B’dos to clear up contents of Doing Business report

 

THE Barbados Government intends moving to clear up what are believed to be some misrepresentations in the Report about Doing Business in Barbados.
 
This assurance was given by  The Right Hon., Freundel Stuart, Prime Minister of Barbados while updating the media on discussions at Monday’s meeting of the Social Partnership at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Conference Centre.
 
Stuart said that while it was agreed that all of the explanations contained in the recent World Bank Report on Doing Business in Barbados would satisfy the most elastic definition of accurate, it was decided that some of the contents of the report could influence people who want to do business in Barbados. “Therefore we have to treat perceptions as reality,” the Prime Minister said.
 
He stated that one area of concern is that when information published in the report is challenged, there have been no responses to the challenges. Stuart noted therefore it is not known who the persons compiling the report had spoken to in Barbados.
 
“We are committed to ensuring that we get to the bottom of it and that Barbados’ position is not perversely misrepresented,” he declared. The Report had put Barbados at position 118 out of 189 countries, which already brought a sharp reaction by Donville Inniss, the Minister of International Business.
 
One of the highlights of the discussions on the Ease of Doing Business in Barbados was a presentation  by Mr. Andrew Brathwaite, representing the Private Sector, who zeroed in on the same World Bank Report.
 
 Stuart said it was a meeting which should have taken place since May. However, he said that because of certain requests made by the other two partners it was decided to get some pressing issues out of the way before agreeing to convene for Monday’s meeting.
 
Members dealt with a number of issues which Barbados has to deal with, if according to the Prime Minister, Barbados is to make a great leap forward. There was agreement on such issues as the country’s macroeconomic position, and the state of the foreign reserves.
 
He said there were presentations by the Central Bank of Barbados and the Private Sector, which the Prime Minister said got the respect, approval and admiration of the Social Partnership members. He said that they committed themselves to ensuring that the macroeconomic situation does not deteriorate.
 
They also dealt with productivity. “Everyone left the meeting committed to the Social Partnership to guarantee Barbados’ viability,” Mr. Stuart added.

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