Straughn defends move to create African links

The roots being established in Africa by the current administration will help create business opportunities for Barbadian businesses and entrepreneurs.

Minister in the Ministry of Finance Ryan Straughn defended government’s decision to set up missions in Ghana and Morocco, while speaking in the Lower House last Tuesday during the debate on the Land Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2019.

“The reality is that there are opportunities taking place and being made available on the continent. We have started to engage actively on that and all we are saying is that for Barbadians, as we continue to do some of the work that was left over for us, we are breaking new ground in order to transition this country and to look to whence we came with a new eye of opportunity and a new eye of kinship,” he said.

Stating that having a physical presence in Africa would go a long way, Straughn outlined that the continent was in the same position China had been decades ago before it reached its current position as world leader.

“We cannot be absent from the decision making that is taking place globally and the way that we have committed to engage the world, which we said in our manifesto that we will…” he noted.

The minister insisted the aim was to build a resilience within the Barbadian economy to weather global economic turmoil.

“We understand that no matter how sound the economic policy may be, unless we have Barbadians actively producing at home and abroad and sending remittances back to Barbados as a concrete way to help build more resilience as far as the economy is concerned, if we do that and be aggressive and not timid in the pursuit of these opportunities, then if at some point in the future there is a set of people like the last, the economy would be much more resilient. Because we would have positioned the country and the people to be able to take advantage of opportunities abroad which could potentially insulate the average Barbadian from making bad public policy,” he added.
(JMB)