Sealy backs Government’s plan
Minister of Tourism and International Transport, Richard Sealy is giving his support to the Barbados Sustainable Recovery Plan (BSRP).
Contributing to the debate on the Appropriation Bill in the House of Assembly on Monday evening, Minister Sealy said that while some could argue that what is in the BSRP is not necessarily new; what sets it apart is that it was crafted by all three Social Partners, it has set targets to meet and has an oversight committee to see that it achieves what is intended.
His comments came as he referred to the tourism industry and the steps that have and will be taken to help the country achieve economic growth. Minister Sealy said that if Barbados is to attract more visitors it has to have more beds to accommodate them. Referring to the proposed new Sandals resort and Wyndham Grand among other properties, he indicated it is clear that there is a lot of investment going on in the sector and that, he said, is important as one of the fundamental planks in Barbados’ recovery is to earn more than we consume.
“The truth is the only way you can put the foreign reserves on a sustainable path is when you can earn enough foreign exchange for your import bill. And hence, moving the tourism sector from where it is now, or where it was when we found it at just over a half million long stay arrivals, moving it closer to a million long stay arrivals and all of the impact that will have on employment and foreign exchange earnings, is what we have to do and it is what this Government is doing,” he maintained.
Sealy contended that if Barbados is to earn its way in the world, then as a country we must seek to generate more exports than imports, and he said such efforts are going relatively well in that regard, as our major export is tourism services.
“I do not accept that we are somehow ignoring the fact that we have had these issues with our reserves. What we are doing is, we are saying look Social Partners work with us and let’s put Barbados on a sustainable plan – fiscal sustainability, economic growth sustainability, foreign exchange earning sustainability and of course ensuring that those that need the social safety net remain intact through it all. That is responsible government and that is what these Estimates are about,” he stated.
Touching specifically to the provision to reduce the transfers to state owned enterprises (SOEs) and statutory corporations by $74 million, the tourism minister said this will call for sacrifice and is a bold measure weeks away from the dissolution of Parliament.
“As a Government we are still prepared to put something that one could describe as really unpopular in our Estimates – $74 million reduction in transfers. That’s the money that goes into the SOEs and all the little popular programmes, the little things you can do around election time, but we can’t do that because we are saying national interest first, and that is the simple case Madam Deputy Speaker, that I make through you to all Barbadians, the case for the Democratic Labour Party,” he added. (JRT)