New programme on the cards 

The Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs is working on formulating what is being termed as a comprehensive National Economic and Social Development Restructuring and Enhancement Programme for this country.
That’s according to Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs, Christopher Sinckler, who said that the Planning Division of his Ministry is putting the finishing touches on it.

Delivering the Financial Statement and Budgetary Proposals in the Lower House yesterday evening, Sinckler told Members of Parliament and Barbadians tuning in to the debate that that programme will be published in the coming weeks, and together with all of the other proposals which Government has received, including those from the two working groups created from among the Social Partnership, will serve as the “centrepiece for the national discourse”, which he is adamant must take place this summer to chart a short, medium and longer term agenda for growth and the development of Barbados’ economy and society.

Sinckler said that while a few of the recommendations from the working groups could be used immediately to assist in addressing some of the challenges, the majority are in fact of a more medium term focus, requiring extensive stakeholder and national consultation to define them, and improve on the apparent weaknesses and shortcomings of them, in order to gain widespread support before implementation. Among these proposals, he said, are changes to the value added tax system and rates, privatisation of state entities, the introduction of user fees for certain social services on a means tested basis, and restructuring parts of the country’s national debt.

He said that in a follow-up meeting with the members of the working groups, all sides conceded that, given the magnitude of the challenges which we face, but equally the extensive nature of the interventions which will be required to rectify the problem over the medium term, a rush to implementation without consultation would only make matters worse.

“It was decided that Government should first seek to address the short term fiscal and financial challenges which confront the public sector via the Financial Statement and Budgetary Proposal, with the intention of ensuring that the 2017-2018 budget is financed without creating further monetary and economic instability. Then, in the coming weeks and months immediately following the budget presentation, open up a series of intense and wide-ranging discussions across critical sectors in the country with the singular objective of fashioning a short to medium term fiscal and economic growth plan whose implementation all parties can initiate before year end,” he stated.

With that in mind, he said the National Economic and Social Development Restructuring and Enhancement Programme, which his Ministry is crafting, will be focused on defining clear and concise national plans aimed at tackling several of the key areas of restructuring which the Barbados economy urgently requires. Among the main areas of focus, he said, will be to boost foreign exchange earnings by creating even more attractive conditions of foreign direct investment. He said this will be achieved by the standardisation of investment incentive regimes in “an omnibus incentives legislation” and by reforming the platform for implementing mechanisms across the public and private sectors.

Additionally, he said focus is to be placed on productive sector reform aimed at reducing the cost of doing business in critical sectors such as agriculture, manufacturing, tourism and international business and finding appropriate mechanisms to capitalise emerging sectors such as cultural industries.

The Finance Minister added that it will also look at instituting a Competitiveness Commission and Operational Unit to drive implementation of the work currently being undertaken by the tripartite Competitiveness Action Teams, which are focused on improving output and efficiencies in the Grantley Adams International Airport; the Bridgetown Seaport; the Legal System in the Offices of the Chief Parliamentary Counsel and the Solicitor General; registration of properties; the Court System; the Town and Country Development Planning Office; and tax efficiency – with respect to the proposed Barbados Revenue Authority and the Customs merger.

Sinckler added that the Plan will also look at the implementation of the new national energy policy to accelerate the Government’s intention to make Barbados energy independent by 2035 and seek to address the issue of fiscal consolidation through Public Financial Management reform. The latter, he said, will include the passage in Parliament of a new Financial Management and Audit State Owned Entities Act (SOEs) Act, to govern the financial affairs of government statutory boards and enterprises. In that vein, he said that SOE reform will be looked at, including mergers, operational consolidation and divestment if necessary.

Other areas of focus include tax policy reform and the tax administration upgrade project, including the final transition of Customs into the BRA and the implementation of a single taxpayer IT system; debt growth stabilisation and reduction through fiscal reform and debt management enhancement including debt reprofiling; and social sector reform in critical areas such as health, education, sanitation, social care services and environmental protection.

“It is a very wide range of issues that will be addressed in this particular regard and our hope Sir, is that before fall this year, before October, this Parliament and the country as a whole will have a comprehensive, well-thought-out and extensively consulted national plan which can be debated here and approved for immediate implementation by the Government,” he stated.
(JRT)