Bold move with BERT saved the country

When the Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley took over the reins of Government in 2018, she was faced with an economy that was in virtual shambles. Foremost among her challenges were the rebuilding of our foreign reserves, dealing with the debt crisis and the revitalising of social services such as garbage and sewerage collection.

Unlike her predecessor in office, Mottley boldly opted for an International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme which the then Democratic Labour Party (DLP) Government was loathe to do. The latter resisted this very necessary step which saw the rapid deterioration in the quality of life of Barbadians.

However, Mottley’s demonstrated courage and conviction by instituting a home-grown domestic strategy called the Barbados Economic Recovery and Transformation Programme (BERT). The programme was specifically focused “on achieving inclusive and sustainable growth, while maintaining fiscal and debt sustainability”. This approach drew continued and consistent criticism from her opponents but Mottley was assured of her strategy since she had been exploring and researching the best economic path for the country while in Opposition.

However, the BERT programme became even more controversial when its authors were labelled consultants and every effort made to denigrate their contributions. Some public commentators and political opponents seemed more interested in the salaries of the architects of the programme than in their rather innovative economic expertise. I do not know a time in the modern development of Barbados when governments did not engage overseas personnel.

The critical point is that the consultants in this particular case were not hamstrung by civil service bureaucratic constraints and thus were able to more efficiently meet certain specified targets. In addition, the mobilisation of resource personnel with specific economic and financial backgrounds, such as Dr Avinash Persaud, Dr Kevin Greenidge and Dr Clyde Mascoll, would hardly be easily found within our civil service. These experts were ably facilitated by Ryan Straughn, the Minister in the Ministry of Finance, Economic Affairs and Investment, and a professionally trained economist himself. The BERT 2018 programme was followed by one other such programme.

The novelty of the exercise naturally evoked some concern. There were fears such as job losses at the private and public level, increased taxation and a further increase in the cost of living. These fears were already being experienced under the DLP which had resorted to cutbacks in social services, but most egregiously, the suspension of free tuition at the University of the West Indies.

There is no doubt that the implementation of BERT was essential in bringing Barbados back to safe economic waters. Barbados has since been able to enhance its Caribbean and international economic standing by reversing its myriads of “downgrades” and today is enjoying very positive reviews. As it stands, Barbados presently enjoys some 15 quarters of continued economic growth with foreign reserves at US$1.5 billion, the highest ever in September, 2024. This situation has been achieved despite the ravages of COVID-19, the freak storm Elsa, the intrusion of ashes from St Vincent and Hurricane Beryl that nearly wiped out our fishing industry.

Closing IMF chapter

It must be a good day for Barbados when it was announced by the Prime Minister that Barbados was closing this chapter with the IMF after some seven years. This event was well acknowledged by the Prime Minister when she said: “Barbadians should feel proud today that in spite of everything else that has happened, that we stand here taller, stronger and more confident than we did seven years ago.” Mottley’s determination to stand the course is in my estimation commendable and very characteristic of her leadership.

The IMF programme, undergirded by BERT, enabled the BLP administration to effectively carry out its policies of road reconstruction across the country, facilitation of both private and public works building particularly in hotel development, meaningful strides in the green economy, water works expansion, especially with the replacement of new mains, giving back to Barbadians tax returns that they thought had become obsolete under a previous administration, and the list of increased grants such as giving more assistance to the disabled, is a performance unparalleled in the history of Barbados. It must not be forgotten that other internationally recognised rating agencies such as Fitch, Standard & Poor’s had consistently given Barbados credible credit ratings.

The BERT programme will undoubtedly attract attention by economic scholars, social scientists and economic historians as to the merits and demerits of the strategy. It will most likely act as a model to developing countries that seek alternative economic strategies in a world that is faced not only with the age-old scourges of debt and unemployment, but with the new challenges such as climate change, tariffs and disruption of supply chains. – Dr Dan C. Carter