Bdos: Economic repositioning long over-due

Arthur and the BLP are paying for their short-sightedness, according to this report which states that Barbados's economy is a decade behind the times.

OPPOSITION LEADER Clyde Mascoll says that Trinidad’s decision to restructure their economy in the ’80s has led to their prosperity. On the other hand, Government’s refusal to restructure the economy in the early ’90s has pushed Barbados back by at least a decade.

Speaking at a recent town hall meeting, Mascoll noted that approximately ten years ago it would have been necessary to put a stabilisation programme in place. “Government spending had gone through the chute – some of the areas were not performing so you had to bring an expenditure adjustment and an increase in taxation in order to curb the deficit,” he said.

“If we had embarked in a restructuring programme in the early 1990s he (Prime Minister Arthur) would have given the sectors (time) to prepare towards globalisation ... which is why we cannot fault Trinidad. I make no apologies for anyone for identifying Trinidad as an example to follow in the region because Trinidad took decisions in the early ’80s and Trinidad prospered as a result,” he said.

He charged that the Barbados Labour Party put Barbados in a position where we are depending on the tourism sector which is “extremely fickle and vulnerable”.

Message to Barbados: throw the bums out! Economic diversity is the watchword. Besides, Barbados has a quality public school system, certainly good enough to be challenging other countries for outsourcing jobs, in spite of a foreign exchange rate of $US = $1BD.