BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC – Prime Minister Mia Mottley saying that she cannot promise Barbadians a “rose garden” next year, nonetheless presented a positive outlook of the local economy since her administration came to power six months ago.
Promises kept
She said her ruling Barbados Labor Party (BLP), which won all the 30 seats in the May 24 general election, had so far kept up with the promises made to citizens during the campaign.
In a ministerial statement to Parliament on Tuesday night, Mottley, the nation’s first woman prime minister, said the economy was turning around even as she expressed regret that the policies had resulted in hundreds of workers being made unemployed.
No danger of devaluation
She told legislators the foreign reserves had reached its highest level in four years, the local currency was no longer in danger of being devalued and the debt to gross domestic product (GDP) ratio had fallen to 123 per cent. n addition, the island received its first credit rating upgrade in 15 years.
“To say we have come a long and far way would be to make the understatement of the year,” she told legislators, adding “what we assured the people of Barbados six months ago, was that we would work assiduously and selflessly to turn the outlook and the fortunes of this country around. We promised we would stop the decay and decline. That we would stop the hemorrhaging, and that we would return pride to, and confidence in, the Barbadian brand.
“We promised six months ago, that we would bring Barbados back to where it belongs . . . in the region, in the world and in the psyche of Barbadians, living at home and abroad.”
Mission accomplished
Mottley said that she was proud to report “using every yardstick and every other measure available to me, that this noble mission…has been accomplished.
“Barbados is punching once again above its weight division,” She told Parliament even as she acknowledged the bitter sweet environment in which the Barbados Economic Recovery and Transition Program (BERT) has had to operate in order to turn around the economy.
“The plan has halted and reversed the six-year slide in our reserves, which have jumped from just BDS$400 million to over one billion dollars,” she said, adding “indeed today our Gross International Reserves stood at BDS$1.044 billion – the first time since 2014.”
“We will now save approximately BDS$500 million of interest per year. As a result of this and the economic adjustments we have made, the government will not need to borrow domestically for the next four years, and our debt levels have been put on a downward sustainable path.
“It has already fallen from approximately 170 per cent of national income to 134 per cent. If we use the new GDP numbers, as we must now, our debt to GDP ratio is 123 per cent Our goal is to get it below 100 per cent in five years,” she said.
Increased tax revenues
Mottley told Parliament that between April and November this year, the gross tax revenues increased by BDS$118 million compared with last year and expenditures fell by BDS$322 million, leading to an improvement in the fiscal position of BDS$430 million.
Mottley, who is also the Minister of Finance, said BERT had also seen international credit rating agencies give their support with the first credit upgrade in over 15 years.
“As the first six months leave us, we have reached our milestone. The first bell can be rung. Barbados is back. This Christmas you can take a breather. But being back is not enough. The journey continues. We are on track, but there is much further to go.
“I cannot promise a rose garden in the next 12 months, but what I can say, is that I am confident that by December 18th, 2019, fewer persons in this country will have reason to complain. Fewer persons would be without a job. Fewer persons will be living below the poverty line. Our infrastructure would have undergone a major overhaul and the standard of living of our people would continue to rise,” Mottley said.
