The recent downgrade of Barbados’ bond rating by Moody’s from B3 to Ba3, to be followed by Standard & Poor’s, has triggered a national debate which has become routine in the last five years. The harsh reality – which cannot be refuted by the political partisans – is that all economic indicators are trending down and there is a sense of hopelessness permeating this fair land.
Management 101 advises that a leader should do many things in a time of crisis, at the top of BU’s list is the need to communicate, communicate, communicate. All the channels available should be used effectively to get a coherent message abroad, the message, the output of a communication strategy. And importantly, the message must be repeated to ensure it resonates. Some functions cannot be delegated by a leader.
The calls coming from key stakeholders for the Prime Minister to speak to the issues to reassure Barbadians have been increasing and are sure to hit a crescendo when the Standard & Poor’s downgrade eventually comes. After six years of a Stuart led government, it is obvious the strategy is to retreat from the public space until seven days have passed. Unfortunately for Barbadians, it has become clear the economy is about to enter free fall because government policies are not visibly working.
Occupying the attention of the government of late has been the more targeted commentary emanating from the offices of the Barbados Chamber of Commerce (BCCI) and the Barbados Private Sector Association (BPSA) as a result of the recent change of the guards. A key indicator which BU monitors is the Relationship Index which measures the level/type of engagement between government and private sector groups. After listening to Alex McDonald, head of the BPSA and Tracey Shuffler, head of the BCCI in the wake of the recent downgrade one must surmise there is a level of distrust in government’s policies which will compromise any hope of building a cohesive public private partnership. Note that unlike 1990s when the Social Partnership was born in a similar economic climate it has not performed during this crisis.
Last year BU posted a blog which featured former minister of tourism of Bahamas and Secretary General of the Caribbean Tourism Organization – The Caribbean Must Become the United States of the Caribbean Tourism Style. A success story he shared which Barbados stakeholders clearly have not appreciated is the need for the public sector and private sectors to function as one sector. There is a symbiosis between the two which should be obvious more so in an economic crisis.
To restate previous points posted in other BU blogs. The government can rollout all the policies its limited resources can muster, if the Prime Minster through his leadership of the government is unable to infuse confidence in the citizenry, we will continue to travel on a pathway to nowhere.
The biggest embarrassment for BU was to read the comments by Prime Minister Mitchell of Grenada in todays press expressing alarm at the state of the Barbados economy. How far this proud little island known for punching above its weight class has plummeted.
BU agrees with Minister Donville Inniss who has been the one to respond first to all criticisms levelled at government, the latest Peter Boos and the Moody’s downgrade, it will take time to turn around the economy but do we have the right set of drivers at the wheel to get it done?
The blogmaster invites you to join the discussion.