Mottley: Never again

Article by ALEX DOWNES

BARBADOS LABOUR PARTY LEADER Mia Mottley says she will not be appearing before the Barbados Chamber of Commerce & Industry’s (BCCI) annual discussion as Opposition Leader again.

She made this veiled announcement about her future yesterday after the BCCI event at Hilton Barbados, as she thanked the private sector entity for having her in attendance.

“I’ve been here in 2010, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017; all as Leader of the Opposition. Whatever happens, I will not be here as the Leader of the Opposition again,” she added.

During her speech, Mottley, who was Opposition Leader from 2008 to 2010 and since 2013, made the case for the Barbados Labour Party (BLP) to be elected to office in the next election.

She assured the business community that, if given a chance, the Bees would be able to remedy the country’s problems.

Mottley said despite a plethora of challenges facing Barbados, the problems could be fixed.

“What you need is a government that is fit for purpose in this country. There is nothing so wrong with Barbados that cannot be fixed with a strong dose of leadership,” she said to rapturous applause.

She also said it was time for the people and businesses to stop being guinea pigs for Government.

Mottley reminded the business community that Barbados was now ranked 175th out of 197 countries in economic growth, and had fallen another 15 places in the Ease of Doing Business Report. She also said the island had dropped in ranking from five to 72 in the 2016 Global Competitiveness Report. She said no data was submitted for the report in 2017.

Additionally, she reminded the gathering of the taxes instituted by the current administration such as a 2008 cellphone tax and a gaming machine tax.

“We don’t only have to tax and spend to trigger growth. How we legislate, how we facilitate, how we regulate, all of these things trigger growth.”

Mottley said the fix would not be easy once elected to office. However, she offered a number of solutions, such as reverse mortgages, the repealing of the National Social Responsibility Levy and the restructuring of the taxation system. (AD)