Senator: IMF requests not reasonable

Minister in the Prime Minister's office with responsibility for finance Senator Darcy Boyce (right) in discussion with businessman Sir Charles Williams (left) and president of the Barbados Private Sector Association, John Williams, after yesterday’s panel discussion. (Picture by Ricardo Leacock.)

By Natasha Beckles | Wed, February 01, 2012 - 12:08 AM

A Government senator has charged that the pace of fiscal restructuring requested by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is unreasonable.

This suggestion from Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office with responsibility for finance Senator Darcy Boyce came yesterday even as a representative of the fund’s regional resource centre called for intensified fiscal consolidation.

Boyce directed his concerns to the Caribbean Technical Assistance Centre’s (CARTAC) programme coordinator Dr Arnold McIntyre and Standard & Poor’s country analyst for Barbados, Olga Kalinina, yesterday at Hilton Barbados during a panel discussion hosted by RBC Royal Bank to discuss the region’s economic outlook for this year.

He suggested that five to seven years was a realistic time period for the Government to resolve its fiscal problems and adequately restructure and develop the economy without “jolting” it.

Read the full story in today's MIDWEEK NATION.

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Posted by J. Payne 3 months, 3 weeks ago: ha-ha this administration wait ‘til they finish take all the people money to now talk ‘bout their (IMF) requests are unreasonable? I guess they never heard of ,“He who pays the piper gets to call/dictate the tune.” What did they think would happen? The IMF is a mouth peace for big industry and essentially get countries to sign deals they have small chances of paying back with the aim of forcing down reforms that open up the market. DLP just sold Barbados into the scam.