IMF meeting was a success, says PM
We’ve got it!
This is the assurance Prime Minister, the Right Honourable Mia Amor Mottley has given to Barbadians, as she told the nation yesterday that last week’s meeting with the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Christine Lagarde was successful.
Just a matter of hours after returning to the island from her visit to the Washington-based international lending institution, Prime Minister Mottley said that her talks with Lagarde went so well, that a negotiating team from the IMF is expected to arrive on the island as early as next month to continue the discussions.
“We have this, relax, we got this,” she assured.
“When we met with Madame Lagarde, we were able to discuss with her and her team the framework that we have put on the table, and we made it very clear that we had mission critical issues that we had to deal with. That we inherited a government with infrastructure that was largely broken, buses that Barbadians couldn’t get, garbage trucks that are not functioning, a sewage system that is affecting the South Coast.
“And we are happy that our engagement with Madame Lagarde recognises that our situation is urgent, that they are prepared to support, as she said in her tweet a day ago, Barbados’ economic recovery and transformation plan. That as a result, they will be sending a team to Barbados on July 2 to start discussions with us between the 2nd and the 12th of July,” Prime Minister Mottley added.
The leader of the Barbados Labour Party (BLP) administration said that Barbados is seeking to have included in a contract with the IMF a one per cent interest payment on any loan.
“There is no where that we can go and borrow money at one per cent interest today, trust me.
“I want to make sure that even as we treat to the issue of debt restructuring that no future generation of Barbadians or this current generation will have to go back to this place again…of a government display of utter fiscal recklessness with the manner in which they handled the affairs of this country.”
Speaking during a press conference at Government Headquarters, Bay Street, St Michael, yesterday afternoon, Prime Minister Mottley said it should be noted that while it takes as long as nine months to reach an agreement with the international lending agency, she is hopeful that Barbados would not have to wait that long, especially against the fact that the country’s debt is now closer to 1.9 billion dollars.
“The bottom line is that there is no easy way to say that you are suspending debt payments. There is no easy way to make an omelette without breaking eggs. And we have to go through the process. The Government of Barbados has hired some of the best advisors with respect to debt restructuring. . . ” she said.
(AH)