Member of Parliament for St. John, Mara Thompson is saying that while some people are using the recent downgrades of the Barbados economy to score political points, the ranking must be placed in the context of the economy’s performance.
Speaking in the House of Assembly yesterday on the Appropriation Bill 2017, Thompson indicated that a downgrade was not a review of the economy, but rather signals to lenders or financiers the possibility of a country on the brink of defaulting.
“A default is a technical term, so any attempt to vary the repayment terms, or paying a day late, could amount to a default. Barbados has an impressive record of meeting payments, including a payment bill. Barbadians must know that the same measures the Opposition is marching for, are the same policies the external agencies would want us to engage, destroying the social services and crashing families by slashing jobs. I challenge the Opposition to speak the facts,” she said.
The Member of Parliament said the DLP must continue to distinguish itself from the other side by putting Barbados first as it has historically done. She stressed that her party has continued to make decisions in the interest of the of the country and its people.”
Thompson added that she was saddened that the world was being given the impression that the ruling administration began life in 2017, when for the past eight years, it has been producing and ensuring that Barbadians were not the subject of experiments by international rating agencies.
“On this occasion, I want to associate myself with the recent initiative launched by the Democratic Labour Party, called the FACTS. If it is going to take the truth to save Barbados from the axis of evil that is spinning out of control then let the truth prevail. On the other hand, the call of the BLP has been to put its party first at the expense of the country and its people. The success accumulated to them over the years has come back to further corrupt the fabric of the party. You start wrong and you end wrong,” she remarked.
"I have lived to see this country and its leaders shower praise on Sir Lloyd Erskine Sandiford and on Errol Barrow for their attempts to steer this country from the jaws of the IMF. However, in the face of those tough decisions, they faced the fire. Let us be fair in this 2017-2018 Estimates debate and honestly accept that the Barbados of the past will not be recaptured in form or fashion. The economic volatility of our global environment has rendered our boundaries for us. Our Parliament needs to tell the nation the truth. Our Estimates cannot be reduced to a debate about the size of a deficit, or the increase in spending. We must have the debate on what matters, the future of the nation,” Thompson added.
She charged that while members of the Opposition highlight Government’s high levels of expenditure, they have already demonstrated how they intend to spend taxpayers dollars.
However, she said Government, acting responsibly, seeks to find ways of maintaining expenditure while repaying inherited debt.
“In all my years of witnessing Estimates debates in this chamber Mr. Speaker, I have never seen the DLP march before an Estimates debate, when really and truly, they had more to march for. With the IMF (International Monetary Fund) confirming the struggles Caribbean economies face, and also saying what they must do, it is no secret that we have said ‘no’ in the past, and have stuck to our philosophical belief that devaluation hurts, and it errodes gains. I have seen the crocodile tears of members from the Oppoistion, about how they care for this beloved country, yet a diet of untruths have been fed to this country on the belief that Barbados must burn before help is rendered,” Thompson said.
The Deputy Speaker of the House said the realities of the complexities of the modern day global environment have led to a total relook of what is normal.
She noted that recent reports from the Central Bank indicated that Barbados’ economy had grown 1.9 per cent and unemployment is now in single digit, while Government acknowledge efforts to keep the international business sector afloat and has reduced taxes in that sector, a response to a very real call from key trading partners that business should stay home.
“Our revenue from taxes from that sector is down by 200 million per year. But our expenses remain the same. Barbadians expect to be paid every month, medicines have to be obtained for the sick, the elderly have to be cared for, the children have to be fed, Members of Parliament and the Opposition have to be paid.
“Let us look at a household Mr. Speaker, where you have reduced revenue and expenses still the same, something has to give. So the head of the household can choose to reduce expenses or seek to increase revenues. We have heard from our Cabinet and Minister of Finance [Christopher Sinckler] that Barbados faces similar situations, with much less resources at this country’s disposal. We have tried our best to restore financial sanity in quarters of the Treasury where a group once ran wild, believing the Treasury was a war chest to be opened at the sound of an election bell,” she said.
Thompson highlighted that the measures taken, forms part of the fiscal responsibility that Government continues to demonstrate with regard to the purse of the taxpayers, through making cuts across the board and merely utilising anticipated reduced revenues that can be apportioned.
“We cannot expect in an attempt to restructure our economy and place us on a path of growth that allows for greater fiscal management, to not experience a difference. Barbados must appreciate that this country, despite the times, has done extremely well,” she said.
She pointed out some of the achivements accomplished by the Ministry of Education, including the transformation of The Lodge School. (AH)