Tag Archives: IMF Report Barbados

IMF Makes USD21 Million Available to Barbados

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The following is the latest IMF Update – Blogmaster

May 7, 2021 End-of-Mission press releases include statements of IMF staff teams that convey preliminary findings after a visit to a country. The views expressed in this statement are those of the IMF staff and do not necessarily represent the views of the IMF’s Executive Board. Based on the preliminary findings of this mission, staff will prepare a report that, subject to management approval, will be presented to the IMF’s Executive Board for discussion and decision.

  • IMF team reaches a staff level agreement with the Barbadian authorities on the fifth review of Barbados’ Economic Recovery and Transformation program (BERT) supported by the Extended Fund Facility.
  • In this very challenging environment, Barbados continues to make good progress in implementing its ambitious and comprehensive economic reform program.

Washington, DC: At the request of the Government of Barbados, an International Monetary Fund (IMF) team led by Bert van Selm conducted a virtual mission between May 3-7, 2021 to discuss implementation of Barbados’ Economic Recovery and Transformation (BERT) plan, supported by the IMF under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF). To summarize the mission’s findings, Mr. van Selm made the following statement:

“Following productive discussions, the IMF team and the Barbadian authorities reached staff-level agreement on the completion of the fifth review under the EFF arrangement (Press Release 18/370). The agreement is subject to approval by the IMF Executive Board, which is expected to consider the review in June. Upon completion of the review, SDR 17 million (or about US$24 million) will be made available to Barbados.

“Barbados’ economy remains severely depressed by the ongoing global pandemic. Tourism came to a virtual standstill from April 2020 onwards and remains at a fraction of normal levels. Economic growth for 2021 is premised on a modest recovery of tourism in the second half of 2021. Risks remain elevated, including in light of the impact of recent volcanic activity in neighboring St Vincent. 

“In this very challenging environment, Barbados continues to make good progress in implementing its ambitious and comprehensive economic reform program. A new central bank law was adopted by parliament in December 2020—a critical safeguard for continued prudent macroeconomic policy. International reserves, which reached a low of US$220 million (5-6 weeks of import coverage) in May 2018, are now at a comfortable level of US$1.3 billion. Quantitative targets for end-March under the EFF were met except for the performance criterion on central government transfers and grants to public institutions, which was exceeded owing to measures to address the COVID-19 health crisis (including the vaccination program executed by the national hospital).

“The Government of Barbados is targeting a zero percent of GDP primary balance for FY2021/22 (compared to a deficit of 1 percent of GDP in FY2020/21). This fiscal stance reflects a projected modest recovery in tourism and facilitates COVID-related emergency outlays on health facilities, medical supplies, and income support to the most vulnerable. The authorities’ long-term debt target of 60 percent of GDP will be pushed out by two years (from FY2033/34 to FY 2035/36) to reflect the impact of the pandemic on the economy; the authorities remain firmly committed to reducing public debt over time.

“The team would like to thank the authorities and the technical team for their openness and candid discussions.”

IMF Communications Department
MEDIA RELATIONS

PRESS OFFICER: David Sharrock

Phone: +1 202 623-7100Email: MEDIA@IMF.org

@IMFSpokesperson

IMF Gives Barbados a Nod with Comments

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The raging Covid 19 pandemic continues to test human and financial resources of all countries especially Small Island Developing States (SIDs). Many have forgotten that before the pandemic the sorry state of the local economy. Despite the nod from IMF Van Selm (Mr. BERT) that “in this very challenging environment, Barbados continues to make good progress in implementing its ambitious and comprehensive economic reform program, while expanding critical investments in social protection.” A simple-minded blogmaster must ask Prime Minister Mottley what is the mid/long term plan to sustain the economic and social well being of the country? The blogmaster acknowledges this is a difficult time.

David, blogmaster

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has concluded its February virtual visit to Barbados. The IMF team, which held meetings with local officials from February 2 to 5, was led by Bert van Selm.

At the end of the visit, van Selm issued a statement in which he acknowledged the economic impact of the COVID pandemic on Barbados’ economy:

“The prolonged COVID-19 pandemic continues to have a major impact on Barbados. The economy is estimated to have contracted by about 18 percent in 2020, with a gradual recovery projected to start in 2021. Tourism arrivals remain at a fraction of normal levels, and recent increases in COVID-19 cases in key source markets, including the US and the UK, will likely delay the recovery. In addition, a recent outbreak of COVID-19 in Barbados led to an ongoing lockdown that will reduce economic activity in the first quarter of this year.”

The statement noted that “in this very challenging environment, Barbados continues to make good progress in implementing its ambitious and comprehensive economic reform program, while expanding critical investments in social protection.”

Van Selm confirmed that the island had met its December targets under the Enhanced Fund Facility (EFF) programme.

The statement also highlights several of the structural changes that are ongoing or have been completed:

“A new central bank law, aimed at strengthening the autonomy of the bank while limiting the provision of credit to the government, was adopted by parliament in December 2020. An actuarial review of the civil service pension system was completed in November 2020, providing the basis for upcoming public pension reform. A new procurement law to strengthen the fairness, integrity and transparency of the procurement process is expected to be submitted to parliament in February.”

Source: Central Bank of Barbados

Read the full text of the IMF report:-

February 5, 2021

  • The global coronavirus pandemic is causing a deep recession in Barbados. 
  • Implementation of the Barbados Economic Recovery and Transformation (BERT) program remains strong, despite the COVID-19 shock. 
  • Program targets under the Fund-supported program for end-December 2020 were met, and international reserves reached more than US$1.3 billion at the end of December.

Washington, DC – February 5, 2021: At the request of the Government of Barbados, an International Monetary Fund (IMF) team led by Bert van Selm conducted a staff visit via videoconferencing between February 2-5, 2021 to discuss the implementation of Barbados’ Economic Recovery and Transformation (BERT) plan, supported by the IMF under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF). To summarize the mission’s findings, Mr. van Selm made the following statement:

“The prolonged COVID-19 pandemic continues to have a major impact on Barbados. The economy is estimated to have contracted by about 18 percent in 2020, with a gradual recovery projected to start in 2021. Tourism arrivals remain at a fraction of normal levels, and recent increases in COVID-19 cases in key source markets, including the US and the UK, will likely delay the recovery. In addition, a recent outbreak of COVID-19 in Barbados led to an ongoing lockdown that will reduce economic activity in the first quarter of this year. 

“In this very challenging environment, Barbados continues to make good progress in implementing its ambitious and comprehensive economic reform program, while expanding critical investments in social protection. Key indicative targets for end-December under the EFF were met. International reserves, which reached a low of US$220 million (5-6 weeks of import coverage) at end-May 2018, increased to more than US$1.3 billion at the end of 2020. 

“Strong steps have been made in implementing structural reforms. A new central bank law, aimed at strengthening the autonomy of the bank while limiting the provision of credit to the government, was adopted by parliament in December 2020. An actuarial review of the civil service pension system was completed in November 2020, providing the basis for upcoming public pension reform. A new procurement law to strengthen the fairness, integrity and transparency of the procurement process is expected to be submitted to parliament in February.

“The team is looking forward to conducting discussions for the fifth review under the EFF in May and would like to thank the authorities and the technical team for their openness and candid discussions.” 

IMF Communications Department
MEDIA RELATIONS

PRESS OFFICER: RANDA ELNAGAR

PHONE: +1 202 623-7100EMAIL: MEDIA@IMF.ORG

@IMFSpokesperson

Article IV Consultation and Second Review Under the IMF’s Extended Fund Facility for Barbados – “Program Implementation is Strong”

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December 16, 2019

  • The completion of the review enables an immediate disbursement equivalent to SDR 35 million (about US$48 million). A four-year extended arrangement under the EFF was approved on October 1, 2018.
  • Program implementation is strong. All program targets for end-June and end-September 2019 have been met.
  • Since May 2018, international reserves have increased from a low of US$220 million to more than US$600 million at end-October 2019.

On December 16, 2019, the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) completed the second review of Barbados’ economic reform program supported by an arrangement under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF). The completion of the review allows the authorities to draw the equivalent of SDR 35 million (about US$48 million), bringing total disbursements to the equivalent of SDR 105 million (about US$145 million).

The four-year extended arrangement under the EFF, for an amount equivalent to SDR 208 million (about US$288 million, or 220 percent of Barbados’s quota in the IMF), was approved by the Executive Board on October 1, 2018 (see Press Release No. 18/370 ).

The Executive Board today also concluded the 2019 Article IV consultation with Barbados. The associated press release will be issued separately.

Following the Board discussion of the review, Mr. Tao Zhang, Deputy Managing Director, and Acting Chair made the following statement:

“Barbados continues to make good progress in implementing its comprehensive homegrown economic reform program. All quantitative performance criteria, indicative targets, and all structural benchmarks for end-September 2019 were met.

“The fiscal adjustment continues as programmed with the primary surplus targeted at 6 percent of GDP for FY2019/20 and subsequent years. This target for end-September 2019 was met by a significant margin, and the FY2019/20 budget provides a solid basis for reaching the target for the next fiscal year. Tax policy reforms aim to enhance revenue, while improvements in tax and customs administration are essential to support medium-term revenue. The planned adoption of a fiscal rule in 2020 will help sustain the adjustment effort over the medium and long term.

“State-Owned Enterprise (SOE) reforms are essential for achieving the primary surplus target and maintaining it over the medium term. To secure fiscal space for investment in physical and human capital, transfers to SOEs are envisaged to significantly decline by a combination of stronger oversight of SOEs, cost reduction, revenue enhancement, and mergers and divestment.

“Adequate social spending and an improved safety net to protect the most vulnerable members of society are key priorities of the program. Social spending is being protected, preserving Barbados’ strong social safety net and limiting the impact of the stabilization program on low-income households.

“A comprehensive public debt restructuring complements the fiscal consolidation. The recent agreement reached with commercial external creditors will help reduce uncertainty and improve prospects for investment. Under the program’s macroeconomic framework, the restructuring agreement will facilitate reaching the 80 percent of GDP medium-term debt target in FY2027/28, and the 60 percent of GDP long-term anchor in FY2033/34.

“An improved governance framework of the Central Bank of Barbados would facilitate limiting monetary financing to the government, and strengthening the central bank’s mandate, autonomy, and decision-making structure. Measures to strengthen the AML/CFT regime would also be helpful.

“Strengthening disaster resilience is key to boosting medium-term economic prospects. Climate change is likely to increase Barbados’ vulnerability to weather-related events that could have a major impact on its economy. With the inclusion of natural disaster clauses into new domestic and external bonds, Barbados effectively used the debt restructuring to strengthen its protection against natural disasters.

“Structural reforms are needed to unlock Barbados’ growth potential. While the process for providing construction permits has been streamlined, much room for improvement in the business climate remains. Deeper regional integration would also help increase Barbados’ growth prospects.”

Full IMF Report – Article IV Consultation and Second Review 

IMF Staff gives Barbados Thumbs Up

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IMF Reaches Staff Level Agreement on the First Review of Barbados’ Economic Program under the Extended Fund Facility

May 17, 2019
End-of-Mission press releases include statements of IMF staff teams that convey preliminary findings after a visit to a country. The views expressed in this statement are those of the IMF staff and do not necessarily represent the views of the IMF’s Executive Board. Based on the preliminary findings of this mission, staff will prepare a report that, subject to management approval, will be presented to the IMF’s Executive Board for discussion and decision.

A staff-level agreement was reached between the IMF staff and the Barbadian authorities on the First review of Barbados’ Economic Recovery and Transformation program (BERT) supported by the Extended Fund Facility.
Barbados continues to make good progress in implementing its ambitious and comprehensive economic reform program.

At the request of the Government of Barbados, an International Monetary Fund (IMF) team led by Bert van Selm visited Bridgetown from May 7–17, 2019 to discuss implementation of Barbados’ Economic Recovery and Transformation (BERT) plan, supported by the IMF under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF). To summarize the mission’s findings, Mr. van Selm made the following statement:

“Following productive discussions, the IMF team and the Barbadian authorities reached staff-level agreement on the completion of the first review under the EFF arrangement. The agreement is subject to approval by the IMF Executive Board, which is expected to consider the review in June. Upon completion of the review, SDR 35 million (about US$49 million) will be made available to Barbados, bringing the total disbursement to SDR 70 million.

“Barbados continues to make strong progress in implementing its ambitious and comprehensive economic reform program. International reserves, which reached a low of US$220 million (5–6 weeks of import coverage) at end-May 2018, have more than doubled since then. The rapid completion of the domestic part of a debt restructuring has been very helpful in reducing economic uncertainty, and the new terms agreed with creditors have put debt on a clear downward trajectory. The authorities have started the reform of State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) by tightening reporting requirements and shedding excess staff.

“All program targets for end-March under the EFF have been met. The program target for Net International Reserves was met by a wide margin, as was the target for the Central Bank of Barbados’ Net Domestic Assets (NDA). The targets for the primary surplus, central government grants to SOEs, central government domestic arrears, and social spending were also met.

“In March, parliament adopted a budget FY2019/20 targeting a primary surplus of 6 percent of GDP. Full year effects of reforms set in motion during FY2018/19, including the introduction of several new taxes (an airline travel fee, room levies, a new fuel tax, and a new health service contribution), should help achieve this target. A broadening of the base of the VAT and the land tax, adopted in March 2019 in the context of the FY2019/20 budget, will help support revenue. The budget approved for FY2019/20 provides a solid basis for the targeted fiscal consolidation; the authorities stand ready to take additional measures if necessary to reach the targeted 6 percent primary surplus.

“The Barbadian authorities continue to make good progress in implementing structural benchmarks under the EFF, including those that contribute to an improved business climate such as a new Planning and Development Act passed in January 2019 and a Sandbox regime to regulate fintech start-ups set up in October 2018. A new Public Financial Management Act passed in January 2019 introduced wide-ranging measures to strengthen fiscal transparency and accountability. The government has also introduced a system for monitoring SOE arrears on an ongoing basis and has submitted a consolidated report on the performance of SOEs to parliament.

“Progress being made by the authorities in furthering good-faith discussions with external creditors is welcome. Continuing open dialogue and sharing of information will remain important in concluding an orderly debt restructuring process.

“The team would like to thank the authorities and the technical team for their openness and candid discussions.”
IMF Communications Department
MEDIA RELATIONS

PRESS OFFICER: Randa Elnagar

Phone: +1 202 623-7100Email: MEDIA@IMF.org

Why Continue to Pay DEMS When the IMF Running the Country Anyhow?

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Henderson Bovell

Henderson Bovell

A few days ago, I wrote an article in which I stated that ‘if the IMF’s Report was made available to Barbadians before Minister Estwick’s presentation to Cabinet, then this already ‘irrelevant DLP’ would become ‘obsolete’. But even before the Cabinet met, the IMF sent a strong message that it will not be entertaining any further proposal from this DLP Government. Talk about brush-off! The message was crystal clear: talk all you like but the IMF will not hear you! What could be ’eminent’ about any Cabinet that is slapped-down like that?

My fellow Barbadians, you gave the DLP this country to manage for five years (whatever reason you may have had) but within the first year, the DLP has caused tremendous pain and suffering and on-top of that – it has virtually sub-let Barbados to the IMF. Clearly, that is not what you had in mind! You need to take-back your country from the DLP and put in the hand of people who are disciplined; know what to do to get Barbados out of this DLP-mess, people who are not allergic to the “truth” and who you know you can trust.

In contrast, obviously condemned by the IMF Report, ‘a weak; desperate; dangerous and exposed DLP Government’ – now tells the country: “blame us” essentially passing ‘a justified vote of no confidence in itself’ but only to soften-up and distract Barbadians! Not good enough! How could telling Barbadians, six (6) years late, what Mia Mottley and the BLP were warning them about all along, ever be considered: ‘breaking news?’

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Sad Times In Barbados Fuh Real: How Much More Can Bajan People Bear?

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Submitted by Bajan Patriot

Prime Minister Fruendel Stuart and Minister of Finance Chris Sinckler, How Much More Can Bajan People Bare?

Prime Minister Fruendel Stuart and Minister of Finance Chris Sinckler, How Much More Can Bajan People Bare?

By now it must be clear to all with “common sense” living in our great nation that we have totally lost our way on many key fronts with tourism and the general state of the economy in mind.   After many years of prosperity we have found ourselves in an economic, political, and social hole we just can’t seem to muster the intellectual capacity to dig our way out of.  Instead of a democracy we have found ourselves in an “Idiotcracy” which gets more and more out of control with each passing day.

Like crabs in a barrel we are clawing our way with the weakness crabs out numbering those of us that know better.   Common sense has totally left the stage and has been replaced with selfish disengaged self-serving leadership, poor business performance at all managerial levels, poor customer service on all fronts, and partisan politics that cares nothing about putting country first.

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International Monetary Fund Gives Barbados Bleak 2014 Forecast

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The opinion of IMF is as an influential player cannot be ignored in austere times.

The opinion of IMF as an influential player cannot be ignored in austere times.

We use to hear the objective was to build a society. However it has become all about the economy in recent months. Click on the image above to read the latest International Monetary Fund projection for the Latin America and Caribbean region.

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