Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
“Burunciuc concluded with a stark warning: “This is not just an education crisis; it is a crisis that threatens the future of the Caribbean.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Our eddykashun system is indeed shiite.
BUT…
The single BIGGEST threat to Barbados and the Caribbean right now …
is the World Bank, IDB, IMF, and people like Buruniuc.
@ David
The time has LONG PAST when we should be shedding our backs of the doomed $US.
Very soon we will come to regret this folly of our leaders chasing blindly after fiat shiite money….
It will be dread inna Babylon….
@Bush Tea
We are members of those institutions you mentioned, we go to them. Who should be demonized?
Your other point.
We have borrowed funds nesting in our reserves?
We will be borrowing to buy gold?
Make it make sense!
@ David
Perhaps you have not yet got over Valantines day..?
What members of institutions what??!!
Is Ninja Man a ‘member’ of the Salvation Army… or one of their ‘projects’?
Is Barbados a ‘member of these institutions? …or a victim?
Do you not understand that these institutions were CREATED to engineer the new version of the 16th Century plantations??
Instead of guns and slave ships, they are using the MUCH MORE EFFECTIVE ‘love of money’ vis debt, and the general albino-centric inclinations of the new slave prospects.
You are correct that WE GO TO THEM… they no longer need to hunt us down in Africa… WE actually ASK and BEG …for our children to be enslaved with debt…
Having BORROWED funds constituting our ‘RESERVES’ – has to be the oxymoronic concept of the Century…
Reserves are excess SAVINGS that have been put aside for a rainy day, while
BORROWED FOREX represents a massive and expensive LIABILITY – whose role is to give the FALSE sense that we have accumulated savings.
btw..
We will NEVER buy gold.
That makes too much sense for us …and it is NOT what the IMF allows its minions to do.
..to besides, what would we buy it with..? cut plate ?
LOL
Look Boss,
We are much like Ninja Man ..on steroids…
and we are equally good at talking Ninja-manisk shiite on big occasions…
– while ‘progressing’ in a VERY similar direction to him..
This is good news. To see it realized. Implementation deficit has been the challenge.
“Barbados to become pharma research hub in landmark deal
By Shanna Moore
Barbados has taken a significant stride towards establishing itself as a centre for pharmaceutical research and innovation by signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with European biotechnology firm Biomedx.
The agreement, finalised on Wednesday, aims to advance biomedical research, attract investment and position the country as a key player in global pharmaceutical development, with a focus on addressing the underrepresentation of people of African descent in medical trials.
Speaking during the signing event, Minister of Industry, Innovation, Science and Technology Marsha Caddle said the partnership aligns with the government’s push to develop a highskilled, knowledge-based economy.
“When we came to office in 2018 and developed the Barbados Economic Recovery and Transformation Plan, we identified this as an area where Barbados could distinguish itself,” she said.
“We successfully achieved recovery, and now we are focused on growth and transformation.”
Caddle noted that people of African descent are underrepresented in pharmaceutical and biomedical research and that this collaboration aims to change that.
“Barbados has gathered valuable data on our population, and now, through molecular technology and artificial intelligence, we have the opportunity to analyse that data to better understand health trends,” she said.
“If we can improve research into conditions like cardiovascular disease, we can contribute solutions not only for our own people but for the world.”
Praising the move as revolutionary, Prime Minister Mia Mottley said the partnership builds on ongoing efforts to develop Barbados as a pharmaceutical and biomedical research hub.
“This relationship did not just start,” she said.
“We laid the groundwork in discussions with the World Health Organisation, the European Investment Bank, and leaders from Rwanda and Guyana.”
She highlighted the urgent need for medical research focused on people of African descent, particularly in treating conditions like diabetes.
“I’m told that less than seven per cent of people tested in pharmaceutical trials come from an African background,” she said.
“That’s a serious concern because we are in the middle of a diabetes epidemic. Too many Bajans are losing limbs or suffering from kidney failure because their medication may not be as effective for them. This is where the rubber meets the road,” Mottley added, stating that, “this is about real solutions for real people.”
The PM also credited the European Union’s support in helping Barbados develop a pharmaceutical regulatory framework, which she said is a key step in attracting investment.
Addressing the event, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, in Barbados for the CARICOM Summit which opened later Wednesday, said the EU remains committed to supporting pharmaceutical development in the Caribbean.
“We all learned during COVID how vulnerable we are. That is why we support your pharmaceutical sovereignty—medication produced in the Caribbean, for the Caribbean, and beyond,” she said, further announcing the upcoming launch of PharmaNext, a project aimed at boosting biomedical investment and regulatory alignment between Europe and the Caribbean.
The MoU between the government and Biomedx was signed by CEO of Export Barbados Mark Hill and Biomedx founders Gerhard Ries and Christian Tidona, signalling a move towards the country’s establishment as a leader in pharmaceutical research, biotech investment, and personalised medicine, with a focus on health solutions tailored to Caribbean and African populations.
The development follows Tuesday’s opening of the Barbados Living Laboratory, a cutting-edge research facility also designed to revolutionise medical science, enhance healthcare services, and further position the island as a biotechnology leader.
shannamoore@barbadostoday.bb”
Source:BT
Do you drink your Kool aid with or without ice Boss…?
What “pharma research hub” what !!??
What became of the Pharmaceutical center – creating vaccines etc, that was the the feature of a speech some time ago?
…or of the 100% renewable energy promise..?
…or the Report on HOPE, NISS, Four Seasons, etc?
Talk is cheap, and any pitiful looking Parro can survive on borrowing – FOR A TIME…
That kool-aid stuff can be addictive hear boss..
It taste sweet, but will bun yuh belly.
A bit surprise that the Great BT is not familiar with
’In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.
Perhaps you would recognize this
I will pour out my Spirit on all brassbowls. Your politicians will promise new initiatives, your PM will become a phophet and a climatologist, and BU’s old men will dream great dreams.
https://barbadostoday.bb/2025/02/19/living-lab-launches-to-drive-biotech-innovation/
Bushie
An effort is being made. All the fanciful language aside, you have to begin somewhere.
“Do you drink your Kool aid with or without ice Boss…?”
Hot, cold, sweetened or unsweetened, the blogmaster is refilling his 🥤☕
But Barbados need fellows like the blogmaster …
if he jumps off the cliffs everyone else will abandon hope and jump.
We need him focusing on his Koolaid/coffee/tea
☕☕☕🥤🥤🥤
Somebody say that “St Lawrence Gap is the party area of the island but during the day it is very quiet and a good place to stroll through as there are various places to have a light breakfast (or heavy) and various shops and street vendors who don’t trouble you.”
@ NO
“Bushie…An effort is being made. All the fanciful language aside, you have to begin somewhere.”
~~~~~~~~~~
Agreed….
And one begins to master the challenge of CRAWLING, and standing up unaided… BEFORE one sets off for the next Olympic Games.
So when you see a NAPSAC contestant bragging about ‘qualifying for the next Olympic Games’, you can SAFELY know that they too, are on a koolaid diet.
Boss…
If you CANNOT operate a BASIC hospital, or Port, or a transport system in a 2X2 Island, or manage a BASIC judicial system, or even fix pot holes….
What damn biotech innovation what??!!
Steupsss…
No doubt this too will stalll when some shiite Public Service clerk refuses to sign a needed license for some petty reason..
or when some official is unable to elicit the required constituency support donations… and our a stick in the spokes…
You playing that you don’t know…
@ Bush Tea
You left out can’t even run a blasted garbage collection system. I have not seen a garbage truck up here in the bush of St Thomas and St George for 4 weeks this week! I got friends down near Cost u less telling me the same thing so it’s not only me up here in the country suffering.
Wunna talking health and can’t even collect the blasted garbage on a regular basis. When the dems was doing this wunna cuss them and wunna doing the same thing. Six of one and half dozen of the other. Next elections I going to the beach.
STUPESS!!!!!
sneakers or sandals on the beach at Heywoods.
https://barbadostoday.bb/2025/02/22/sandals-to-create-3-500-jobs-with-massive-new-resort/
Sandals to create 3-500 jobs….
Translation:
Just like we did 400 years ago, thousands of Bajans will be thankful to be ‘fully employed’ (though not necessarily in the slow period or ‘Hard Time’) ….as porters, maids, cleaners and gardeners in a brand new foreign owned plantation slated for Barbados.
This new state of the art plantation is to be built on the site of an old almond colored business that was owned and operated by the natives, …but which was sold for 20 pieces of silver and a secret handshake, by the then local Chiefs… with the usual shiite PR talk from the Judases in charge.
Well…
Life is all about CYCLES…
BUT ..It is just amazing that it is our current HIGHLY EDUCATED JA leaders, who are the ones leading us RIGHT back into chattel slavery – and BRAGGING about it…
No doubt we will need to BORROW some money to GIVE INCENTIVES to Sandals to ENCOURAGE them to become our new Massa…
What a place!!!
What a curse on our donkeys…
“The people who WORKED they way back antislavery….”
I did not hear what it sold for though did anyone hear? Cause last I heard a few years ago Sandals made an offer to this same government and were told ” the offer was not acceptable .”
So now we brek and borrowing from everybody is the old offer suddenly acceptable?
SBA wants clarity on 5.5% tax rate
The Small Business Association of Barbados (SBA) wants the authorities to make it clear which entities can benefit from the 5.5 per cent corporation tax rate.
SBA chief executive officer Dr Lynette Holder says its position is that the Small Business Development Act should be used to determine which company can benefit from the lower tax rate.
She was speaking yesterday during an online information session where tax expert Tara Collymore-Kirton briefed SBA members and other participants on the corporation tax pre-payment regime.
Policy note
On February 4, the Barbados Revenue Authority (BRA) issued a policy note outlining which companies qualified for the 5.5 per cent corporation tax rate effective January 1, 2024.
These were those which have gross income of $2 million or less; paidup capital of $1 million or less; no more than 25 employees; and at least 75 per cent of the shares are beneficially owned by a resident of Barbados.
In addition, the policy note said that where the company is a member of a group, all members of the group must meet the four criteria.
“Companies that were specifically excluded from the definition of small businesses that would not be eligible for the 5.5 per cent would be companies or societies that hold a foreign currency permit, companies that are granted concessions under other enactments, whether it be the Tourism Development Act, the Special Development Areas Act or companies whose primary business is the holding of shares or real estate,” said Collymore-Kirton, who is a tax partner at Deloitte Barbados but spoke as a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Barbados’ tax committee.
Holder said, however, that despite the BRA policy note, there was still some confusion and ambiguity on the matter.
“It has always been our understanding that the five and a half per cent is being earmarked, if you will, for small businesses, and if that is the case, then you would anticipate that the definition of small business will be used,” she said.
The CEO said the BRA note appeared to have expanded the definition of small business beyond what was stated in the Small Business Development Act.
“So it is creating still a little concern in the minds of persons relative to the definition that can access this five and a half per cent,” she told webinar participants.
“We believe that the five and a half per cent should really be earmarked for small businesses and . . . you should be using the legislation that defines a small business to determine who should be benefiting from that five and a half per cent.”
Definition
The SBA favoured this over the other definition of approved small business, and Holder observed that “as it is now, there are . . . less than 150 approved small businesses in Barbados”.
Collymore-Kirton said her understanding was that “once you fall into one of the two definitions, then you’re eligible for the five and a half [per cent]”.
“So, if there are instances where . . . the gross income is over the $2 million, but the person may be an approved small business, in that case the company would still be eligible for the five and a half per cent,” she stated.
Kafeisha Francis, of the BRA, who was a webinar participant, explained that the BRA policy note on the issue was based on the Income Tax Act “because that’s the instrument that we administer”.
“So, the language will flow from there in terms of the definition and classification. So, hence the reason why you . . . are not seeing at this time the same thing that is in the Small Business Development Act,”
she noted.
Francis reminded that “the minister and the revenue commissioner would have indicated that it is not the intention to remove the opportunity for small businesses to benefit from the 5.5 per cent rate, and we are looking at it . . .to take it back for further discussion”. “And the amendment is in the pipeline to happen so that taxpayers can have greater clarity with respect to their tax position and what is required,” she said. (SC)
Source: Nation
“DEBT QUERY
HOW SUSTAINABLE IS NAT’L DEBT? WORRELL WANTS TO KNOW
By Emmanuel Joseph
The former Governor of the Central Bank of Barbados, Dr Delisle Worrell, has raised concerns about the sustainability of the Mia Mottley administration’s financial strategy, warning that prioritising debt servicing over essential government spending could undermine the country’s economic stability.
In his March economic letter, Making Sense of Government’s Finances, Dr Worrell warned that if debt is being treated in such a way, government finances may not be sustainable, even though the primary deficit is in surplus.
Dr Worrell outlined several considerations for the Mottley administration as he sought to make sense of its finances.
In contextualising the matter, the international economic consultant referenced the Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure laid in Parliament on February 11, showing government’s intended finances for the fiscal year that begins in April and ends on March 31, 2026.
He acknowledged that the cover page of the document states that the excess of expenditure over revenue is expected to be equivalent to US$600 million ($1.2 billion), or about 8.5 per cent of GDP. “What are we to make of this number?” the former bank head queried.
Dr Worrell pointed out that the government is living within its means when tax and other revenues are sufficient to cover current spending, including all wages, purchases of goods, supplies and services, subsidies and transfers to statutory bodies and individuals, interest payments and depreciation.
He identified this as the balance on the current account, contending that prudent management suggests that current expenses should always be fully covered by current revenues, with something extra to contribute to capital expenditure projects.
“When the government maintains a surplus on the current account, we know that all borrowing is for roads, ports and airports, hospitals, schools and other public facilities. All government loans are devoted to capital expenditures that improve public services and enhance the attractiveness of the economy to local and foreign investors. Other concepts of the government deficit are often found in public discussions,” he asserted.
The overall deficit is defined as the difference between government revenue and total expenditure—the sum of current and capital expenditure. Dr Worrell said the overall deficit is less informative than a breakdown into the current balance and capital expenditure.
“Government finances,” the senior economist warned, “will not be sustainable if the government maintains an overall balance at the expense of capital expenditures which are essential to maintain the country’s international competitiveness. Loss of international competitiveness because of deteriorating infrastructure and public facilities results in economic stagnation, declining government revenue and shortages of foreign exchange.”
He suggested that the primary balance is mainly of interest to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and international lenders.
“However, the primary deficit does not tell us whether the government is servicing debt at the expense of other government priorities, either on the current or capital account. Should that be the case, government finances may not be sustainable, even though the primary deficit is in surplus,” he added.
Returning to the deficit, the former central banker suggested that the government used none of these definitions.
“In addition to all current and capital spending, the Barbados government adds to expenditure the total of all debt that matures in the 2025/26 fiscal year. The amount of US$600 million is the total required to finance the overall deficit for the fiscal year plus the amount of debt that will have to be repaid or refinanced,” he explained.
The founder/president of Delisle Worrell and Associates added: “The most informative indicator of prudent management of government finances in the interests of economic growth and balance-of-payments stability is a small surplus on the current account, together with affordable local and international borrowing to finance capital expenditures. The other measures of deficit have more limited usefulness and are mainly relevant for borrowing strategies and debt management.”
emmanueljoseph@barbadostoday.bb”
The blogmaster invites you to join the discussion.