Government's Medium Term Fiscal Strategy: A Case Of Being Economical With The Truth?

Barbados' PM/Finance Minister gave a rather testy reply last week (March 2, to be precise) at the Public-Private Sector Consultations, regarding the public availability of the government's Medium Term Fiscal Strategy (MTFS). He said then (see link of transcript), "This document was widely circulated more than 10 days ago - and therefore is no "secret" document that needed to fall of the back of a truck - is available for all to see, read, inwardly digest and comment on."

It has been a funny old goose chase to find this 'widely circulated' document. But, at long last, I and others have found where it is. It's now on the Barbados Government Information Service (BGIS) website (see link), available under 'Notices/'Press releases'. What is so funny (to my rather fastidious mind) is that, there, it says clearly:

Date Added:	March 4, 2010
Date Updated:	March 7, 2010

So, the place where many citizens would have expected to find the document, they would have come up with a huge zero on the day the PM told us that it was widely available--I had checked the website the week before, when Mr. Arthur made reference to the MTFS, and found not a trace, and I had check it following the PM's bold assertion and also found nothing there. Now, was the PM being a bit economical with the truth in saying the documents were 'widely available'? Again, I am not going to get into a semantic debate about what is meant by 'widely' and 'available'. But I think that any government document that one can find on a government information website only two days after saying that it is "widely available" does not meet the test of widely available, in these modern high tech times, at the time the statement was made. I'm no lawyer, so will bow to legal minds who can bend time backwards.

It would have been so graceful to have said, 'the documents will be made available on the government information website' shortly, or similar, but then that would have been an admission that wide availability had not yet been the order of the day.

Bringing people along with ideas is in part about letting them see what you say you want them to see and giving opportunities to comment that you say that you have offered. I would mark this exercise as yet another 'failing grade' on the show and tell the public scale.

I can see former US President, Abraham Lincoln, turning in his grave, and recalling his words: "You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can not fool all of the people all of the time."

Gave Instead Of Lent 9

February 28: Gave a tired airline pilot some much needed energy food he requested--two bananas. Bananas are a great energy source (see http://www.tummyfluff.co.uk/news/bananas.htm) and since boyhood I was encouraged to eat at least one in the morning. Jamaicans often eat green ones cooked for breakfast.

Statement by an IMF Mission to Barbados

Marcello Estevão, the new International Monetary Fund mission chief for Barbados, following a five day familiarisation visit, issued the following statement today in Bridgetown, following a five-day staff visit (see link).

Press Release No. 10/66
February 26, 2010

Marcello Estevão, chief of an International Monetary Fund Mission to Barbados, issued the following statement today in Bridgetown, following a five-day staff visit:

“Barbados has been severely affected by the global economic crisis. In particular, the deep global recession has curbed tourism, affecting related activities such as construction and trade which, in turn, depressed aggregate demand and raised unemployment. As a result, economic activity contracted significantly in 2009 after remaining broadly stagnant in 2008.

“Despite these hardships, policy moves and other developments have limited the adverse effects of the crisis. International reserves are at comfortable levels, among other things thanks to a successful foreign debt placement last year and the SDR allocation. In addition, authorities implemented measures to alleviate the impact of the crisis on the population. However, as a result of these measures and, more importantly, of the economic cycle, the fiscal deficit surged, and the public debt now stands above 100 percent of GDP.

“Looking forward, while economic activity in Barbados will improve as the world economy gradually expands, the recovery’s timing is quite uncertain. In particular, significant improvements in labor market conditions in major developed countries will likely lag the rebound in economic activity and curb international travel. Despite this uncertain outlook, the high level of public debt limits the room for further government spending. Moreover, the high degree of openness of the Barbadian economy limits the impact of changes in government spending on domestic economic activity.

“Against this backdrop, fiscal consolidation seems to be the appropriate strategy. Reducing government spending, increasing tax collection efficiency, and broadening the tax base would support the exchange rate regime and improve the government’s balance sheet. Moreover, credible and sustainable measures can actually raise medium-term growth, as better debt dynamics and lower pressure on external reserves would raise the private sector’s willingness to invest in Barbados. Thus, the authorities’ intention to push forward a medium-term fiscal consolidation strategy is very welcome.”