There is the popular saying that the only sure things in life is death and paying taxes. This is not an accurate statement – two more certainties must be added: successive Barbados governments reluctance to enact and operationalise transparency legislation i.e. integrity and freedom of information AND rationalising State Owned Entities (SOEs).
It is a pity the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) continues to usurp its important obligation to be a dissenting voice on behalf of Barbadians. The same can be said about the many academics educated by taxpayers at UWI and elsewhere. Why aren’t we getting the same torrent of public commentary about the current state of the economy to match what is being generated by immature political infighting at George Street?
Although government and its agent the Central Bank of Barbados continue to self congratulate on the outlook for the Barbados economy, we need to take a breath. Besides the fact Barbados continues to be over-reliant on the tourism sector – there is the caution noted by Fitch Ratings report – Barbados’s SOE Support Has Fallen, but Contingent Liabilities Remain High and supported by a government generated Fiscal Risk Statement 2024 report as it relates to the financial burden on public finances caused by SOEs.
In a recent Letter to the Editor a former minister of government Anthony Wood confirmed what we always knew, SOEs are created by governments to pad employment numbers with political supporters. In the a 2017 Barbados Underground report Sinckler’s spiel, former Minister of Finance Chris Sinckler reminded about government’s intention to rationalise SOEs. It is 2023 and the current Minister of Finance AND Prime Minister Mia Mottley is making the same promise.
The MoF cursorily addressed the problem of the nagging fiscal deficit. The junior pool of reporters present let slip the opportunity to press the MoF on the plan to rationalise state enterprises. The MoF promised Barbadians many moons ago that statutory corporations will be rationalized. Wasn’t a committee headed by Dr. Justin Robinson established to chart a roadmap to execute the Sinckler Plan. A year from the next general elections and the government continues to dither on its implementation. Clearly the project to rationalize statutory corporations is integral to reducing the fiscal deficit. At this late stage in its second term It is difficult to see how this DLP government will aggressively pursue rationalization if it plans to win the general election.
Sinckler’s spiel
An irony to note is the government’s intention to create additional SOEs. In the 2024/2025 Budget, Prime Minister Mottley declared that the government will establish a new SOE, or two, in the form of Business Barbados where the Corporate Affairs and Intellectual Property Office (CAIPO) will be split into two divisions: Corporate Registry and Intellectual Property Division.
It is unlikely this Mia Mottley government will have an appetite to aggressively rationalise SOEs to reduce the huge annual transfers and subsidies allocations – not with the head of the largest trade union Toni Moore nestled in its bosom.
The blogmaster invites you to join the discussion.