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2024 – 2025 Estimates debate

Ryan Straughn and Mia Mottley

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The 2024-2025 Barbados Estimates is currently being discussed (debated) in parliament. Not many Barbadians tune in for what should be an important exercise. This is how government plans to allocate monies to run the operations of respective ministries for the financial year.

Immediately catching the eye this year is that total expenditure exceeds revenue by a whopping $943,324,667. Several views are already being shared as to how government plans to finance the shortfall whether by refinancing debt or debt restructure.

2024-2025 Estimates
Click on the image to read 2024-2025 Estimates

We can use this space to share views on the worrying and recurring issue of government running huge annual budget deficits and levels of foreign and domestic debt. The Governor of the Central Bank Kevin Greenidge and government talking heads assure us the economy is operating at a capacity to easily service existing debt – are we happy about the current state of play?

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60 responses to “2024 – 2025 Estimates debate”

  1. Enuff Avatar
    Enuff

    David
    What was Marshall saying 2008-2018 vs 2018 to present? Right how many times? I likes tuh read.

  2. David Avatar
    David

    Interesting reply my Minister Humphrey admitting there was an error adopting an international policy. A lack of rigorous consultation?

    “Questions raised about Trident ID registration form
    A registration form linked to the new Trident identification card, aimed at collecting information on the disabled, should be “put aside” Minister of People Empowerment and Elder Affairs Kirk Humphrey said on Tuesday.
    “I have asked for the form to be paused,” he said during the Estimates debate in answer to a query raised by Member of Parliament for St Philip North Dr Sonia Browne who said the Medical Registration Form, issued by the government via the National Disabilities Unit, had been flagged by some medical colleagues who had concerns about the content.
    Dr Browne had raised the matter, saying the form was causing some anxiety.
    It asked questions relating to sensory functions, voice and speech functions, breathing and blood function, urinary, reproductive functions, movement and skin-related matters. She said the form, which indicates it is “for the Trident National ID card”, came to her from a psychiatrist and was being used to facilitate welfare assistance and pension applications.
    She said in her opinion, the questions bore no relevance to the ID card.
    “A lot of the information is quite personal,” Dr Browne said.
    In response, Minister Humphrey said having spoken to the Director of the National Disabilities Unit, he became aware that the content had come from an international source.
    “We had agreed to put the form aside. If they haven’t put it aside, they need to put it aside. What is done in Barbados, must suit Barbados,” he said.
    “I am also told the Trident ID does not require information on disabilities, only some confirmation that a person qualifies as an individual.”
    The minister said while those questions on the form are asked in other jurisdictions, “Barbados must do things to suit Barbados’ realities…. If that form is still in circulation it should be paused and we need to create a form that is simple, respectful because dignity must mean something”. (SP)”

    Source: BT

  3. David Avatar
    David

    Things looking good!

    “Minister Straughn meets with IMF’s mission chief
    Minister in the Ministry of Finance Ryan Straughn has expressed renewed confidence in the Barbados Economic and Recovery Transformation Programme (BERT).
    He said the government would continue to emphasise the benefits of the International Monetary Fund (IMF)-backed programme to the entire country because it had “catalysed a whole set of access to other things beyond what we had initially anticipated”.
    Minister Straughn gave that undertaking on Monday, as he, along with Minister in the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Investment Senator Chad Blackman, Central Bank Governor Dr Kevin Greenidge and other senior government officials met with Barbados’ IMF Mission Chief Michael Perks and his team during a staff visit at Government Headquarters.
    Straughn said: “Our job really is to ensure that the reforms continue to be implemented because they are important, and the Barbados Economic and Recovery Transformation Programme is critical to Barbados’ future success. Therefore, irrespective of what happens politically, these are the things that we have done, and will continue to do….”
    The minister pointed to the upcoming World Cup Cricket T20 finals and other key events slated to be held in the country as a sure sign that confidence was returning in several key areas.
    He assured the IMF team that the government was “even more committed today and energised to ensuring that these things happen in a timely manner”.
    Straughn also reminded the team that Barbados had been removed from the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) List of Jurisdictions Under Increased Monitoring, also referred to as the FATF Grey List.
    He shared that 53 areas needed to be addressed when the current administration came to office in 2018, and last December there was one area to be dealt with. Now, he said, “Barbados is officially off the FATF list”.
    “So, the EU (European Union) and those who had us on those various lists will be addressed shortly in relation to upping the compliance based on what we have done for the last five years to address some of those issues,” the minister added.
    Perks congratulated the Government of Barbados on being removed from the FATF Grey List, deeming it a “major achievement”.
    “Even though the public may not really understand it, the board feels really strongly about it, so that was a big thing,” he underlined.
    During the meeting with the IMF team, Straughan also said there was continued work with the Corporate Affairs and Intellectual Property Office to provide better business facilitation and enhanced regulation of growth.
    Dr Greenidge gave a report card on the island’s economic performance, saying that Barbados had met all of its targets at the end of last year.
    He added that the economy grew by 4.5 per cent last year and this was “on top of the 13.2 per cent the year before”.
    “So, we are back to our pre-COVID levels . . . slightly bigger in nominal and real terms. There are some areas like agriculture, manufacturing, and the changing business model of one of our major players – the Arawak Cement Company.
    But generally, our unemployment level is one of the lowest . .
    . . In fact, the only time it was that low was when we did the Kensington Oval for World Cup in 2007, and ironically this year, we are doing some investment in that area, so we expect that to support strong growth.” (BGIS)”

  4. 555dubstreet Avatar
    555dubstreet

    “It asked questions relating to sensory functions, voice and speech functions, breathing and blood function, urinary, reproductive functions, movement and skin-related matters. She said the form, which indicates it is “for the Trident National ID card”, came to her from a psychiatrist and was being used to facilitate welfare assistance and pension applications.
    She said in her opinion, the questions bore no relevance to the ID card.”

    Datafication
    Big Data
    AI
    Quantum Computing

    666 Prophecy Are Collective Human Governments the Beast?

  5. TheOGazerts Avatar
    TheOGazerts

    What information is being collected is frightening. Add this to the hidden surveys and a few things become clear
    (1) these official do not know what it they are doing
    (2) this information is not being consumed locally
    (3) local are nothing more than dat points to be sold off.

    Have we become guinea pigs? Are we just points of data for someone

    I don’t care how patriotic/unpatriotic or how much of a yardfowl (BLP/DLP)you are, at some stage the fact that they get it wrong at every step must tell you that they are up to no good.

    I will modify a phrase I have seen Trinidadians use about their country ‘Barbados is not a real place’. Perhaps Barbados is just a simulation being run by an external source.

  6. Bush Tea Avatar
    Bush Tea

    @ TheO
    ‘Barbados is not a real place’. Perhaps Barbados is just a simulation being run by an external source.’
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    Excellent summary of the term “brass bowlery”.

  7. David Avatar
    David

    Looks like the government intends to put some heat on Caswell and his union, always a good sign …

    https://www.youtube.com/live/Udg7FRLzO3Y?si=a9Vlotjep_bluR_v

  8. David Avatar
    David

    Govt in process of making changes to insurance scheme

    GOVERNMENT IS IN THE process of making adjustments to some of the regulations governing the National Insurance Scheme.

    Minister of Labour Colin Jordan said yesterday this had already been discussed at the Cabinet level, as Government recognised there were “quite a number of regulations to the National Insurance legislation that need to be amended . . . some going back to the 1960s and 1970s.”

    Jordan was responding to questions raised by Minister of Elder Affairs and People Empowerment Kirk Humphrey yesterday, when Jordan highlighted the case of a constituent who was denied an NIS contributory pension after falling short by two contributions of the stipulated number of contributions. He said he had written to the National Insurance and Social Security Service (NISS) on his constituent’s behalf.

    Deputy chief executive officer of the NISS Frances Fontinelle-Walcott sought to shed some light on the case being highlighted by Humphrey, after which the Minister of Labour pointed out that officers of the National Insurance and Social Security Service “cannot of their own volition violate the regulations that govern the National Insurance Scheme”.

    Empathising with the complainant, Jordan said: “It feels so badly that a person is so close but yet so far. We (Government) do not allow ourselves to be slaves to the rules.”

    He cited the case as an example of the need for public education by the NISS.

    “One of our deficiencies is how we educate the public. We have recognised that we have not done as good a job as we could. The NIS does a great job, but there are still some gaps,” Jordan said, adding education was one of the thrusts of the new National Insurance and Social Security Service.

    Humphrey’s second question to the Minister and his team, including director of the NIS Kim Tudor, all seated in the well of Parliament as the debate on Estimates and Expenditure for Government’s next financial year entered the second day, concerned the non-payment of employees’ contributions into the fund, by employers.

    The MP for St Michael South said: “As a Government, we have to build systems that represent people that are fair. I want to find out if we are going to be making any moves to correct what obviously must be seen as some kind of a deficiency, because especially the generation that would have been turning 65/70 in the last eight years, none of these persons are not as au fait with these rules. These people generally trusted the system.”

    Jordan advised employees to check the NIS online portal and to get assistance in doing so, if needed, “so that the fact that an employer has not paid in your contributions after deducting them, does not shock you at the point of pensionable age.” (GC)

    Source: Nation

  9. David Avatar
    David

    Jordan: Full freedom of movement will not hurt labour market

    THE MINISTRY OF LABOUR is revising its migrant labour protocol as the island prepares for full freedom of movement within CARICOM.

    This is intended to give clarity on the rights, responsibilities, and protections “for persons who are coming to our shores”, Minister of Labour, Social Security and Third Sector Colin Jordan said yesterday.

    Jordan believes full freedom of movement in the region will benefit Barbados, and that it will not damage the local labour market.

    “As we speak to rights of persons we have been . . .revising a migrant labour protocol so that we are clear as to the rights, as to responsibilities, as to protections for persons who are coming to our shores,” he reported.

    Jordan was responding to a question on the matter from St James North representative Edmund Hinkson as the Appropriation Bill, 2024 debate contined in the House of Assembly.

    “The Ministry of Labour’s philosophy is grounded in a regional philosophy. It understands that Barbados is part of a Caribbean civilisation, it recognises that Barbados cannot develop to its full potential on its own. And so the engaging at the level of free movement across the region we believe will be beneficial not only to us, but beneficial to the rest of the region,” Jordan said.

    “Much of our trade is with the region. When I was wearing another hat previous to being a member of Parliament, our fourth largest source market for visitor arrivals was the Caribbean, and so there is a symbiotic relationship that we have to do our part as the ministry responsible for labour and the rest of our portfolio to make sure happens.”

    The Member of Parliament for St Peter added: “We do not envisage in our ministry that there will be, for example, an emptying out of a neighbouring country and all of the persons coming to Barbados. We know what the situation is with respect to Haiti but I think the Chamber knows, and maybe some of the public do know, that Haiti is not part of this iteration of full free movement.

    “So we are not of the view that there will be damage done to the . . . local local labour market by full free movement of CARICOM nationals. All member states are working toward putting whatever structures need to be put in place so that we can monitor, and so that we can assess.”

    (SC)

    Source: Nation

  10. David Avatar
    David

    Estimates more than meets the eye

    FINDING THE INSPIRATION to write this week’s article was quite challenging. Not being one who lacks ideas, these past two weeks played out in a way that I found rudimentary. For example, what hasn’t been said about the Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure that hasn’t been said already? For years in fact.

    Now since 2018, the primary and clear issue many economists and public policy analysts have pointed out is how public sector programmes are to be funded – in reality. This is challenging, continually, as governments only have two options in which they can operate if their policymakers take a bird’s eye view. Basically, governments can choose to tighten their purse strings or, spend what they have or haven’t earned.

    High-debt burdened small island states (SIDS) are not blessed to have the best of austerity. No country does for that matter. It means then that all governments either have to encourage spending or investment. The battle is whether they would encourage themselves or the private sector and/ or households to do that. Ironically, again from a bird’s eye view, there are two determining factors for all SIDS. These tend to be: 1. The amount of debt the government will undertake in order to meet its own normal day-to-day activities and to support projects in the wider economy.

    2. The confidence that households, businesses, and civil society have in their country.

    The first factor influences the second factor even to the point of inflation on goods and services in a country. Inflation in Barbados, for the most part, is imported, but a significant part of it still is due to regressive tax policy. The point I make is that if the government sets about revenue raising measures, vis a vis taxation especially, in a country where times are tough then expect a further decline.

    According to the CIA World Fact Book, approximately 84.2 per cent of economic activity in Barbados is due to household consumption. This data is pre-COVID-19. I’m willing to reckon that dependency has risen since the end of the pandemic.

    Available jobs

    What this factor categorically states is that greater numbers of available jobs and salaries are the key factors to economic success in the country. Government policy is supposed to promote this as a priority. To its credit though, I would be the first to say that our post-2018 Government has promoted such intent better than any I’ve witnessed in the past 25 years. What is missing, however, is clear; the government saying the right things at all times without favourable execution is the leading reason why it seems as though most of this promise has fallen through.

    While I agree that having the government award more capital works contracts to the private sector is a useful short term growth tactic, it is hardly ever a sustainable strategy unless you have the capability to offer tax breaks. We haven’t had that true leeway in over 17 years in my estimation. Time after time, projects begin inexplicably late and finish even later in light of many cost overruns. Look no further than in any Auditor General’s Report to support such. That issue has silently turned away substantial local and foreign investment. All the while, the country has entered all manner of economic programmes aimed at also preventing this very behaviour within the public sector. What makes it worse is that we still haven’t hit the debt targets we needed to.

    Admittedly, we have known from 2018 that getting our debt under control (around 60 per cent of GDP) was going to take a long time as the government chose not to be austere. We also cannot dispute the economic havoc as a result of the global shutdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the goal posts with which we measure success in fiscal accounts change inextricably to seemingly soften the effect of the same debt. We, for example, no longer use the term fiscal deficit to describe how much more the government has truly spent over its revenue.

    The fact that most of government performance, past and forecasted, is measured using current surpluses and deficits indicates that a blind eye to debt will catch us by surprise. It has done so continually since the pandemic ended. Plainly put, I haven’t been convinced for a while that the estimates truly casts our debt situation and our implementation deficit disorder as major and real constraints on our development. I applaud recent attempts to deal with some civil and societal matters such as our potential population decline. Certainly, I will speak more about this in the near future.

    Jeremy Stephen is an economist/financial analyst with extensive experience in private equity and economic consulting in Barbados and the region. Email: economistfeedback @gmail.com

    Source: Nation

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