I am very confused, the Min of Labour, Dr Esther Buyer-Suckoo, made a statement a couple days ago that the unemployment ratio will increase by a .2 percentage point this year. The original statement from the Central Bank is that the unemployment figures will go well into double digits. Now out of the blues the Governor, has said that the unemployment rate will fall to single digits in the first quarter of this year. Isn’t this when the by-elections are due? Warrens Motors just sent home approx 80 persons, there are a another few Companies that are putting workers on the breadline, yet the Governor is predicting a growth in employment. The tourist industry, while not doing too badly, is not doing fantastic, construction is questionable, Four Seasons still to start and we are not sure if Chinese and Guyanese are going to resume working there. Mr Governor, you can fool some of the people, some of the time, but you can’t fool all of the people all of the time.

This man first major comment as he took his new responsibility was that “There was nothing wrong with being an agent of the Prime Minister” .. or words to that effect …

Firstly, on a point that the first commenter above made ”When a Central Bank Governor starts following the lead of the politicians that is the road to ruin!”, I am surprised because this has always been so. From the beginning when the first Governor described himself as the ‘Prime Minister’s creature’.

Then, the last Governor noted right at the beginning of the recession that Barbados would not be affected.

I really do not put much confidence in that position. In reality t involves administrative qualities and that is it *although it ‘should’ be otherwise.

On the issue of the 2% growth, agreed that this seems to have been plucked from thin air. I suspect as has been reported that tourism is indeed doing better than 2010, but that alone cannot carry a country.

The construction industry has with any luck, one major project to start i.e. Four Seasons, but what else? Government’s plans for the Polyclinics, roads etc, may assist, but then one would ahve to assert that substantial borrowing is going to take place to fund these projects, therein affecting both our fiscal position and our debt and foreign reserves.

2011 will still be a sticky wicket and anyone who thinks otherwise is fooling themselves. As others correctly noted, this comes when oil prices are rising and a number of industries are experiencing significant difficulty.

Barbados must focus on service quality, particularly in the tourism sector, to gain some semblance of reputation for excellence, to maintain that sector.

If we are looking at construction projects to boost employment, we must look at value for money i.e. long-term projects that will last at least three to four years, to carry us onward for a while, not short, expensive projects.

On a related topic, here is President’s Obama’s halftime card.

Mr Governor of the Central Bank,

will you please tell us out here what is the truth. You saying one thing today, and something else the next.

We hearing from Minister of Labour that unemployment %percentages going up, and then you come and tell we, it going down, man tell we de trut man, and we don’t want the political version neither.

If you want a job as a politician, then give up the job as governor and run fa a constituency, you can’t have both, cause right now you coming over as a liar.

The construction that you hinging your predictions on for this 2% growth, the pin seems as if it coming out the hinges, cause Persaud said he hoping that the four seasons project will start in February. It is only a hope not a surety.

You say Barbados held it’s own last year and that we will not have to dip into our foreign reserves, we have not made up the difference in the current account deficit, businesses are closing, and jobs being lost and yet according to you we holding our own.

Man! Mr Governor wa is de trut?

The man is SMOKING too much weed, his mind is fried and reality is a bit fussy. He’s like a fish out of water, flip, flop.

Oops! That should be
http://news.barbadostoday.bb/barticle.php?ptitle=Dodds test&article=1468

Anthony; My concern re the article is that the reference to the Dodds payment appeared to be purely gratuitous politiking.

As the Govenor himself stated the payment is an annual one that must have been budgeted for; that the normal Foreign currency inflows would have taken care of; that he fully expects to be honoured, even if the funds come from the reserves now to be replenished from confidently expected inflows. Why highlight it now unless he wanted to make a purely political point?

I knew the Governor quite well in our University days and I would not have expected him to be so obviously partisan. Perhaps there is another explanation.

Anthony; I know very little about high finance so I take your word for it as what you say seems reasonable to me.

@Checkit-out | January 14, 2011 at 9:19 AM |
“Anthony; My concern re the article is that the reference to the Dodds payment appeared to be purely gratuitous politiking. ”
__________________________________
Some people don’t want to admit it Checkit-Out, but I agree with you that Worrell is nvolving himself in “Pure politiking” as you described it.

Also note that he has for his own deceptive purposes, changed the manner in reporting Debt. The Dodds was supposed to be built for about $200 million I think, yet Worrell reported the debt to the Barbadian public as $700 million , including accrued interest etc. up to determination of the debt. He did not use that manner of reporting the other debts incurred under the DLP …. HE JUST REPORTED THE PRINCIPAL!

Could it be that speaking in pure political terms, he recognised the potentially EMOTIVE NATURE of mentioning a figure of $700 Million , so that the undiscerning section of the public would ask,
“WHAT? THE BLP BUILT A PRISON FOR $700 MILLION?”

The bottom line is, he is most inconsistent, and those of us who sincerely care about the economic welfare of our beloved country must demand from THIS GOVERNOR the standards we have become accustomed to, as it relates to that excellent institution, the CENTRAL BANK!

END THE FOOLISHNESS DELISLE!!!!

Truthman Burton
What do you expect, Mr worrell was overlooked before for the post of Governor, therefore now that he has the position he obviously becomes the “creature of the P.M”. Doc Byer- Suckoo stated that in the first quarter of 2011, there will be a slight increase in the unemplyment rate in Barbados, a few days after, Worrell declares that there will be a 2% increase. Whose right and who”s wrong? The Min.of Labour or the Governor?
We all know that if we take out a mortgage for $400,00.00 to build a house we actually repay approx $ 1 mil but we don’t say we borrowed that amount.