As the new mayor of Plainfield in New Jersey, Barbadian-born Adrian Mapp has his work cut out for him. But he finds time to keep tabs on what’s happening with Barbados’ economy.
In Plainfield, the man who emigrated from Barbados in the late 1970s to secure a sound education and pursue a professional career that would allow him to raise his family in a safe, middle-class community, is responsible for the management of a city of 60 000 people, the 35th largest of the 565 municipalities in the Garden State.
That means grappling with crime, broadening his city’s tax base by attracting more business investment, improving student performance in schools; providing young people with “wholesome recreational activity”; and doing everything to provide public services that enhance the quality of people’s lives.
“Economic development, public safety, better education and making life better for our young people are on my list of priorities,” Mapp, formerly of Greens in St George told BARBADOS BUSINESS AUTHORITY.
A certified public accountant with a master’s degree in international business from a major university in New Jersey, the Barbadian is also director of finance of Orange, the hometown of the late Carolyn Barrow, wife of Barbados’ first Prime Minister, Errol Barrow.
A former president of Plainfield’s City Council before he was elected mayor in last November’s election, he knows more than a thing or two about public sector management and given his knowledge of Barbados and its current financial troubles, Mapp thinks there are some measures Barbados can take to put Barbados its financial house in order.
“I was quite taken aback by Barbados’ economic difficulties and was surprised that the International Monetary Fund may get involved,” said the father of two daughters. “It seems to me we are not managing the affairs of the economy as well as we have done in the past. I am concerned that we are not managing our economy in Barbados as we are capable of doing. We have managed to maintain the stability of our currency without turning to the IMF. The suggestion that we can end up devaluing the dollar is of great concern to me.”
Like the National Union of Public Workers and other labour organizations in Barbados, the mayor is worried about the negative impact of thousands of public workers losing their jobs and worries about what it would do to the country’s standard of living.
“Look, austerity measures are definitely needed at a time like this when people are at risk of losing their jobs,” he said. “I was always proud of the country when I return and see the standard of living, but ironically that high standard of living is a driver of the economic problems.”
So, while he feels everything must be done to protect people’s jobs, he also thinks public employees must be prepared to give up something in return for employment security.
As a first step, he says the Government should consider ways to introduce “a modest across the board” reduction in wages, somewhat similar to what was done by the Sandiford Administration in the early 1990s. “Giving a week or two of pay is something that should be looked at,” he said.
Next on his to do list would be a reduction in vacation time.
“People in Barbados get a lot of vacation. That is a cost. We need to look at reducing the number of weeks of vacation people get so that productivity can grow and there would be a reduction in costs,” he said.
While the mayor isn’t enthusiastic about increasing taxes on gasoline, he favours the introduction of a “sin tax”, meaning duties placed on cigarettes, alcohol and the operations of slot machines.
“Whatever the tax on cigarettes and alcohol, it should be increased,” Mapp stated. “It would generate more revenue for the treasury while encouraging people to live healthier lifestyles. The slot machine operators should be making an additional contribution” to the public purse, he said.
The mayor was lukewarm to any additional taxes on the tourism industry because nothing should be done to prevent hotels and restaurants from generating business and foreign exchange, he says.
“We can’t tax our way out of every situation but when additional revenues are needed we can find areas where there is less pain, such as the sin tax,” he argued.
“Definitely, though, employees need to give back something and that can be in some of their time. It is better for employees to pay a little bit more to have a job than not to be employed.”
The mayor puts much of the blame for the current situation on a mix of causes.
“We have allowed things to get away from us. One is conspicuous consumption and the other is inefficient management of the state economy,” he said. “Clearly, we have not been generating sufficient foreign exchange. That’s why austerity measures must be imposed.”
