The article (below) by Barbados Today attempts to capture the contribution on VOB 92.9 Starcom by Minister in the Ministry of Finance Ryan Straughn on the economy and his forecast. To be honest after listening to Straughn – a key man on government’s finance team – the blogmaster was not optimistic the country will see an ease in two years. There are no shovel ready projects and the those in the pipeline are all tourism flavoured.
The banking systems is reported to be awash with money: Barbadians not borrowing, banks not lending or both. There is the sick National Insurance Fund. Not exhaustive but there is a beleaguered middles class who has endured belt tightening mode for more than 10 years under permutations of the Medium Term Fiscal Plan and the Medium Term Development Plan. Now there is BERT!
Thanks to @John A
David, blogmaster
Minister in the Ministry of Finance Ryan Straughn is confident that households and businesses should start getting more wiggle room in another two years so they can start spending more again.
However, he insisted that a lot would depend on construction projects getting started.
He said despite geopolitical developments globally, the Mia Mottley administration has laid a “relatively certain” platform over the past 20 months that should encourage growth in coming years.
“The economy as we begin 2020 is delicately poised. This has come after the hard work of the Government to provide an era of stabilization over the last 20 months. Therefore, what we are anticipating for 2020 and going forward is an acceleration of the implementation of the reforms at the macro level and the unlocking of growth is going to be critical with respect to the average Barbadian seeing the benefits of the work we have done over the last 20 months,” he said.
“Nationally, there is a level of stability that allows businesses and individuals to plan. Therefore, as the Government gets itself right with the people and the public by repaying the arrears that were built up over the last ten years, I anticipate that the position of businesses and households in this country will change over the next two years,” said Straughn.
He said most households were not saving as they used to ten or 15 years ago, adding that until new infrastructure projects were started and consumption patterns change, growth would continue to be lacklustre.
The Central Bank last week predicted growth of between 1.25 per cent and 1.75 per cent for the economy this year.
Straughn said Government was doing what it could to encourage more economic activity by paying tax refunds it owed businesses and invididuals.
“The position that households and individuals find themselves in is that. like the Government, as we are paying persons now and trying to do so in an accelerated fashion, they are in a situation where they are paying down some of the debt they have.
“Therefore we are not seeing as yet new consumption, new investment, and certainly that could not have happened over the last 20 months, simply because of the nature we had to unravel Governments link in all of that,” he explained.
Insisting that people between the ages of 50 and 65 did not have the same level of savings they did 15 or so years ago, Straughn said they were now struggling to replenish that and they had to compete with younger people for jobs to do so.
He also acknowledged that there had been no salary increase for some time, forcing individuals to use what savings they had to pay down debt.
Straughn insisted that with Government paying the hundreds of millions it owes individuals and businesses in refunds space would be provided for more spending power and funds for investing.
Government had indicated that for the first two years of the Barbados Economic Recovery and Transformation (BERT) programme it would pay outstanding tax returns from 2011 to 2016.
Straughn, who was speaking on Voice of Barbados’ Down to Brasstacks on Monday, was not in a position to say how many companies Government owed or how much of the approximately $400 million has so far been paid. Those payments started in April last year.
In relation to individual refunds, Straughn said payments for the years 2011, 2012 and 2013 were complete.
In response to a query from a caller, Straughn gave the assurance that any hold up in income tax returns for 2018, was not as a result of Barbados Revenue Authority not having any money.
@Hal Austin February 9, 2020 9:53 AM “What is the cost of remanding innocent men and woman in prison for up to ten years without trial? ”
About $320,000 BDS; or $170,000 USD or 124,000 British pounds, or 146,000 Euros
Why you asking though? We can afford it.
“But I speak to you here not only as governor of the CDB [for Barbados], Prime Minister of Barbados and chairman of CARICOM”
https://www.nationnews.com/nationnews/news/243845/mia-cdb-strategy
Always popping total shite…she should tell the CDB where the BILLION DOLLARS in VAT that was collected at POINT OF SALE over the years by business people gone, that was the PEOPLE’S MONEY that could have funded youth programs, provided endless opportunites for those now in prison, the criminals they themselves created to line their own pockets…. and why she wrote it off and hundreds of millions in tax evasion money for family and friends and the same corrupt business people which were all written off also instead of being collected, all the while acting like the money was hers to give away, why billions are missing from the treasury, hundreds of millions missing from the pension fund AND NO ONE IS IN PRISION, CHARGED OR INVESTIGATED.
Those are the important things to tell CDB instead of attempting to assign blame to them for the island’s predicament, talking shite like everyone has short memory and shorter attention spans…
……if 3 generations of the island’s youth had not be deliberately and maliciously neglected by both corrupt governments so that they can both promote…POOR ASS MINORTY CROOKS AND RACISTS…over the decades and over their own people, had the money stolen by them and their friends been used for the PEOPLE TO WHOM IT BELONGS INSTEAD OF STOLEN BY THIEVES AND PARASITES…aka all of them and their briber friends…she would not have the nerve to pretend she is innocent in all of that…or seeming to scold CDB for not upgrading..
..since IDB has recently offered loans and challenged her to put the creators and investors FIRST…a group both governments with their evil, badminded, greedy ways and NEGRO CONDITION….have robbed, disenfranchised, marginalized, oppressed and suppressed over many decades, always showing their hatred and disdain for BLACK CREATIVES…. and when they themselves, both useless governments, never upgraded anything on the island for over 50 years, although they all had tens of billions of tax dollars, LOANS AND GRANTS to do so…they should explain what they did with all that money, why the island’s infrastructure is deplorable…WHY PENSIONERS CANT GET THEIR BENEFITS….why the hosptal is in such a repulsive state, why the nurses and maids….dont get paid for months at a time.
They are yet to understand in their house negro roles…THAT THE MAJORITY BLACK POPULATION PAYS THE TAXES AND FUND THE ISLAND…always have, always will…..the money is theirs, it does not belong to the crooked cows, maloneys, bizzys and bjerkhams or any of the minorites they promote and suck up to for the bribery factor…neither do the lands and estates of the elderly or vulnerable people’s bank accounts that they have ALL BEEN TIEFING for decades.
Tell CDB that…as a matter of fact, tell yall brand new “international partners” UK…all of that.
We totally understand why this has happened in US, as wrong as it is, a country that even after centuries is still fighting slavery and racism demons, where Black people, the minority in that land, are still fighting for certain rights, but can she or anyone else explain…WHY THESE SAME VIOLATION OF BLACK HUMAN RIGHTS…, continue to be perpetrated against the BLACK MAJORITY…led by ugly black governments….that is what should be explained.
And don’t tell me it is UK caused them to do it, the old rumor i have been hearing for decades….another shite excuse it would be coming from weak black people.
https://www.facebook.com/647299084/posts/10158011552834085/
CORRECTION
since IDB has recently offered loans and challenged her to put the CREATIVES and INVENTORS FIRST….
Yeah…corruption, in this instance the decades old destroyer of Black lives, this happens when Black governmemnts refuse to learn anything outside of their uppity fake titles and uselessness…the citizenry is now AWAKE…so shut the hell up with your lies and misdirection.
same shit, different day.
Then the rotten leaders want to jump out with the weakest and flimsiest of excuses when they KNOW it is their corruption and neglect of their own people causing the crime waves and DISPARITY IN WEALTH…they suck up to people who look nothing like them to enrich them in exchange for robbing the people and pretending to be world famous.
“This is one of the most irresponsible utterances to date from a head of government, Prime Minister Holness. Jamaicans lived through the carnage of of over 1,100 killing in 2019 and you Mr. Prime Minister is now blaming the victims, “Jamaica has a corrosive permissiveness for violence,” Holness. I do admire Mr. Holness social media blitz in position Jamaica and himself as ready for and doing business. That will come to naught Mr. Prime Minister with you and your government appearing to be morally and intellectually bankrupt in solving the crime problem in Jamaica. Prime Minister Holness the truth is the heart of Jamaica’s problem is the corrosive and permissive acceptance of CORRUPTIONS. And while corruptions exist in almost every facet of Jamaican life the real problem is not just corrupt officials robbing the treasury blind.
Mr. Holness the most insidious and pervasive form of corruption destroying this country is the fact that we are a country with the largest income and wealth disparity in the world. Jamaica, a country whose income and wealth disparity is the index by which other countries are measured. Mr. Holness the average man in the street does not understand this. The average man in the street, the pawns of the levers of powers don’t understand that if we wipeout all the gun toting bandits tomorrow and not solve the income disparity, the crime problem of Jamaica will not be solved. Mr. Holness you, your government, and astute Jamaicans know the truth of the rotten and cancerous nature of a society where a small percentage of people own the majority of the wealth and income.
Mr. Holness, fighting corruption on every level must be front and center. Corruption is not a political football to be kicked around pointing fingers at the other guy, the other party. Ensuring that the relevant police and judicial authorities have the full unwavering support of the government in rooting out and prosecuting corruption without fear or favors must be front and center. Launching a campaign to educate and enlist Jamaicans in the fight against corruption will pay immeasurable dividends. And of course, enacting tax legislation to reduce the tax burden of the working poor and retirees. The GCT tax is regressive and onerous and should be removed from all food items or at least all locally produced food items.”
All these corrupt governments sing from the same hymn sheet..
their “universal partners” UK…need to come and collect them, those are their monster creations, you own them…they are your property, says so right in the Constitutions, they pledge allegiance to you each and every election cycle…NOT TO THE PEOPLE…so they are yours that you unleashed on vulnerable Black people….
@ Baje
Neither the pensions regulator nor the FCA kin the UK (nor the scheme members) would tolerate a pension fund investing large amounts in residential property. It is too high risk and illiquid.
The first test is to the scheme’s/insurance company’s long-term obligations and the scheme/company must be in a position where in a case of a shock they can meet those obligations without any serious threat to the survival of the business.
After Clico, thinks should be a priority in Barbados.
By the way, rental properties/shared equities are not the same as residential mortgages. IK would put a ban on Googling. It is no substitute for knowledge.
Oh gaawd volte face….as usual and narrative shifting! From shouldn’t to large amounts. I thought White Oaks and the debt restructure was gonna end up in Court and tears? You’re a bullshitter and blusterer. You do not mean well, you are just an egofowl bent on trying to prove that because you live in the UK you are better than Bajans living in Bim. Often times with wrong info! Don’t call my name and I’ll keep my tail off BU. #100%resi #idontGoogleformyinfo
@enuff
Had banked in you being able to defend your positions and not follow a predictable path .
“Don’t call my name and I’ll keep my tail off BU.”
ya can’t stay off BU, ya got brand new “international partners” UK..alyuh now gone international Enuff, ya gotta be there for the main events…all fowls invited.
@Tron February 9, 2020 10:11 PM
what an interesting response.
The concern with WO is NOT the international creditors per se, rather the ‘success fee’ for ‘renegotiating local debt’. It was a slam dunk. and they get a percentage on the TOTAL amount renegotiated. So they negotiate 5%, 10%, 12%, 15% or whatever savings, and they still get the same fee, as is it paid on the principal amount. You might think they were investment bankers. It isn’t a success fee, it isn’t tied to any success, but only the total principal amount. So $40M+. That buys a lot of buses and garbage trucks?? Not to mention gifts.
P.S. I need to get on that ‘gift list’. You must be on it… lol
@ Northern.
I would Go a step further and say WO should have been paid an agreed percentage on THE TRUE NET REALIZED SAVING AFTER INTEREST AMORTIZATION AND NEGOTIATION COST BASED ON THE NEW MATURITY DATES.
But wait hold on if that had happened they wouldn’t of got a blind cent! LOL
@JohnA
you heard Buchheit’s comments on success fees?
He admitted he “got taken”, seems he wasn’t the only one.
@ Northern.
Yes he admitted that when the TRUE TOTAL COST of the exercise was taken into account the fees for the net gain were HOT as we say here in BIM.
Thing is I think he realised after all the smoke had cleared and all was factored in, including the new interest cost to the new expiry dates, that the net saving was no where near what was thought. One could say WO were it saving a business called BIM, was paid on sales and not increased net profit.
Why nobody every pay me so?
@ Northern
What I found most interesting from Buchheit’s address was when he spoke of the danger of restructuring debt. One can see how extending payments past their current due date means we can find ourselves unable to finance any growth down the road, as we have no excess liquidity to finance new debts for development.
Sound familiar?
Isn’t that what the 6% surplus and reducing % dept to gdp will provide?
Yo… Douglas Trotman, well known lawyer, has a blog on our favorite topic that we beat to death already, incestous crookery and corruption, corruption, corruptioin, ah want to see all the moutta browns and fowls going on the link and telling us how they really feel.
Alyuh had a lot of stupid talk for me and others, in my case, over the last nearly 8 years, now is your opportunity to SHINE in glory.
Piece…but look at life.
PM Holness is 100% right. Jamaicans ( those that engaged in violence) are the most violent set of negroes on the planet. Even the Haitians next door, 5 times poorer, don’t slaughter its own on a per capita basis like Jamaicans do. There got be some neurological or genetical predisposition at work here.
It’s the same politicians created that environment and atmosphere of violence and crimes over the decades in the Caribbean islands, with their yardfowl philosophies and breeding poverty in depressed neighborhoods that were deliberately ignored post independence…the same can be said for Barbados on a much smaller scale, check out the escalating violence, if left unchecked, it will be the same in 50 years, useless, greedy governments, thefts of state funds by all of them, lack of opportunities and progress in the black majority populations for the last 3 generations….caused all of this.
check out Cynthia Forde talking shite about not enough funds for something or the other, she failed to mention that Mia wrote off 1 BILLION DOLLARS in VAT that the business people, her friends, stole from the people, also failed to mention the hundreds of millions in taxes written off for family and friends, the thefts of billions from the treasury and hundreds of millions from pension fund …all of which could have funded programs, this and that…created opportunites for those now deemed criminals due to violence and oppression and suppression…
this corruption and theft of public funds by governments causes a crime filled Jamaica and Barbados to emerge…creating vicioius crimes and criminals…put the blame right where is belongs…corrupt, small time governments.
@ John A
I gots to watch meself!
You are “growing ” on me! I going have to watch that.
Heheheheh
You said, and I quote
“…I would Go a step further and say WO should have been paid an agreed percentage on THE TRUE NET REALIZED SAVING AFTER INTEREST AMORTIZATION AND NEGOTIATION COST BASED ON THE NEW MATURITY DATES.
But wait hold on if that had happened they wouldn’t of got a blind cent! LOL…”
But you forgot to add “…and the Minister and permanent Secretary would have gone home empty handed…”
Heheheheh