Barbadians will vote on the 11 February 2026 to elect a new government – it will be the third time in eight years. One day a case study to examine the cost to taxpayers and how it contributed to election fatigue, voter apathy and cynicism should be commissioned.
Truth be told, many held high hopes in 2018, and in 2022, when the Mottley led Barbados Labour Party (BLP) received unprecedented mandates. We were promised that deep structural issues that have affected the economy would be addressed. The word transformation was the buzzword and included in the IMF program BERT – Barbados Economic Recovery and Transformation, a. program designed to prepare the wicket for “growth and transformation”.
Disappointingly we have not had enough serious discussion about the economy on the political campaign. Just the usual corn beef theatrics. Although we agree that BERT did what it was intended, to stabilise the economy, the focus must be on addressing the fault lines in the economy so that we can sustain a reasonable quality of life for future generations of Barbadians.
The reality is that Barbados debt obligation remains high relative to our peers, and post BERT, we must manage our finances with care to avoid a return to the IMF. It begs the questions: have we been able to address financial inefficiency at state owned enterprises (SOEs). Many years ago hotelier Adrian Loveridge identified that our tourism product was tired, Are we satisfied that we have focused sufficiently on modernising the sector? What about improving national productivity, fixing the chaotic transportation should be a priority? By the way flyovers will not solve the problem. What about the perennial concerns of the Auditor General’s office? The tardiness to appoint an Auditor General and a lack of support that office has received, questions government’s resolve to address financial management in the public sector.
Approximately $598.6 million will be required to service existing debt obligations for the period December 2025 to March 2026, including $263.3 million for interest expense, $304 million for amortisation, $3 million for loan expenses and $28.2 million for Sinking Fund contributions,” the report stated.
Budgeted amount
“This is approximately $110.3 million less than the budgeted amount for the period and is attributable primarily to the liability management operation conducted in June 2025, which involved the repurchase of approximately US$340.4 million of the Government’s 2029 6.5 per cent Note and the issuance of a new US$500 million 2035 eight per cent Note.
To be fair, the country has made slight progress in recent years, however, there is an urgent need to step on the gas to create a competitive economy. One that is not over dependent on tourism. One area that needs to be of greater focus is private and public sector harmonisation. Barbados, despite the political rhetoric, is a public sector driven economy with a parasitic private sector in tow. Ironically, it means this means there will be continuing demand on the treasury to finance a deficit. What has become of the vaunted social partnership?
Given government’s track record of poor financial management, the blogmaster retains a gloomy outlook for Barbados. A public sector led government is a luxury Barbados cannot afford any longer.
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