IMF Reaches Staff Level Agreement on the First Review of Barbados’ Economic Program under the Extended Fund Facility
May 17, 2019
End-of-Mission press releases include statements of IMF staff teams that convey preliminary findings after a visit to a country. The views expressed in this statement are those of the IMF staff and do not necessarily represent the views of the IMF’s Executive Board. Based on the preliminary findings of this mission, staff will prepare a report that, subject to management approval, will be presented to the IMF’s Executive Board for discussion and decision.A staff-level agreement was reached between the IMF staff and the Barbadian authorities on the First review of Barbados’ Economic Recovery and Transformation program (BERT) supported by the Extended Fund Facility.
Barbados continues to make good progress in implementing its ambitious and comprehensive economic reform program.At the request of the Government of Barbados, an International Monetary Fund (IMF) team led by Bert van Selm visited Bridgetown from May 7–17, 2019 to discuss implementation of Barbados’ Economic Recovery and Transformation (BERT) plan, supported by the IMF under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF). To summarize the mission’s findings, Mr. van Selm made the following statement:
“Following productive discussions, the IMF team and the Barbadian authorities reached staff-level agreement on the completion of the first review under the EFF arrangement. The agreement is subject to approval by the IMF Executive Board, which is expected to consider the review in June. Upon completion of the review, SDR 35 million (about US$49 million) will be made available to Barbados, bringing the total disbursement to SDR 70 million.
“Barbados continues to make strong progress in implementing its ambitious and comprehensive economic reform program. International reserves, which reached a low of US$220 million (5–6 weeks of import coverage) at end-May 2018, have more than doubled since then. The rapid completion of the domestic part of a debt restructuring has been very helpful in reducing economic uncertainty, and the new terms agreed with creditors have put debt on a clear downward trajectory. The authorities have started the reform of State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) by tightening reporting requirements and shedding excess staff.
“All program targets for end-March under the EFF have been met. The program target for Net International Reserves was met by a wide margin, as was the target for the Central Bank of Barbados’ Net Domestic Assets (NDA). The targets for the primary surplus, central government grants to SOEs, central government domestic arrears, and social spending were also met.
“In March, parliament adopted a budget FY2019/20 targeting a primary surplus of 6 percent of GDP. Full year effects of reforms set in motion during FY2018/19, including the introduction of several new taxes (an airline travel fee, room levies, a new fuel tax, and a new health service contribution), should help achieve this target. A broadening of the base of the VAT and the land tax, adopted in March 2019 in the context of the FY2019/20 budget, will help support revenue. The budget approved for FY2019/20 provides a solid basis for the targeted fiscal consolidation; the authorities stand ready to take additional measures if necessary to reach the targeted 6 percent primary surplus.
“The Barbadian authorities continue to make good progress in implementing structural benchmarks under the EFF, including those that contribute to an improved business climate such as a new Planning and Development Act passed in January 2019 and a Sandbox regime to regulate fintech start-ups set up in October 2018. A new Public Financial Management Act passed in January 2019 introduced wide-ranging measures to strengthen fiscal transparency and accountability. The government has also introduced a system for monitoring SOE arrears on an ongoing basis and has submitted a consolidated report on the performance of SOEs to parliament.
“Progress being made by the authorities in furthering good-faith discussions with external creditors is welcome. Continuing open dialogue and sharing of information will remain important in concluding an orderly debt restructuring process.
“The team would like to thank the authorities and the technical team for their openness and candid discussions.”
IMF Communications Department
MEDIA RELATIONSPRESS OFFICER: Randa Elnagar
Phone: +1 202 623-7100Email: MEDIA@IMF.org
IMF Staff gives Barbados Thumbs Up
197 responses to “IMF Staff gives Barbados Thumbs Up”
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Coming out of the press conference (seen in the video) the Prime. Minister stated there is the possibility of Cahill suing Barbados under the contingent liability.
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The other observation is the paucity of questions which came from the press corp.
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David
Why you did not grace the press conference with your presence and pose your questions ?
Or is it – that White Oak is no longer an issue for you – even as the IMF team noted that negotiations with the external creditors – should be done in open dialogue & sharing of information ( i.e) transparent !
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@Fractured BLP
The blogmaster is still focused on Cahill.
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Well at the same time David
The PM can revisit Greenland & Veco , Dodds Prison !
They both predated Cahill.
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Fractured BLP
Your statement on what the IMF team said is misleading.
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@Fractured BLP
Did the DLP made those agreements available during its 10 years in office?
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The IMF praising the progress the government is making… but what is the destination? I suggest you read, with a critical eye, the IMF Executive Board’s statement of 1 october 2018 on the Extended Fund Facility for Barbados.
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To quote the prime minister, we have to stay the course.
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It is illadvised for us to put so much truck in the mouthings of the imf as though manna from heaven.
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@Pachamama
Is appears to be the only game in town now that we have decided to drown in debt to support our conspicuous consumption habit.
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@David
The problem is that we the ordinary ctizen don’t know why we drowning in debt. Is it because we have a “conspicuous consumption habit” or for some other reason? Without a clear public breakdown of this debt, identifying what was borrowed, when, from who, what it was used for, what interest the loans came at, how much we’ve repaid so far and what is still owing, we’ll still be in the dark. All we hearing is take the bitter medicine and shut up. Don’t ask why you have to be losing your job or your pension get put in jeopardy. -
The IMF is a body of self serving leeches who couldn’t give a dam about the small islands social enviroment
Their means to and end by any mean necessary is to collect
Govt does the dirty work of collecting and in return the IMF pat govt on the shoulders like a master rewarding a dog for good behaviour
Govt ought to be ashamed to mouth the recignition of the IMF towards them
Meanwhile the criminal enviroment takes root
Unemployment escalate and barbados poverty level increase
All which adds up to disguting -
Always google for yourself. The picture is not as clear as described above
You are in the spin zone“Bermuda and Barbados have committed to addressing EU concerns and have therefore been moved to a so-called grey list of countries still under EU scrutiny for their tax practices, the statement said, effectively giving them more time to be fully compliant.
Bermuda’s Finance Minister Curtis Dickinson welcomed the EU decision. He said there was still work to be done to improve the island’s tax legislation on collective investment funds, about which the EU had still concerns.
“EU governments have once again let some of the world’s worst tax havens off the hook,” said Chiara Putaturo, of the anti-poverty group Oxfam.
“The reforms agreed by Bermuda, Barbados and Aruba will not stop them operating as tax havens,” she added, calling on the EU to blacklist all jurisdictions that offer very low or zero corporate tax rates”
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@Tee White
Should we go back to a basic assumption that the economy and society is a composite of the households existing within?
Should we assume that individual behaviours are shaped/influenced by personal values? How are these values nurtured and stoked? How do the values change across segments in the population?
We seem to be touching a chicken and the egg debate.
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@David
I think before we start assuming anything, we should get accurate information about the thing we’re dealing with. Once we’ve got the information, we can analyse it and draw our conclusions. -
@Tee White
Why do we need stats if we import everything under the Sun?
You need reminding we do not produce very much for export?
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@David
The other observation is the paucity of questions which came from the press corp.
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What are you trying to say? Are you intimating the journalists at the Press Conference weren’t up to the task? The PM used the word “esoteric” in her lead up , yuh think she was speaking about the reporters? In fairness to them the PM tends to wander off in her responses and by my reckoning it took approx. 9 minutes to answer the two questions and I noticed the IMF rep started to fidget as local politics is not on his plate.Among the other things I heard was that everything that went wrong in Barbados started in the last decade, the phrases “punching above our weight” is now mandatory and ”many hands make light work” is standard fare in Bim.
A bright note is the promise to reform the “unfair” Common Entrance Exam, that should bring out the traditionalists.
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@ David,
Interested in discussing ? You may want to consider buying a whole house water filtering system.
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Some ‘black market’ drug dealers in Barbados have expressed an interest in getting involved in the medicinal cannabis industry.
And according to Sarah Seale, the president and managing partner of Canadian company Cannabis Management Resources Inc, that interest should be seen in a positive light.
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This is not a political DLP/BLP thing, although we may be led to believe so.
The technical work for the current zones was done in 1962.
Much has changed since 1962, including better equipment with which to do hydrological mapping.
This change should have been recommended and IMPLEMENTED 25 or 30 years ago.
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In 1962 I had not yet written the 11+
Barack Obama was in diapers.
Justin Trudeau’s parents had not yet met.
Mia Mottley was a toddler.
Rihanna’s parents were little children.
Oprah was
Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and Oprah were in grade 2 or 3/Infants B, or Class 1.
Teresa May was in Infants A/grade 1.
Donald Trump was a virginal teenager.
Most of our current Parliamentarians and some of their parents were not yet born, and some were in diapers or in elementary school.
The question is why do we take so long, to decide, and then to act?
Why were we still working with early 60’s legislation?
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No longer will visas be required for nationals of the following African countries to enter Barbados: Cameroon, Ethiopia, Ghana, Liberia, Morocco, Senegal, Rwanda and Burkina Faso.
Visa waivers have also been granted to the Gulf States of Bahrain, Jordan, Oman and Qatar as well as the Asian countries of Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand and India. In addition, Barbados has an honorary consul present in Monaco and visa requirements have also been lifted for that nation.
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Can Barbadians enter those countries without a visa?
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“The question is why do we take so long, to decide, and then to act?
Why were we still working with early 60’s legislation?”
tunnel vision..
dumb as rocks…
too busy tiefing..
too uppity and arrogant….
they still think Bajans are to be robbed, disenfranchised, marginalized and kept in a perpetual slave society…while they fill their pockets …AT YOUR EXPENSE…
bottomline…ya leaders are shite and remain lowlife shite.
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No longer will visas be required for nationals of the following African countries to enter Barbados: Cameroon, Ethiopia, Ghana, Liberia, Morocco, Senegal, Rwanda and Burkina Faso.
Visa waivers have also been granted to the Gulf States of Bahrain, Jordan, Oman and Qatar as well as the Asian countries of Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand and India. In addition, Barbados has an honorary consul present in Monaco and visa requirements have also been lifted for that nation.(Quote)Heather Cole
May 18, 2019 2:43 AMCan Barbadians enter those countries without a visa?(Quote)
What is the answer? Can Barbadians enter India without a visa? Remember when Brian Lara, at the height of his fame, was prevented from entering India without a visa?
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@ Waru,
The Atlantic slave trade was founded on the principle that a slave and their descendants status would always remain enslaved.
Our colonial masters gave us our “independence”, however, we are all aware that our independence is a “quasi” one.
The old boy colonial network – the IMF – is instructing our Prime Minister into how she should govern the country. They say “Jump!” and she replies “How high!”.
Take a look at the soon to be burgeoning marijuana industry. Do you believe that Barbados will be allowed to develop and profit from this industry?
And whilst you are figuring out the above point take a look at how the country of Guyana and its people will never be allowed to benefit from their huge reserves of oil.
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If you borrow the people money you dance to the music they play. Show we are an educated people by efficiently managing the country.
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You know when your playing poker, your making a big bluff and everyone at the table is reading your face to see what hand you really have….,take a good look at their picture
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Talking Loud…another crime of the century which WE…unlike or ancestors…HAVE TO STOP..
make no mistake …we are fighting SPIRITUAL WICKEDNESS IN THE HIGHEST AND LOWEST OF PLACES..
Females worldwide are now fighting the demons who are legislating to unleash their RAPIST DEMONS on us…using the supreme court..
No one can stop any of them…BUT US..
the battles are for the STRONG……NOT FOR THE MENTALLY WEAK…
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waru …self medicating again are we
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David
What if capitalism has past the point of being managed well, as you say?
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I have said on BU on numerous occasions that the major problem with the public sector in Barbados is not corruption (there are not that many Donvilles around), but incompetence. There is a belief that to have a qualification equips one to do the job; so to get a PhD in law means one can become chief justice.
Clico is aa good example of this. After about ten years, both DLP and BLP incompetents have been unable to resolve this matter. During that period, thousands of banks in the US, and a huge number of insurance companies and banks in the UK and Europe have got in to trouble and the resulting mess has been sorted out (see Northern Rock, Midland , etc)
But after a judicial review, volumes of words and shouting, we are no further with resolving the Clico debacle than we were ten years ago.
See below for another example of gross incompetence, of Mr Straughn, again (I am told he has a MPhil in economics; if so Lord in Heaven forgive us). Is this part of BERT?Government had no choice but to dissolve Resolution Life Assurance Company Limited (ResLife), the court-sanctioned successor of CLICO, claims Minister of Finance Ryan Straughn.
Straughn told a town hall meeting at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre last night that contrary to what some financial pundits have argued, the decision to close the company was not a matter of trying to find the easiest way out and that all options were considered.
According to the Minister, the closure was the only option that ensured the investors got back some return on their investment without burdening the taxpayers with a private debt for generations to come.
Straughn said: “All of the claims from persons in Barbados and potentially those in the Eastern Caribbean, significantly exceeded the money or assets available to balance that liability. As a result, the previous government would have issued $600 million in debt to plug that hole.
“The reality is that as we came to office and as we restructured the debt, the existing burden of financing that debt so that the company can remain solvent did not make sense.
“If the company on its own could not manage its liabilities, the Government itself, given our debt profile up until a year ago, was also insolvent.
“Therefore, it was impossible for the Government to continue maintaining payments under that arrangement and at the same time continue to put money into the company to keep it going.”
The Finance Minister argued that not only was the structure of the company unsound but it threatened to derail progress of the Government’s economic restructuring programme, BERT.
“Many of you were promised that you would be paid, and the reality is that the inability of the company to pay you as promised suggested that the structure and the nature of it did not add up.
“So, we took a long hard look at what we were doing in the context of the total restructuring of Barbados’ debt and what Government was doing with respect to public financing.
“The reality is that under the Barbados Economic Recovery and Transformation (BERT) plan, we have committed to reducing our debt to GDP to 60 percent by 2033 and this debt that would have been issued to Resolution Life formed part of that,” The minister told the audience.
In Straughn’s estimation, given that policyholders had waited ten years for a definitive solution to the CLICO fiasco, it was unfair to leave these persons clinging only to hope. He argued therefore that it was kinder to devise a payout structure by which these policyholders and investors would be allowed to move on with their lives.
He said: “I would imagine that after 10 years, most persons owed by the company would feel much more relieved to be able to make their own plans going forward rather than hoping that this company would mature to the point where it is actually generating new business.
“So it is our considered view that given Government’s fiscal circumstances at the moment and the lack of confidence in the company to take on new business, the only logical conclusion would be to wind the company up and make payments in a manner that allow these persons to manage their affairs.”(Quote) -
It is not a tad ………………….. dishonest?
Bordering on the height of intellectual dishonesty.
For people who have multiple passports
Those who could reside in any of the European countries
Travel to maybe 170 countries without visas.
On the one hand
And on the other
Trying to present as conservator of what Barbados’ emigration policy should be.
Where other Bajans should be able to go and who should come into Barbados.
The insistence on a dated notion of sovereignty, nationality, from a fractured ‘broughtupsy’.
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But looka muh crosses, the Senior Editor is seeking to compare the “sorting” of Northern Rock etc with Clico/Reslife. Why not tell BU how many people lost their jobs, life savings and shares in Northern Rock. Also tell the blog what was done and how that was possible. Then tell us what is being done to Clico/ResLife, why and how because I don’t know how you arrived at “we are no further with resolving Clico”.
I just googled Straughn, it is an MSc in Econometrics from the University of Manchester, one of the Russell Group universities you often promoted on BU as superior to UWI. SMFH! -
@Pacha
If you have just a cursory look at the global performance indicators/trendline there is a positive relations isn’t there. Remove the war option and control of financial markets/speculation and what would we have?
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this BLP administration is using this initial period in office to pull the wool over bajans’s eyes whilst we are still cussing the last ten years but fail to take into account that the leader of the BLP and most of the ministers have a history in government that can be viewed between 1994 and 2008.
it must be said the BLP has done a great job in encapsulating all political failures (including theirs it seems) in the years between 2008 and 2018 and bajans appear to so believe.
so the $40 mil port scammers recently reduced was a misspeak and hasnt happen yet, the $27 mil White Oaks nonsense is money well spent, the removal of the NRSL reduced commodity prices, the south coast sewage has been solved, the fuel taxes saved bajans from paying road taxes, firing bottom line public servants saved the economy, 30 cabinet ministers is v necessary to repair the DLP mess up, hiring a plethora of consultants at a cost that far eclipses money saved form firing low level civil servants is no big deal, the hiring of Czars we can overlook, hiring an ex soldier to set up a police organization makes perfect sense and Barbados hitting IMF imposed financial targets means the economy is now sound.
@Hal
i am now forced to say you are correct, Bim is a failed state -
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blockquote>
Ian D. Bourne to The Bajan Reporter
11 hrs ·
The Barbados Labour Party will be celebrating its 1st Anniversary as the Government of Barbados on May 25, 2019.
To commemorate this occasion a Church Service is being held on Sunday, May 19, 2019 at the James Street Methodist Church, James Street, Bridgetown at 9.00 a.m.
Prime Minister and Political Leader of the Barbados Labour Party Hon Mia Amor Mottley will be addressing the gathering.
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@ Hal
This is pure bait and switch.: Wind up Reslife; give the policy holders almost nothing; sell the health policies to the highest bidder and then put their claws in CLICO assets. Pretend that that the CLICO assets are useless. Then enter big legal fees while disposing the assets and like magic the lawyers feeding for years off the CLICO ill-gotten gains. Pure bait and switch.
Both parties, BLPDLP, were in bed with Parris and CLICO. Just like in Trinidad, the political class was in bed with Dupre and CLICO.
Remember what Leroy Parris said openly and in public to Prime MInister Arthur:“I have given you what you want now give me what I want”. The End result: CLICO was allowed to do as it pleased.
This is another story about the corruption of both Roebuck and George Streets. Once more ordinary citizens are the victims of pure BLPDLP corruption.
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@ Enuff
I am not in the habit of calling people liars. But if someone repeats something they know is incorrect then the intention is malicious. You are not the only one.
Plse give the blog one example of my promoting Russell Group universities, and where I have said they are superior/better than UWI?
I shall ignore the rest of your appalling ignorance. -
The Barbados Labour Party will be celebrating its 1st Anniversary as the Government of Barbados on May 25, 2019.
To commemorate this occasion a Church Service is being held on Sunday, May 19, 2019 at the James Street Methodist Church, James Street, Bridgetown at 9.00 a.m.
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What fortuitous timing! Frenduel is scheduled to speak to the DLP faithful on that date and Mia will also be addressing the red shirt brigade. That should allay the fears of the blogmaster who expressed consternation at the notion of the DLP allowing Stuart near a microphone again. This is no clash of the titans, it ensures that Stuart will not receive any coverage.BTW since actual date of the Election was May 24 does this kick off a week of celebrations?
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@Hal without reciprocity little has been achieved by this exercise but it is a step in the right direction.
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Enuff,
If Cahill successfully sues Barbados, we want blood on the scaffold. It cannot be that Chris Sinckler spends his retirement as a free man, while the Barbadian taxpayer has to bleed for his economic terror and his personal “challenges”.
Enuff, it is time to replace the heads of the prosecution unit and of the police so that justice can finally be done. We need to bring to justice all those who signed blood to Cahill. In any case, I am not paying a higher land tax in order to continue to feed former ministers like sheep and servants.
The criticism against the new government is completely unjustified. Here the DLP robots and their supporters at the twisted UWI economics faculty shoot at the financial service provider White Oak and deliberately remain silent about the crimes of the old government, which did no fake damage, but real damage.
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there should no issues with a criminal review of Bim Govt contracts from 1994 to now
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@approx 13 minutes into the news conference the PM said words to the effect that the removal from the black list means Insurance Companies that would have “left us” will now be staying. Did Sagicor complete its move? Are there other Insurance companies that signaled their intention to move?
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Tron @ 9.26 am
You have me full support. -
@Greene
Are you a political simpleton to expect a BLP government would investigate contracts issued dated to 1994?
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yes i suppose i would have to be if i believe that political thievery began in 2008 like what is peddled by you and others ent?
The blogmaster invites you to join the discussion.