Please share this blog
- Share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window) WhatsApp
- Share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
- Share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) LinkedIn
- Share on Telegram (Opens in new window) Telegram
- Share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit
- Share on Threads (Opens in new window) Threads
- Share on X (Opens in new window) X
- More
501 responses to “Barbados Budget 2013”
David
It’s too late for Barbados and this budget WON’T help. By the end of March next year events will over take the PM to the point where he his powerless to stop one of three outcomes: 1) Chris resigns from MoF, 2) He loses control of the administration to an internal rival or 3) A successful vote of no confidence is brought by the opposition.
Tick tock, tick tock.
“The government cannot be expected to foot the bill in a business as usual manner.”
I do not understand what are you talking about? Where does government money come from and what bills is it expected to foot? He has given pieces of information to justify his point because he expects an emotive response.
Since you posted numbers let’s look at them in 1999 he says 3568 cost $51m that’s about $14k per student. then in 2007 it was 6718 at $79m so cost fell to roughly 11k per student then 7200 $120m a rise to 16k. What do those numbers mean? UWI was managing well than fell off the wagon? Have you any idea what contributed to rise in cost? Was it the recession and subsequent continuous rise cost of living? Are there capital works which need to be paid back over time contributing to the recent rise? have they had to seek expensive credit to cover the fact that government has not paid it’s bills? We can’t tell from the numbers because they are meaningless. Without context they tell you nothing. The purpose of mentioning them is to try to justify a desperate act to cut spending by blaming the victim you perceive as weak in the public eye. No discussion on strategy, governments vision/plans to educate the public because clearly there is no plan.
Can you supply similar information on the bill government is ‘footing’ in tourism? Apparently government can continue business as usual in this area.
@ David | August 14, 2013 at 6:41 AM |
“Say what you like Sir Frank has been calling for the structural weaknesses in the economy to be addressed and the paying of tuition fees by Barbadians it probably the beginning (education).”
We look forward to the PM’s contribution to the debates most likely on Thursday late in the evening when most people are either bored or asleep.
The Miller is willing to bet that he stays rather clear from justifying his administration’s forced decision to axe the payment of tuition fees for students at UWI. A similar reneging and breach of trust would be played out in the coming weeks when there will be layoffs silently made away from the public glare of Parliamentary observation as it goes on 2 months recess.
The next Herculean labour of mistrust is the necessary privatization of the Transport Board and the outsourcing of many of the NCC and Drainage Unit functions. Now how can a country have a public sector subsidized and operated transport entity where the very lifeblood (money transfers of $15 million) is withheld from its circulatory system?
It would also be most interesting in the coming weeks if the PM leads by example and prove he is not the worst PM in Bajan history by restructuring his Cabinet as a reflection of the way forward for the public sector.
If he does this he will automatically rise on the credibility pole by demonstrating to the people he is prepared not only to talk the talk but also to walk the walk along the road of pain and sacrifice for a “better tomorrow”.
But we suspect we are dealing with a man who has been bitten by the twin tongue serpent of unexpectedly undeserving power and hubristic pride and in a fit of deadly stupor would continue to be intoxicated with his tin pot dictatorial attitude of vane haughtiness to the administration of the people’s business.
Where there is no vision or effective leadership the people suffer inexorably. It’s a pity that the people can’t see that many of these so-called growth focused measures are just rehashes of previous budgetary announcements with a different bullshit suit on different day to impress the naïve with short memories. Even the tax on lottery winnings go back to 2009.
“Whom God wishes to destroy, he first sends mad (with convenient amnesia).”
Poor fellas, we pity the fools!
http://www.whydontyoutrythis.com/2013/08/bayer-and-us-government-knowingly-gave-hiv-to-thousands-of-children.html
@ Carson C. Cadogan | August 14, 2013 at 7:05 AM |
“Simple Simon: If I had a child starting university next year I would be crying blood”
Lay that statement at the feet of Hilary!”
If Sir Hilary is the cause of the Cave Hill financial woes let us see how big and powerful your administration is by “Dottining” Hilary Beckles.
Now do it for the sake of the country and the future tertiary education of young Bajans!
Do it CCC and show them who is really boss as power goes to your heads and you become drunk on “powful-foolishness”.
@Twistorian
You keep moving the planks of your argument, was it not you who suggested there is a no confidence coming in this Budget?
Unimpressed & not surprised
Agree that no more money or concessions should have been thrown at the hotieliers and their failed businesses.
Maybe manufacturing or small businesses should have been helped.
Roach and timothy simmons need to be booted out form those organisations and they be either revamped or done away with if this government is really interested in generating growth because this is where small business comes in.
alright miller your comments are also a rehashment of all and previuos comments going as far back as one can remember . now you can join the legends of shit talk Like Bush TEA. …just like BT u are unable to grasp reality but would prefer to condemn govt propsals as broken promises.yet u would chastise and humiliate others on different issues for standing firm on their beliefs and not willing to see change as for better You are a Hypocrite in Your world change is only necessary when greed upon by MILLER.
Not such Common Sense,
Not sure I can follow your logic here. The Hotel Refurbishment Fund is not a grant (no free monies) but loans at commercial interest rates. The reduction in VAT will benefit our visitors, not the hoteliers directly.
And the increased funds to the BTA, why give even more money to an entity that is clearly not fulfilling its mandate without first restructuring it?
Please detail exactly what extra money and concessions are going to the hoteliers?
@Adrian
Is it possible the BTA was hamstrung in promoting Barbados because it was not voted enough money to pay its bills?
Ronald Jones expected to make a big speech on scholarship winners to distract us from the Budget… What wouldnt these DLP people do?
David, YES! very possible, but someone has to be accountable. And I have learnt over the years (50) that you can achieve a lot with little or no money, so it cannot be a total excuse. One simple example. I was surprised that more of our restaurants have not participated in the Barbados Island Inclusive promotion, because it doesn’t cost them anything. It transpires that at least three of our top restaurants ARE participating but the BTA have not listed them on their website page dedicated to BII. It has been pointed out to them, but days later still no listing. Potential visitors would have NO idea these restaurants were an option, until they actually received the free spending vouchers.
Government is still paying private landlords (for example Ski Mart) for renting space and there are so many government owned properties that are falling into ruin out of lack of use, for example in the industrial estates. Again, leadership by example
Caswell
You response to Amused is just not proper…!
Simple simon………..Foolish talk…….u child education is important and it should be an unselfish need on your part to ensure she /he is prepared and equipped academically for a future .the govt role is to provide necessary schools or universties as vehicles in which your child can be prepared and fully equipped above and beyond that the govt owes you nothing.
@ ac | August 14, 2013 at 8:14 AM |
You should make that charge of hypocrisy not to me but to the PM who has boldly reneged on his commitment to keep university education at the UWI free at the point of access to Bajan students which he made only this year during the Estimates when the parlous state of the Cave Hill Campus finances was well known and publicized.
He is the one not standing firm in his beliefs. Deal with him and his growing easy unhappy Cabinet, not the miller.
This administration has even gone further than the miller was proposing since year. The miller was proposing a 50 % contribution to tuition fees phased over two to three years to allow a personal or private educational loan facility other than the government administered one to be established in the financial market place with associated tax incentives and provisions for grant funding where genuinely deserving hardship cases are identified.
But this administration has gone from one extreme to another. What a barrel of laughs from the monkeys not knowing the difference between their bruised elbow and their cracked ass.
@ ac | August 14, 2013 at 8:28 AM |
Yes ac, we are monitoring how you are backing off from your total commitment to the non-privatization of functions currently undertaken by government.
So you are saying basically that there is nothing wrong now with the government asking students to pay direct for the tuition cost.
Isn’t that a form of say semi-privatization? How far are you prepared to go? The whole hog of breach of commitment and trust?
What’s next, ac, are you prepared to cut from your partisan political pseudo philosophical moorings other than university education? The Transport Board, Health, NCC, Culture?
Will you be suspending work at the St. John polyclinic and defer its opening until things improve in 5 years down the uncertain road of recovery?
The Truth will always prevail.
Carson……….just shut it today, neither you nor your party, that also includes the opposition know what is really and truly going on around them, the only power the members of the ruling party as well as the opposition have is located in their minds. It is clear they are hoping in 18 months there will be some type of turn around somewhere, it will not be what they are hoping for, different energies now direct the financial world. They may want to just continue coming clean with the taxpayers, consistently telling the truth, that will aid in the adaption to fallouts, and save what little integrity, if any, they may now possess. There is a much bigger picture here than what is in your mind, definitely not located in166 square mile parameters.
Miller i make the charge of HYPOCRISY at u cause u always m.ake bold sttement and condemn others for not seeing change as anecessary part of a growing society . However when govt use the same concept which u advocates u condemn. Everybody understand the role which govt has played in education in making sure that every child receives FREE university now govt can no longer afford such a cost u ridcule on calling these CHANGE a Broken Promise.just all political on your part and to be expected.
@ lol10 | August 14, 2013 at 8:22 AM |
“Ronald Jones expected to make a big speech on scholarship winners to distract us from the Budget… What wouldnt these DLP people do?”
We shall see if his administration will continue will continue with that stupid habit of funding scholarships for study overseas in areas that are either irrelevant to the country’s development, can be pursued in the region or of which there is a surfeit already in the island like medicine , law, accounting or engineering.
This would be a waste of taxpayers’ money, scare foreign exchange and a poor indication of this administration express commitment for change in education and development and recognition of the value of the UWI to the country.
The fact that the total amount of money in the monetary base of the country has been reported (2011) by the Central Bank of Barbados to be just over BDS $ 1 billion, means that there is going to be greater competition for this money by the productive commercial business financial government sectors of this country.
But, as each sector’s payments for the use of money increase however much relative to this said monetary base, there will be – over time – less and less money being made/ available to or had by it via incomes or payments by customers patrons within the same sector or from other sectors, or via localized institutional money credit transfers to it.
There will also be less and less money being made/ available to or had by it in relationship to the lesser and lesser amounts that are made/ available to or had by other sectors.
The relevant Budgetary Proposals, if implemented, shall increase (by about a substantial 10 – 15 per cent for each sector ) the annualized rate at which less and less money is made/ available to or had by each productive commercial business financial government sector in the country.
Such drastic increases translate into greater and greater miseries and hardships for the broad masses and middle classes of people of this country and really calls for serious political mobilization approaches to rid this country of these two intellectually and politically bankrupt DLP and BLP factions in the shortest order and time possible.
PDC
Dems destroyed Barbados in 1991 and Dems again is destroying Barbados in 2013.
Thanks Dems!
To my mind, cutting the reverese tax credit to the working poor is unconscionable. If it was being misused, close the loopholes, or insist on a minimum time employed during the year. I find it unbelievable that the working poor have been treated this way while we are paying a huge Cabinet, and a bloated civil service. I’m still taking bets on when Almond Beach Village and Silver Sands will be in operation. I’m plumping for 5 years and $1.6 billion. Any takers?
@ ac | August 14, 2013 at 8:51 AM |
Ac, I am not against change. As a matter of fact you should be aware (if you are smart enough) that I have been calling for major structural reforms since last year including the funding of university education. Are you going to deny me even that far reaching proposal?
What the miller is against, in principle, is lack of competence and the lies and cover-up perpetrated by this administration to the very end only making the job of restructuring not one of a phased transition but involving major radical surgery on an emergency basis as you are witnessing.
Do you remember, ac, you were against the proposal to introduce registered savings plans for education and health to allow people to source from the private sector these services thereby reducing the burden on the state sector?
Now Ac, let us see you take a bit of your bitter advice as medicine for your troubled soul and admit that privatization is not really that bad for the country.
Say it, ac we will not seek to condemn you as you are trying to do to the miller.
epress.wordpress.com/2013/08/09/will-barbados-seize-assets-without-a-criminal-conviction/
miller,
I read in a newspaper this week that this stupid government is trying to push for an October opening of the St John Polyclinic in time to honour the dead king’s anniversary. This at a time when this inept, incompetent government decides to cut 35 million dollars from the hospital.
As usual, the MOF was his usual unclear self…….
How will the CEO cut 35 million dollars from an already cash strapped hospital?
Does he cut down on more supplies as they are doing now? Does he cut back how many meals patients get per day?
Does he cut back on drugs?
Does he cut service in A&E?
Does he cut back on dialysis for kidney patients?
Does he cut maids, orderlies, consultants, doctors and nurses?
Just how will this 35 million dollar cut to be carried out?
We were warning this inept incompetent government for nearly 6 years that the path they were on was wrong and we were called doom and gloom. We were ridiculed. We were told Barbados is more than an economy, it is a society. Now we have an angry society and an economy that they just do not know how to fix.
Now we really have doom and doom.
By the way, miller, they are still planning to have the DT football tournament. Frigging unbelievable!
Maureen Holder does sing hard for she supper. Yuh cahn fault she for that. She is a out and out D but try to mek people believe she independent. She getting more sickening cause she coming more and more as DLP lackey and yardfowl. She on the radio right now trying to cut off people who got a view that critical uh de DLP. Uh hope Freundel give she a diplomatic pick overseas. What make her a political analyst? Nobody can say.She poor poor poor. What make her an expert on everything? Nobody can say. Go down George Street dis weekend and you going find she down there up in de face of the Dems.
It is why there is a deep distrust of our professionals and academics.
@ Prodigal Son | August 14, 2013 at 9:22 AM |
It seems as if the country’s fate is sealed and the IMF has it in their crosshairs for a rude awakening just because Barbados is saddled with a very bad lying governing administration which fails to lead by example.
Now how can you cut $35 M from the QEH, $15 M from the Transport Board $6 M from NCC but still see it fit to continue with the pork barrel political luxuries of football tournaments, summer camps and constituency councils.
How stupid can a government get by putting the country’s public health at risk just to keep their electioneering garrison-type mendicancy strategies active among the poor.
They are attempting to keep the just as unaware die hard yardfowls fully programmed into the next couple generations. complacent sheeple society.
Yes brudders and sisters,the stinking Dems have done it again.Buhbaydus is firmly on the path to the IMF and a compliant electorate is led like a lamb to the slaughter by a big,foolish buffoon ably supported by Mr Physical Deficit and Mr Dorsey The Quisling Boyiss.All approved and have the blessing of the worst Prime Minister in the short history of Buhbaydus.A man whose cabinet members went to the Governor General to have him removed from office on no less than 3 occasions,a man who swore,accompanied by his attorney general that votes in the last election were bought and sold and has done nothing to restore our confidence in either him or the election results.Why should anyone other than the Fatted Calf Brigade,have any confidence in the Prime Minister.Mr Dolittle and Mr Donothing indeed.
Someone mentioned Maureen Holder’s name above.Do you know that I have never ever tuned into CBC to listen to her?A silly woman whose rant I recall on brasstacks moons ago.Good riddance from VOB.Dennis Johnson continues to educate and inform and so does Nefertari Caddle.I would wish for Tony Hoyos to return but without the time wasting Tony Best hook up.Finally a welcome back to the sane and temperate voice of Maurice Norville on VOB morning radio
Bajans, you are about to experience the hardships that Jamaicans, and Guyanese experience over the last 30 years or so, that forced them to seek opportunities here on this island. I hope we will be a lot more sensitive to these people now.
@ Prodigal Son | August 14, 2013 at 9:22 AM |
“How will the CEO cut 35 million dollars from an already cash strapped hospital?”
The same CEO is on record as saying the QEH needs approx. that same figure to function effectively as the main healthcare institution.
Now how can a government allegedly committed to the provision of proper public health services cut such a large slice from the Hospital’s budget?
Either vital supplies including food for patient care would be drastically cut back or the contracts of medical staff would be terminated.
I cannot see how this institution can be properly managed with such drastic cut to an already underfunded expenditure budget without significant increases in user fees and imposition of new charges.
Don’t be surprised if Dexter James walks away from it all for the sake of his own health.
Just a word of wisdom to the ‘powers-that-be’:
Why not bite the bullet as you have down in respect of free university education and listen to a bit of valuable advice from the miller.
Why not take on board the proposal of establishing a national health lottery to help fund the QEH?
You, John Boyce, can even claim ownership of such proposal; the miller doesn’t “care” since it would be in the interest of the health of the nation.
@ David
So you are training for export then?
@prodigal .the govt has taken a hard long look at areas in public service where inefficiencies are out of control costing govt millions of dollars. as in the case of the hospital where unnecessary expenditure can be attributed to supplies which can be purchased at a cheaper rate; excessive use of overtime; the govt has reaccessed and re-evaluated and found that any areas to be cut would not be a risk or compromise public health or safety
The vat on the hotel and direct tourism sectors is reduced from 17.5 to 7.00 percent that’s a deep cut. Will this appease the hotels not likely expect them to ask for no Vat at all.
devin,
perhaps you do not understand the concept of VAT (Value Added Tax). It will not be the hoteliers who benefit from a reduced rate of VAT, but the guests (visitors) and that cannot be a bad thing for our tourism industry.
@ ac | August 14, 2013 at 10:56 AM |
So what about the constituency Councils, football tournaments and most of all the Cabinet in his own house full of incompetent puppets made of deadwood?
Why not reduce the size of the Cabinet to pre-2008 level since the economy has contracted enormously since then?
Why can’t he rationalize the political executive the same way he wants to restructure the public sector (which I totally support)?
Why not be fair for once and insist this PM lead by example and then he can ask the citizenry to follow suit?
I think they should have put quotas on the amount of students UWI can admit for which their fees would be paid for, based on their major (some majors already produce an oversupply of graduates). The UWI admissions office could also work with this to ensure those with the best CXC/CAPE etc results take those places as current admissions is a bit slack. The required to withdraw threshold could have also been increased from a GPA below 1.0 (D or 40%) to an GPA below 2.0 (C or 50%).
They should have also been strict on payments so if a student goes over the one buffer year allowed for the time taken to finish the degree, or switches his or her major two times, then that student would not be further funded beyond that point. This way they could have also reduced the UWI bill.
So far, based on comments on the Nation’s Facebook page, it seems a number of individuals are generalizing the Barbadian student population of UWI as just “breezers” but this does not hold true for every student. Some of us do put in a lot of hard work and get respectable grades, and the previous financial set up was a godsend. As it is stands now based on the current financial information for 2013-2014 (which may change for the next academic year), the lowest amount students would be expected to pay annually (Faculties of Humanities/Sciences/Social Sciences) would be $980 + $5625 for a total of $6605. That figure also does not include books which can easily go over $1000 a year.
This is like a car going down a very steep incline, losing its breaks and the driver saying to the passengets the solution to try and reduce the trye pressure in an attempt to slow down the rate of descent. Stupid driver wont only continue the descent but will also now have less steering. Hilarious!!!!
@Bag Juice | August 14, 2013 at 10:30 AM |
Bajans, you are about to experience the hardships that Jamaicans, and Guyanese experience over the last 30 years or so”
it is expected that asses such as urself would wish that but Barbados’ human resource is much more educated and sensible, it will not HAPPEN…we are not governed by drug lords here
Scraper
“……. the Barbadian student population of UWI as just “breezers””
My daughter who just finished her course of study at UWI about two month ago, said that she was disgusted with the behavior of Bajan students at UWI . She said that calling them “breezers” is an understatement.
People have milked Government for years
e.g -reverse tax credit-abused
nis-collected not paid in
vat- collected not paid in
corruption in all
revenue collection depts
of govt
nuttin wrong with leaner
meaner govt
it had to come to this sooner or later
gravy train
too many people tief from Govt
————————————
Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaagga
it can be done
my confidence is with govt
they musse no wha
they doing.
forget de gloom and doom
govt= bright people
dey kno wha dey doing
—————————————-
Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaggga again !
miller so what u seem to want happen is chaos the govt have embarked on a restructing plan to stablise the country economy not for chaos and blood shed the govt knows that situations such as these calls for delicacy and good judgement not helter skelter plans and magical soluions.
My daughter said that the vast majority of Bajan students at Cavehill are more interested in smoking dope, drinking liquor and don’t talk about partying. Cavehill is Party Central.
Buckling down and studying is the furthest from their minds. They used to change Majors by the Semester until that was stopped and then they started changing by the year.
She had a friend there who was a student for seven(7) years it seemed as though they were professional students there.
The whole system was just abused like so many other things in Barbados.
And now to you CASWELL u have been thev loudest Mouth on BU making false claims that public servants jobs would be cut in the thousandsm. NOW FOOL now that YOUR predicition has not materialised .What do You have to SAY. YOU TOO can noW join the CLASS of SHITE TALK right next to your mentor BUSH TEA Jackass.
Abuse also has to stop from the top and everyone has to be able to see it stopped from the top……….let’s hope we get to see this new phenomena of no system abuse starting with government.
I am backing the Government one hundred percent. These changes need to take place.
PRODIGAL SON
You working up yourself so much at your old age. You already have one foot in the grave and if you keep this up you might suffer a stroke.