Mia: Bring budget now
MIA MOTTLEY: “We are standing in the middle of the road with an 18-wheeler truck bearing down. ((Picture by Gregory Waldron.))
By Mike King | Thu, July 15, 2010 - 11:36 PM
THIS country cries out for leadership to revive the economy and the time has come for a budget to chart a course for recovery charged Opposition Leader Mia Mottley yesterday.
She was speaking during a Press conference in which she responded to an economic review of the first six months of 2010 from Central Bank Governor, Dr Delisle Worrell.
Stating that little was being done to revive the economy, Mottley said the Government could not pay its bills and the productive sectors – tourism, manufacturing, international business, agriculture – were not earning foreign exchange.
Speaking in the Opposition’s chambers, Mottley said she was disappointed that with the country in dire straits, there was a deafening silence from Government with nothing being heard from Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance, Darcy Boyce and acting Prime Minister Freundel Stuart.
“We are standing in the middle of the road with an 18-wheeler truck bearing down. And the two ministers of finance – Boyce and Stuart – are standing idly by without a word.
“Barbados needs a budget like yesterday. And the budget must set out for the country a short term economic recovery plan while laying the basis for restructuring in the medium term.
“A cut here and a cut there will not help any household or business in this country see their way forward. We need to restructure both Government’s operations and the productive sectors urgently,” she said.
According to Mottley, revenue was down in the first six months of this year by $101 million from what was received at the corresponding period last year.
The Opposition Leader said that for the first time since Independence, Barbados had recorded three successive years of a fiscal current account deficit.
“We would normally as a Government only have to borrow for capital projects but we are now having to borrow to meet our normal commitments (wages and salaries, goods and services)
on a monthly basis.
“This is a serious problem. It’s a serious problem, happening in a household, it’s a serious problem happening at the level of a Government.”
Mottley said the Central Bank report for the first five months, showed that this country had spent $182.3 million more than it earned in revenue.
“Why is this disturbing? Because for all of 2008 when we thought things were bad, they incurred a deficit of $121 million.
Mottley said this was so with the Government claiming it was holding to its medium term fiscal strategy.
- Editor's Choice
- Most Read Stories Today
- Gun dealer takes aim
- Home for Joyce and family
- Backing from the Bar
- Royal Call
- Circumcised man needs to grow up
- Smiles at Almond
- Hoyte, Dowrich off to England
Recent Comments
- Jordaine Byam commented on Living in fear of pit bulls
- dirty okra commented on DEAR CHRISTINE: In desperate need of help
- yogi Ni commented on DEAR CHRISTINE: Filled with hate over circumcision
- wayne husbands commented on Non-issue
- Pan Wallie commented on Bank Hall gun accused remanded
_medium-135x135.jpg)
Share your thoughts
Please sign in or register to post your comments.
Page 2 of 2 pages < 1 2
Mia should really shut up. She is sounding exactly like the Republicans here in the USA. The Republicans got this country in a mess and the BLP copied everything down to a tee. It is time that Barbados get their own identity and stop copying USA. Why do you think that people are stupid and they are all in la-la land? Stop the nonsense and get real. I knew she was coming with some stuff after David left. I was wondering what was taking her so long. Now I believe that Mia is one of those people who think that God wears pajamas and goes to sleep.
All hail to the DLP.
- 0
- 0
Comment LinkOf course the country is not making any money .. 40 percent of our tourist come from Britain, i’m pretty sure they are still in recession, thats maybe why the government is tapping new and growing economies like Brazil. Agriculture wont make any money because Barbadians hardly buys their own. so no one will invest in it theres no money to be made. International business will be down because there is little investment in recessions, business tend to wait things out when they should be innovative. Manufacturing .. energy cost is to high.. we need alternative energy but we are in no state to invest in it as yet.These things are expected in hard economic times .. she expected us to have a surplus in a recession?
- 0
- 0
Comment LinkPage 2 of 2 pages < 1 2