Weekly Column

Debate on the Estimates of Revenue & Expenditure got underway at the beginning of this week and will end on Tuesday following a break for the Easter weekend. p>

Regrettably, there was neither reincarnation nor redemption for the Prime Minister, but rather like Peter he denied the very platform on which he came to office.

After a day last Sunday of schooling in the figures for himself and his new Cabinet by the substantive Minister of Finance Senator Boyce, the Prime Minister emerged to complain to the Press what a “Herculean” effort it had been to produce the Estimates. A strange assertion, since he played no part in their preparation, having delegated that task to Senator Boyce. This in itself is one of the early records to which the Prime Minster can lay claim. He is the first Minister of Finance not to have presided over the construction of the Estimates since the introduction of Ministerial Government in 1954. Clearly though his record was wind assisted given his poor performance in their delivery and explanation.

What ensued on the following Monday morning was a Herculean display of political acrimony interspersed with some poorly read figures about the size of the deficit and balance of payments that occasioned the observation from the Leader of the Opposition that the new Government reminded her of the story of the dog that was chasing after a car and having caught it, did not now know what to with it.

It was therefore left to Miss Mottley to summarize the healthy macroeconomic climate inherited by the present Government and to point out some glaring omissions made by the “dynamic duo” of Boyce and Thompson.

Nowhere in the Estimates she asserted was there any measure designed to boost export earnings. This is a critical omission for even if the Government meets its domestic targets there in no protection for the foreign reserves given the volatility of the global economy. We all remember what happened the last time that Mr. Thompson was the Minister of Finance and our foreign reserves fell to dangerously low levels - record unemployment, a major credit squeeze, the infamous 8% wages cut and a thriving black market in US dollars. Who can forget his lunch fare and bus money Budget on that occasion?

Even more lamentable is the Government’s callous approach to the fight against poverty. After fighting an election campaign on the high cost of living our two Ministers of Finance have dished out a double dose of castor oil to the disadvantaged in our society. The first is a cut in the money allocated to Social and Welfare services by 10%. The second gagging dose is nothing by way of tax relief or incentives for increased food production to buffer the high cost of food or energy products. Whatever was the “dynamic duo” thinking?

Perhaps if the Prime Minister would pay more attention to the economy rather than rifle through Government files looking for consultants he would have been able to bring a more humane approach to the design of the Estimates and do the very thing for which he was elected - safeguard the welfare of the citizens of Barbados.

Even though he has put the cart before the horse by allocating $4.5 million for constituency councils that do not yet exist, we must congratulate the Prime Minister for finally being spurred into action this week by the Opposition Leader’s questions on this matter. He announced that a study would ensue on how the Government would implement the councils. We look forward with interest to the results of the study on the single item in their Manifesto that the Government plans to implement this year.