Article Image Alt Text

Former Prime Minister, the Right Honourable Owen Arthur listens to a point from a member of the audience at the annual general meeting of the Barbados Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Conference Centre, while BCCI President Eddie Abed (centre) and Vice-President Betty Brathwaite look on.

INITIATIVES FOR GROWTH

 

THE creation of Smart Cyber City at Warrens, the introduction of a New Investment Act, and rehabilitation of the Scotland District,  have been identified among initiatives that can boost economic growth in Barbados.
 
Former Prime Minister Owen Arthur pointed to these and other areas in an address to yesterday’s annual general meeting of the Barbados Chamber of Commerce and Industry at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Conference Centre.
 
Arthur is appealing to the Government and the private sector to create Smart Cyber City to promote IT services to advance economic growth. Arguing that information technology must be one of the pillars of economic growth, the now Independent MP insisted that the Smart City would provide state-of-the-art facilities for advanced software promotion for IT-enabled services on par with the best in the world.
 
He cited Mauritius as having already undertaken a similar endeavour and said that it is not difficult to conceive how the Warrens area and the corridor including the UWI Cave Hill, could be made our Cyber City.
 
“Indeed, the Cave Hill Campus needs to be built out as a township  and equipped with a Science Park to serve as Barbados’ link to the Global Technological community,” said Arthur, who served as Prime Minister between 1994 and early 2008.
 
He stated further that to attain a sustainable growth path, transformations have to be made to the business culture in Barbados.
 
“To begin with the level of investment in small open economies  such as Barbados are heavily influenced by the determinants of trade performance,” he remarked. To this end, he called for a new and comprehensive Investment Act as another pillar for sustained economic growth. He said that the new Act must incorporate new trade principles such as Most Favoured Nation Treatment as well as National Treatment.
 
“A comprehensive Investment Act, incorporating MFN and NT, as well as Investment Guarantees would significantly enhance the stability and predictability of the country’s investment regime and make an investment-driven growth path more affordable for Barbados,” according to Arthur.
 
He went on, “It is therefore necessary that in order to become an investment-driven and export-propelled economy…Barbados should begin to incorporate best practices and best global benchmarks in its trade and business facilitation programmes and change its business culture to make such adjustments become of lasting effect.”
 
On the Scotland District, Arthur reasoned that the area be restored to rehabilitate agriculture. He added that there are many sources of concessions to do such a project. (JB)

Barbados Advocate

Mailing Address:
Advocate Publishers (2000) Inc
Fontabelle, St. Michael, Barbados

Phone: (246) 467-2000
Fax: (246) 434-2020 / (246) 434-1000