EDITORIAL - The need for an alternative
Over two weeks ago, the Honourable Minister of Finance & Economic Affairs , Mr Chris Sinckler, delivered the budgetary proposals for the economic year 2017-2018. Subsequent popular reaction to these measures has been largely negative. The most representative organisation of public workers, the National Union of Public Workers (NUPW), has firmly declared its opposition to them and has threatened likely industrial action from its members to emphasise this dissent; the normally apolitical Barbados Renewable Energy Association, terming the Budget “an act of fiscal desperation”, recently indicated its own disapproval and the likely negative consequences of the initiatives for the sector, as has the Barbados International Business Association; and there has been an avalanche of generally hostile comments on the various print and social media. Indeed, even two fellow Cabinet members could not find it within themselves to support fully the proposals by the Minister.
None of this is in the least surprising. The imposition of some of the measures, especially the four fold increase in the National Social responsibility Levy will most probably effectuate a steep rise in the cost of living for the population, and the levy on all foreign exchange transactions will doubtless serve to bring about an indirect de facto devaluation of the Barbados dollar. However, we have been also assured that the eventual outcome, if these measures are not taken, will be dire for the country in general and for the public service in particular.
According to Mr Sinckler in his reported reaction to the NUPW, “I would say that if this really is the union’s position, it is as ill-advised as it is unfortunate at this time. I do not believe that the union leadership is oblivious to the fact that the alternatives to the measures which we introduced, including an increase in the NSRL, will be far more hurtful to
public officers than what is proposed…”
“Indeed, lest they forget, perhaps it bears reminding that there are a growing number of persons out there who believe that Government should immediately and substantially reduce the size of the public sector, especially its wages bill. Now while that may be coded language for some, it simply means that Government should send home thousands of public servants from the service.”
What is most regrettable about the entire episode is that none of these objectors has proposed a single alternative to any of the measures announced by the Minister. Let us face it. Barbados is, and has been for nearly a decade, in a woeful financial position, earning little to no foreign exchange, facing a humongous deficit, having low growth and beset by a dire need to continue provision of the traditional civic entitlements. Simply put, the state needs to replenish its coffers.
In its attempt to fulfil this need, the state is thus compelled to raise funds through the traditional mode of doing so, that is, taxation. If any entity should lay claim to possessing a more creative and less painful alternative, then it behooves it to disclose this publicly in the national interest.
Ordinarily, this responsibility should be principally that of the official Opposition in the exercise of its conventional constitutional role of being the government-in-waiting, but the local version seems far more concerned these days with its electoral advantage by pointing out the deficits in governance of the administration in office, than with selflessly assisting in the nation’s recovery.
This zero-sum political game is decidedly not for the national good and we are making a call here for all parties to put tawdry self-interest aside and to unite in a common cause for the good of our nation.