The unprecedented withdrawal of Barbados’ bond offer on the international financial market has serious implications for the financing of Government spending in the short term, the foreign reserves position in the medium term, and the country’s external debt servicing in the long term, says Opposition adviser on economic matters Clyde Mascoll.
The economist said that already there were increasing signs of shortages of supplies across the public sector and this would worsen in the face of the bond withdrawal, since most of Government spending goes to wages and salaries and supplies of goods and services, and the intention was not to trouble the former.
“This means that the spending adjustment will have to be done primarily in the area of supplies, which is not large enough to accommodate the level of reduced spending being contemplated,” he said.
Mascoll spoke to the DAILY NATION prior to a Barbados Labour Party (BLP) meeting at Deighton Griffith School last night in which he was scheduled to speak on the economy. (SP)
