The Prime Minister seems rightly annoyed whenever she states that the DLP left Barbados holding a debt burden of $18 billion when she assumed office in 2018. If this is true, then every member of that DLP administration should have publicly repented in sackcloth and ashes. However, I have been studying Barbados’ economy since the year 2000 as part of my duties as President of the Barbados Association of Professional Engineers and I cannot reconcile that $18 B claim.
The International Monetary Fund publishes annual reports of each country so that citizens may know how well, or poorly their country’s national economy was managed. The annual report includes the national debt. The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is the value of everything Barbados produces each year. Any debt below 40% of our GDP is good management. Any debt above 40% of our GDP is bad management. Any debt above 60% of our GDP is very bad management. The IMF reported the following debt for Barbados.
In 2016, gross debt was $14.5 B and 149.5% of GDP.
In 2017, gross debt was $15.8 B and 158.3% of GDP.
In 2018, gross debt was $12.95 B and 125.6 % of GDP.
In 2019, gross debt was $12.7 B and 116.2% of GDP.
In 2020, gross debt was $13.3 B and 143.7% of GDP.
In 2021, gross debt was $13.7 B and 127.8 % of GDP.
In 2022 gross debt was $14.6 B and 113.7 % of GDP.
In 2023 gross debt was $15.2 B and 111.5 of GDP.
In 2024 gross debt was projected as $15.0 B and 100.8 % of GDP.
In 2025 gross debt was projected as $15.2 B and 102.5 % of GDP.
Based on the evidence from the IMF: (i) the DLP seemed to leave us holding 15.8 B debt in 2018, (ii) the BLP reduced the debt by approximately $3 B during their first year in office and (iii) the BLP took Barbados debt back to $15.2 B in 2025.
CANCELLING DEBT.
That $3 B reduction in debt was not due to addressing the massive wastage and corruption mentioned in the 2018 election campaign. Instead, it was mostly from cancelling debt owed to the people of Barbados. Debts of $1.3 B owed to our National Insurance Scheme and $1 B owed to our Central Bank were never to be repaid. Also, part of our pensions were seized – never to be repaid.
To their credit, the BLP administration renegotiated some unfair loans that the DLP took in desperation during the Great Mismanagement. That resulted in some debts that we owed to others being reduced.
MANUFACTURING EVIDENCE.
In addition to the IMF reports, further evidence against the $18 B claim is that the current Governor of the Central Bank worked for the IMF in 2018 and has not convinced his former IMF employers of the $18 B figure. Further, the DLP’s Minister of Finance during the Great Mismanagement of the nation’s finances in 2017 and 2018 is now a faithful BLP Minister. Even he has not admitted to mismanaging our finances to the $18 B figure.
Should our Prime Minister stop claiming that the DLP, as terrible as they were in managing Barbados’ economy, left us $18 B in debt? Of course not. Like every Barbadian, she too has the right to dispute the IMF’s analysis. When disputing established claims, we should provide measurable evidence to support our opinions. We cannot simply speak evidence into existence – only God can do that.
Grenville Phillips II is a Doctor of Engineering, Chartered Structural Engineer and President of Solutions Barbados. He can be reached at NextParty246@gmail.com
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