PDC
Given the Auditor General’s comments in her most recent report at http://bajan.files.wordpress.com/2013/03/auditor-general-report-2012.pdf concerning the shortcomings in the Government’s accounting systems, and her Opinion that “In my opinion the Financial Statements presented for audit did not in all material respects fairly represent the financial position of the Government of Barbados as at 31st of March 2012”, the Central Bank report has to be viewed with a certain amount of scepticism. The numbers may be worse than presented in the report. International reserves may have declined more than reported, and unemployment rate at September 2013 down to 11.1% from 12.2% at September 2012 hardly seems possible, etc.
@Bush Tea
It is more about the perception that Sinckler is not able to inspire confidence. Without confidence it does not matter how effective his policies are, they will fail.
We need an independent body or individual to make an impartial assessment of the current state of the economy. Sorry! The BES is not impartial anymore since they removed Straughn. The UWI economists have not thrown up anyone believable. The Central Bank’s hands have been caught in the cookie jar before re. unemployment statistics and we know how closely they work with Government. The Government has an obvious bias as does the BLP and their spokespersons would not make the cut.
Would a Charlie Skeete or a retired Government Head of the Public service or that guy who headed the CLICO interim committee (Layne) fill the bill since they might be deemed impartial as they are now out of the firing line?
Where is that body or individual? In the absence of such a body could BU invite some of its posters with Economic credentials to educate us on this very important matter. John Doe seems to be knowledgeable in this area as is also Millertheannunaki. During the height of the CLICO matter there was a fairly frequent poster (I forget his handle) who also seemed to be quite knowledgeable in this area. I think Blogger2012 also has some expertise in the area but would be a good resource if he could curb some of his partisanship.
Suggest that David invite posters with experience in monetary economics or economic policy or government or central banking in the Caribbean especially in Jamaica, or Guyana, or Grenada or St Kitts or Barbados to write some short simple pieces on the current status of the Barbados Economy to educate us novices. The posters should indicate up front the expertise and experience (in general, not specific terms) that they have in this area. The pieces should use the info in various central bank and Government reports as background data to base their opinions on where the Barbados economy is headed; if the slide can be halted and when; If and when the IMF should be called in; If the Bdos exchange peg should be defended and at what cost; and what type of restructuring is necessary at this time. The pieces should also give some opinion on if there has been any significant progress made in meeting the objectives of the 2013 budget and if it appears that there will be such progress given the current trajectory of the Government and the data reported in the recent CB report. There should be NO attempts made to pillory either the Government or the opposition in these BU papers.
I’m certain that it will be a useful exercise if there is participation and that there are probably 10 or so regular BU posters that can contribute.
I am only a Springer Girl (we celebrating 49 years this month), but why do I get this feeling each time the Gov. of the Central Bank opens his mouth that he is losing credibility more and more. He seems more to be speaking what he is told to. Is this the creature of which Sir Courtney spoke years ago.
Bushie said ……”The MOF is even more the animal of the PM than is the CBB governor, who can at least fall back to the statistics…..”
Bushie do you mean that the PM should be the one to face the vote of no confidence? I totally agree with that! When you have a fool at the top making decisions like hiring the MOF what can we expect?
Central Bank of Barbados : ISSUE OF $50,000,000 BARBADOS GOVERNMENT 6?% TREASURY NOTE 2020 ISSUE OF $100,000,000 BARBADOS GOVERNMENT 7.0% DEBENTURES 2027
10/24/2013 | 07:02pm US/Eastern
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General Press Release ISSUE OF $50,000,000 BARBADOS GOVERNMENT 6?% TREASURY NOTE 2020
ISSUE OF $100,000,000 BARBADOS GOVERNMENT 7.0% DEBENTURES 2027
10/21/2013
ISSUE OF $50,000,000 BARBADOS GOVERNMENT 6?% TREASURY NOTE 2020
Applications are invited on Monday, October 28, 2013 for subscription to this Treasury Note opening on Friday, November 01, 2013. The Treasury Note will be issued at par with a fixed interest rate of 6?% payable on April 30 and October 31 of each year. The interest due to Pensioners 60 years and over residing in Barbados will not be subject to withholding tax.
Non-residents seeking tax exemption must satisfy the Commissioner of Inland Revenue of their status before exemption is granted. However, for all persons resident in the island, the interest from these Treasury Notes will be taxed separately from other income at a rate not exceeding 12½%. These Treasury Notes will be repayable at par on October 31, 2020. The issue will remain opened until the Central Bank advises that it has been fully subscribed.
Prospectuses may be obtained from the Central Bank of Barbados, our website http://www.centralbank.org.bb, the Accountant General or any commercial bank. Application forms should be addressed to the Director, Banking, Currency & Investments Department, Central Bank of Barbados, Tom Adams Financial Centre, P.O. Box1016, Bridgetown.
ISSUE OF $100,000,000 BARBADOS GOVERNMENT 7.0% DEBENTURES 2027
Applications are invited for subscription to this Debenture opening on Monday October 28, 2013 for issue Friday November 01, 2013. The Debenture will be issued at par with a fixed interest rate of 7.0% payable on April 30 and October 31 of each year. The interest due to Pensioners 60 year and over residing in Barbados will not be subject to withholding tax.
Non-residents seeking tax exemption must satisfy the Commissioner of Inland Revenue of their status before exemption is granted. However, for all persons resident in the island, the interest from these Debentures will be taxed separately from other income at a rate not exceeding 12½%. These Debentures will be repayable at par on October 31, 2027. The issue will remain opened until the Central Bank advises that it has been fully subscribed.
Prospectuses may be obtained from the Central Bank of Barbados, our website at http://www.centralbank.org.bb, the Accountant General’s office or any commercial bank. Application forms should be addressed to the Director, Banking, Currency & Investments Department, Central Bank of Barbados, Tom Adams Financial Centre, P.O. Box 1016, Bridgetown.
David
Each of the Prospectuses says “The Loan is being raised to assist with the financing of the Development Plan.
What is the “Development Plan”
Also, the two most recent daily cartoons in the Nation at http://www.nationnews.com are hilarious and spot on. The Outlook in the Central Bank Review was clearly written by someone looking through rose coloured glasses. “With an unduly cheerful, optimistic, or favorable view of things”
Due Diligence,
We are and have been stating that the methodologies informing the basis for measuring and accounting for the net international reserves of the government of Barbados are wholly flawed and absolutely fictitious.
In an earlier post under this thread we suggested that there must really be a very clear distinction made between an imaginary stock of set aside foreign currencies held by or on the behalf of the government of Barbados in some local and foreign institutions, and the day to day transactional use by the relevant Barbadians and some particular non-Barbadians of foreign currencies here and abroad.
Furthermore, sometime ago, in Barbados, the present Governor of the Central Bank of Barbados was reported in a section of the local news media as having made at one of the Central Banks’ media conferences a point which we have construed as this: that the government has this stock of foreign reserves available to it, that, whenever there is a shortfall between the foreign import numbers and the foreign export numbers, could be used by the bank and others to fill that shortfall between those numbers.
Let us say too that he was also reported in that same news story at the same media conference as having made another point which we have construed as this: that it is out of those foreign remunerations that are made, that imports are paid for ( which is an egregious fallacy and untruth – for under the cost of use of money that we have evolved that is far from the truth), and that it is only when those foreign remunerations are declining that use is then made by the central monetary authorities of some of these so-called reserves to help make up for the shortfall (already stated in the point attributed to the Governor just above).
Very importantly, therefore, what we are here now contending is that these two points that were reportedly made by the Governor are further evidence that the methodologies used for measuring and accounting for the so-called net international reserves of the government of Barbados are totally awry and in shambles.
For, mere “declines” in export foreign remunerations/numbers CANNOT bring about any “declines” in the net international reserves of the government of Barbados at any stage, since, in cases of these, there was no use AT ALL, during the times of these “declines”, of the otherwise imagined stock of set aside foreign currency reserves of the government of Barbados.
Too, any amount of foreign remuneration costs/numbers (in the context of imports) CANNOT be enough either to bring about any “declines” in the net international “reserves” position of the government of Barbados at any stage, when it is clear that they are in the main represented by the day to day transactional uses by the relevant persons of foreign currencies/numbers here or abroad. Surely, such actual transactional uses of foreign currencies/numbers, CANNOT be deemed by anyone as having been part of any reserves of the government of Barbados.
Now, the fact that there are these kinds of considerations means that there has to be a clear understanding that much of what the government claims as the country’s own in terms of bonds and securities held by others on the international capital money markets are NOT reserves but are representative of payments due to the government – on the behalf of the people – at various times in the future when they become redeemable. Also, foreign capital located in the governments accounting books which represent the remunerations of foreign investors and which is available for their own uses cannot be claimed too as being part of any government of Barbados’ so-called foreign reserves. By including such potential payments, foreign capital numbers as part of these so-called foreign reserves, the government will be significantly overstating over inflating the levels of the so-called foreign reserves, which in the end – once these payments become used by it or once the foreign capital is used by the foreign investors in terms of its being falsely matched by their uses of local dollars here – the government will have to correct these numbers – especially when there is nothing to show physically service wise locally alongside such uses – by way of some false accounting methodology.
So, the question must be that when there is a claim by the Bank that more than BDS $ 400 million has been NOT got for the 9 months period January to September 2013 ( when contrasted with the corresponding 9 months period last year), and that when there is the taking of the two above factors into consideration, as so outlined in the second paragraph above this one, it must mean that the operationalization of these two factors could not ever have been accounting for such a claimed but non-existent slide in the foreign reserves. So, what might have been accounting for such a projection of there being this “slide” – other than the fact that the government is wrongly claiming the receipts from the redemption of the type of bonds and securities mentioned above as “reserves”, (but which really cannot be deemed as reserves when used), and when too the monetary authorities ought not too to be giving these false impressions to many people in Barbados that these so-called foreign reserves are so much – in the billions of Barbados dollars, at one stage, say, in 2006/7, when already they would really have been over stated over inflated to a great extent? What perhaps? Especially when it is clear that Barbados has been driven by principally these wicked inept DLP and BLP governments into its sixth consecutive year of depression, with export remunerations consistently down ? What?
Indeed, other than the government cooking the foreign currency “reserves” books? Indeed, there might really be a question that government is from time to time drawing down significantly from the said international bonds and securities market holdings, to help in its local administrations. These types of draw downs might also be made by the monetary authorities to be artificially reflected in the appropriate books.
PDC
The PDC should be heard on the call in shows
and discussions
Proposals are worthwhile and forward thinking
like
like
like
being impresed
Yagga Rowe,
Thanks most graciously again for your continued support for the PDC and by extension the CUP.
Rest assured we will continue trying our best in the fundamental interest of this country’s redevelopment.
PDC
Where?
I wonder why COW and many other Construction firms are downsizing?
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