Devaluation ‘not an option’
An independent Senator is making it clear that devaluation of the Barbados dollar is not an option when looking at examples of other Caribbean economies that have suffered major losses after taking that route.
Senator Professor Sir Henry Fraser stressed that devaluation is an “end game” that has evidently “ruined” Jamaica and Guyana economies, and noted that the possibility of Barbados taking this approach should not even be considered, or talked about locally.
Fraser spoke briefly on the topic of devaluation as he made his contribution to the Minimum Wage Bill 2017, in the Senate, on Wednesday morning.
The Senator pointed to the fact that the devaluation of the Jamaican dollar has caused major challenges for that country’s economy.
“The Jamaican standard of living, the Jamaican lifestyle, the Jamaican morale, the Jamaican level of criminality and everything else... And that should be a lesson for us all and for those who want to talk about devaluation as if it is something to think about. It is absolutely ruination,” Sir Henry said.
Just last week, Prime Minister the Rt. Hon. Freundel Stuart, while delivering the feature address at the January 2017 Business Luncheon of the Barbados Chamber of Commerce and Industry at the Hilton Hotel, said that the devaluation of the Barbados dollar is not on Government’s agenda.
As it relates to the Minimum Wage Bill, which repeals the Wages Council Act, Sir Henry said he’s concerned about how the bill would be carried out and how long Barbadians may have to wait before the process is completed.
“I am concerned about the debate that could wage on endlessly about the different sectors, the skills related to the sectors, the expense that might be associated with the different sectors and other things that might make the approach much more lengthy,” Sir Henry said.
He further noted that for too long there has been a serious issue in Barbados where workers are struggling to survive on a minimum wage and believes that as minimum wage raises, productivity in the country should also increase dramatically.