Prime Minister Mia Mottley Friday announced that Barbados will seek a new loan agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) this month, telling Barbadians “these are indeed rough waters.”
In 2018, the Washington-based financial institution approved a US$290 million Extended Arrangement under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) for Barbados, noting then that the program was aimed at helping the island restore debt sustainability, strengthen the external position, and improve growth prospects.
Mottley, speaking at a news conference, said her government decided to return to the IMF later this month “with the intent of starting a BERT (Barbados Economic Recovery and Transformation) 2022 program.
“This decision has not been taken lightly, but this is being done to ensure Barbados can continue its trajectory of positive growth,” she said.
“In addition to providing further means to stabilize our country, this program will unlock critically important funding, giving Barbados a boost on the great progress we have already made, despite the hardships brought on by the global challenges,” Mottley said.
She told Barbadians “these are indeed rough waters, but this is not a race for the swift and I know we can and will endure and at the same time create a better society for every Bajan to live in.”
In September 2021, the government announced that the BERT program had been updated to reflect the arrival of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and its comprehensive response. The authorities said then that BERT was not a rigid set of targets, but a plan of action and behavior that was measured and monitored.
Mottley defended the decision to seek assistance from the IMF, saying Barbados could have easily gone to the international market to raise the required funds.
“But I don’t want to go to the market when interest rates are being increased. We can go to the IMF and pay a fraction of what the market will ask us to pay,” she said, adding that the environment on the international market is not something the island would want to be involved with at this time.
“So we know the reality that outside is overcast globally, and there is a possibility of not just some showers, but some hurricanes and earthquakes and other things that are destabilizing countries.
“All we are saying is, blame the government, we playing inside the crease, we will step outside the crease to play a few shots when we can and we want to work with the private sector to trigger the growth that is necessary.
“There are things we are still not comfortable about as a government with respect to the facilitation of business, we are getting there,” she assured Barbadians.
Mottley, who announced that she will be in Paris” on Monday before traveling to Washington, said she will have discussions in the French capital with the representatives of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) on taxation issues.
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