Review entitlements

THE brutal truth is that the Barbados economy can no longer carry the full range of state enterprises and welfare support programmes of the past 50 years.

So said Owen Arthur, the former Barbados Prime Minister, in an address to yesterday’s annual general meeting of the Barbados Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Stating that the fiscal consolidation programme being undertaken by Government is still very much a work in progress, Arthur said that much of the adjustments to date have been in relation to central Government expenditures.

“Fiscal stability can, however, only be restored in Barbados if almost $200 million in adjustments are made to Government’s transfers and subsidies to state enterprises,” said Arthur.

According to him, “Some of the major fiscal initiatives that will lead to far reaching adjustments are yet to be undertaken.”

He also remarked that the successful carrying out of a fiscal consolidation programme will require the recourse to new forms of public/private sector partnerships, that enable the private sector to expand its activities into spheres deemed to be the preserve of the state.

The MP is of the view, as well, that the relevance of the version of the Scandinavian model that Barbados has embraced will have to be reviewed.

Quoting from a study that cited the Nordic Model, which involves  the provision of a wide range of social benefits to citizens, Arthur said the study shows those programmes had only been sustained by the willingness of the countries to put in place liberalised business systems that generate the income distributed.

“Barbados needs to follow suit,” he advised.

The Independent MP said further that Barbados has to acknowledge that it has a debt problem, and must undertake debt restructuring programme. (JB)