‘Early days yet’ on BERT’s impact – CDB official

 

• The jury is still out on whether the Barbados Economic Recovery and Transformation (BERT) programme will be enough to stem the tide of economic turmoil, the Caribbean Development Bank’s chief economist told journalists today.
• The CDB’s Director of Economics Dr. Justin Ram said while it was critical that the Mia Mottley administration stick to its targets, it should also focus on improving the country’s ease of doing business and reduce joblessness among young people.
• “Our assessment of the BERT programme, it is still early days, but the progress made thus far is very heartening,” Dr. Ram said at the CDB’s annual news conference at the regional development bank’s headquarters at Wildey.
• Dr. Ram: “There is still some more that has to be done with respect to fiscal consolidation. Again, what would really propel the Barbados economy into a transformation is doing the institutional reforms that will seek to improve the ease of doing business. I cannot reiterate that enough.”
• Pointing to the Grenadian and Jamaican experiences, the CDB official said obtaining economic growth was critical.

(Source: Barbados Today