PM: BUY LOCAL

GOVERNMENT is going to put all measures in place to ensure that Barbadians buy local, even if it means disciplining consumers.

This was the declaration of Prime Minister Freundel Stuart, who set the record straight that the rationale behind the imposition of the two per cent commission on foreign exchange transactions is to garner support for Barbadian workers and businesses, rather than continuing to use Barbados’ foreign exchange to support manufacturers in other parts of the world.

“Now, the framework within which all of that is being introduced is that where people’s inputs necessary have to come from abroad, account will be taken of that because you don’t want to frustrate people’s spirit of innovation [and] people’s spirit of entrepreneurship by making access to inputs burdensome,” Stuart said.

Speaking to the media during a tour of the 2017 Barbados Manufacturers’ Exhibition (BMEX), at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre, yesterday, Prime Minister Stuart said while there is often much talk across all sectors about the importance of earning foreign exchange, which he said is indeed necessary, too little time has been spent focusing on how to save foreign exchange.

He explained that the two per cent imposition, which takes effect from July 1, as was announced by Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs, Christopher Sinckler, when he delivered the 2017 Financial Statements and Budgetary Proposals last Tuesday, is merely another way of disciplining the consumer in Barbados.

“Nobody is going to stop anybody from importing, or using foreign exchange to support businesses overseas. All we are saying is if that is what you prefer to do, there is a little penalty that comes along with it.

“It cannot be that Barbados’ future development will rest on the extent to which we support businesses elsewhere, rather than supporting our own here in Barbados,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Prime Minister lauded the works of the manufacturers he interacted with at BMEX, noting that he was very impressed with the products.

He pointed out that a quiet revolution is taking place in the manufacturing sector in Barbados, explaining that there was a time when manufacturing was associated with buildings owned by Government that were rented out through the Barbados Industrial Development Corporation, later to become the Barbados Investment and Development Corporation.

“But, while all of that was happening, we were investing in the education of our young people and we are now beginning to see the fruits of that investment in the stunning creativity of our young people, who are really examples of the spirit of Independence we want to see in Barbados, since they are using the raw materials produced by their environment to produce the kind of products for our local market and that is where we want Barbados to be,” he said.

Prime Minister Stuart also alluded to the fact that the manufacturing sector once contributed much more than it is currently contributing to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

The sector now contributes about four per cent to the GDP, but the Prime Minister said based on what he has seen at BMEX in recent years, it is clear that the manufacturing sector is being rebuilt and “that with the passage of time, we are going to see a robust manufacturing sector in Barbados that will be contributing much more to national output and contributing to Barbados earning increasing amounts of foreign exchange.

He said, as it relates to the difficulty of aspiring entrepreneurs accessing funding, Government has confronted the issue, and will be allocating Bds$20 million for an acceleration of that process, to ensure that young people are not discouraged from getting their businesses off the ground, due to an absence of funding.

“If there is one challenge that is faced by young entrepreneurs over the years, it is access to start-up capital and the Government has taken decisive steps in that area,” Stuart said. (AH)