a very successful minister of finance and he is an economist whose standing among peers is quite high.
On the face of it, his advice to the Government during this week’s SALISES Development Lecture makes a lot of sense. Barbados has been following the advice of the IMF while apparently resisting all urgings to formally sign on to an appropriate programme of the institution. By doing this, Arthur has noted, the country is enduring the stringencies without the benefit of the tens of millions of IMF funds that would be available to it had it signed on.
Arthur contrasts the Barbados position with Jamaica’s and St Kitts’, both of which formally adopted IMF programmes. In the case of Jamaica, the economy has been making strides and last week had its status upgraded by Moody’s. St Kitts, Arthur said, is now the fastest growing economy in the region.
Perhaps it would be prudent for Minister Sinckler or the Prime Minister to have a chat with the country and explain why it would “essentially employ IMF policies” while denying itself access to the more than US$600 million it would be entitled to borrow at one per cent interest.
We are willing to hazard a guess that neither the Minister of Finance nor the Prime Minister is happy with the economic progress the country has made in the last eight years. If we are right, then it ought not to be too hard for them to try an alternative course of action.
This country has slipped too far to fast and the longer we continue on this path the more corrective/remedial work we will have to do when we emerge from this period of hardship. Services to our citizens are being reduced while their tax burden is increasing. What services remain are in too many instance below the traditional standard, and our infrastructure is crumbling with no signs of credible programmes to arrest the deterioration.
A fresh approach would seem sensible.