Gov’t working on new industrial policy
Government is closer to having a new industrial policy in place to help guide and better facilitate manufacturing in this country.
Minister of Industry, International Business, Commerce and Small Business Development, Donville Inniss, told The Barbados Advocate that his ministry has not only prepared the draft framework for that policy, but has identified potential funding to develop it and possible consultants to work on it.
“But we are not waiting on that policy to occur as a document, we recognise that there are changes that are required now and we are working on facilitating those changes,” the Industry and Commerce Minister stated.
Inniss added, “Take for example the cluster form of manufacturing – we have agreed that we will more aggressively push forward with that for the condiments industry and the furniture industry, because gone are the days when each of those manufacturers could justify having their own manufacturing space and overheads.”
Minister Inniss’ comments came as he pointed out that large scale manufacturing seen across this country a few decades ago is a thing of the past, and so in an effort to contain the cost per unit of the items being produced, cluster manufacturing must be the way to go. He contended that embracing this concept will not only ensure reduced costs for
individual stakeholders, but help to ensure the viability of a sector that has tremendous income and foreign exchange earning potential.
To that end, he indicated that the Barbados Investment and Development Corporation (BIDC) has been bold enough to identify cluster manufacturing as a methodology for manufacturing that must be readily engaged in Barbados, and it is actively pushing forward with the creation of clusters for both the condiment and furniture sectors.
“So committed is the BIDC to this idea, that it is prepared to invest in plant and equipment to make it happen. Spaces have been identified in some areas; the consultants’ reports on that matter have already been completed and submitted; and we have identified potential manufacturers that can come on board. This will effectively help drive down the unit cost of production in these two sectors,” he said.
Inniss made the point as he defended the BIDC against critics who have argued that the state-run entity has lost its way and is not promoting manufacturing as it was intended to. Contending that the criticisms are “utter rubbish”, he said many of the critics are persons who have not accepted that the large scale industrial type manufacturing of the past is not necessarily as relevant to the Barbados of today as it was back then.
“The fact is, technology has evolved to the point where manufacturing processes are less labour intensive. Barbados has never been a low cost production society and the preferential access that some entities may have had before are no longer relevant. The other issue is we have evolved into being a more service based economy, but it doesn’t mean that anyone has given up on manufacturing. As a matter of fact, the BIDC should be commended for over the years, under both administrations, helping manufacturers to understand what was coming down the line so they could retool accordingly,” he said.
The Industry Minister further indicated that millions of dollars has been provided to the sector by way of grant financing to assist stakeholders in retooling and developing marketing programmes. Additionally, he said financing has assisted in trade missions to such countries as Panama, Cuba, St. Lucia, Jamaica, the United States and the United Kingdom, to promote Barbadian products.
“So the BIDC, far from being criticised, should be commended for not only the financial investment, but the business support services it has provided to the manufacturing sector,” he stated. (JRT)