The world is reeling from the impact of the covid-19 pandemic and
Barbados is no exception, with Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley
reporting that revenue for the months of April and May was down by 31
per cent.
Speaking in the Lower House yesterday morning as she piloted the
debate on the Barbados Optional Savings Scheme, the Prime Minister
said that as revenue has dropped, expenditure has increased. She
revealed that that figure was up 21 per cent due to critical
expenditures related to health and water, to assist in solving the
challenges resulting in water shortages in parts of the island.
“It is going to be a difficult year, but it is a year that will not
daunt the spirit of the Barbadian people, nor will not allow us to
feel as though it can get the better of us,” the country’s leader
declared.
With that in mind, she explained that the Barbados Optional Savings
Scheme (BOSS) is an investment opportunity for public servants, which
allows Government to, in one fiscal year, shift approximately $100
million from wages and related expenditure to capital expenditure that
would allow the government to undertake a number of new projects and
expedite existing projects, thereby create employment opportunities
with a significant multiplier effect for economic activity in this
country.
“If the government is going to fix up buildings that were looking
derelict like the old Water Authority Building that the Ministry of
Public Works wants to fix up; the old Ministry of Commerce building on
Reef Road; or to be able to repurpose and to build back facilities in
Bathsheba for the vendors to cater and service the needs of all
passing through that district...; or for us to execute other critical
aspects such as expanding the pace of existing IDB projects like the
ones that are intended to make sure that government buildings convert
to smart energy... these are the types of capital projects that we
will undertake. While at the same time facilitating for the private
sector who have projects that are shovel ready such that we can reduce
the number of Barbadians who have lost their jobs since the beginning
of this year because of this pandemic,” she stated.
PM Mottley made the point while noting that unemployment had increased
significantly over the last few months. While still waiting on the
official figures, she said that at the end of last year unemployment
was around 9.5 per cent and with estimates of just under 20 per cent
of the workforce currently out of work, she indicated that the overall
figure is likely in the region of 30 per cent.
“Mr. Speaker, sometimes in life you have to slow down, you can’t run
at the same pace all the time and all we are doing now is essentially
asking the population to do what you can, how you can, if you can; to
help us become fitter, to help us become stronger, to help us become
more disciplined, to help us become more creative. And in a sense this
is why we are choosing to focus on structural changes that would build
up that capacity,” she in relation to the BOSS initiative.
With that in mind, she referred to some of the capital projects to be
pursued, including $20 million to be spent on fixing schools and the
money to be invested in “aggressively” moving forward with the
digitisation of government’s records. The PM said that government has
already been reaping savings from its initial efforts to go paperless,
with messengers having to transport fewer documents to ministries. The
digitisation efforts, she also indicated, present opportunities for
people who have been unemployed to get work.
(JRT)