BARBADOS DOES NOT want to enter an agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) but it clearly is willing to accept the institution’s advice on a number of major issues.
Central Bank Governor Dr DeLisle Worrell, who has publicly rejected recommendations from the Washington-based multilateral institution that the island should consider devaluation, told the media yesterday that Barbados was working with the IMF on other areas of the economy.
“We are working closely with the IMF. We don’t need an agreement which would involve borrowing from the IMF. We have reserves which are more than adequate but at the same time we value the technical assistance and advice that we get from the IMF and we are actively engaged with them using that technical assistance,” Worrell explained.
His comments came during his first quarterly Press briefing at the bank’s Tom Adams Financial Centre offices following the release on Tuesday of the bank’s 2013 review of the economy. The economist said also the island was being assisted with tax administration and revenue collection.
Moreover, Government was getting IMF help in “managing and monitoring” statutory corporations, many of which have been blamed for draining Government’s finances.
Ministry of Finance Chris Sinckler in his ministerial statement last month indicated that that a number of statutory corporations were likely to be merged as the Freundel Stuart administration attempts to resolve a major fiscal problem that threatens the economy and undermine the stability of the Barbados dollar. (GE)
