Bridgetown.
Barbados economy is well managed and the Government is taking the correct measures to guide it back to growth, this view was expressed by the Central Bank of Governor Dr. DeLisle Worrell during a address to a luncheon meeting of the Barbados Chamber of Commerce & Industry (BCCI) at the Hilton Hotel yesterday.
Worrell assured the members of BCCI that the country was nowhere near to falling into the clutches of the International Monetary Fund, but also cautioned that Government would be acting “hopelessly naive” if it moved to spur quick economic growth instead of the “marathon” that was more desirable.
He told the meeting that “the quality of life in our country is more important than the growth rate”, while also informing them that the island had all of the ingredients to reach the sustained growth it needed.
The Governor supported Government’s new $600 million stimulus package on the basis that it not only had the potential to earn foreign exchange, but also attract foreign investment.
“Sustainable growth is a marathon, not a sprint. If you rush out of the starting gate, boosting domestic consumption, you will run out of foreign exchange, with the risk of losing the gains you have made in the short run. In a race with experienced marathoners, only the hopelessly naive will rush to the front of the field,” Worrell said.
“For Barbados, the proper comparison is not with the growth of countries like Guyana and the Dominican Republic whose GDP is less than a third of our own, but with The Bahamas and Bermuda where GDP is much higher. If you compare Barbados’ performance since the 2008 crisis with that of The Bahamas and Bermuda, we see no great difference", he added.
You must be logged in to post a comment.