The Monitoring Committee for the Barbados Economic Recovery and Transformation Plan, reports government hit all the key revised targets despite the Covid-19 pandemic.
Co-Chair of the Committee, Ed Clarke, who is also Chairman of the Barbados Private Sector Association, notes in the report for the period up to the end of June that the International Monetary Fund agreed with the government’s request for the targets to be modified in light of COVID 19’s effect on the economy.
That impact saw total government revenue for April, May and June falling by 71 million dollars compared to the same period in the previous year with tax revenue down 7.7% due to less income tax as a large number of people lost their jobs.
Mr. Clarke, says the committee is very concerned about the significant job losses and fears that if the economic downturn drags on even the revised targets may be difficult to achieve.
Meantime, Prime Minister Mia Mottley, participating today in a United Nation online forum, chaired by former US President Bill Clinton again stressed the hard hit the Barbados economy has taken from the pandemic. And she again made a case for debt relief.
