Barbados: Central Bank Governor Delisle Worrell – country in strong position to weather economic storm

Bank of Barbados Governor, Delisle Worrell. PHOTO/FP

The Governor of the Bank of Barbados, Delisle Worrell says self confidence will help the island overcome its economic problems, including the foreign exchange imbalance that has emerged in the last three months.

In a paper released titled: “The Strength of Barbadian Institutions and the Resolve of Barbadians Will See Us Through the Crisis”, Worrell also indicated that Barbados has strong institutions for decision making and that Barbadians must have every reason to be confident that they can revive the growth of the local economy.

“First, we have the highest standard of living in the Caribbean, and we have earned it by transforming the economy and investing in infrastructure and human resources, over many decades,” he said, adding also “our social partnership is the envy of countries worldwide.

“Our economic information systems are the equal of many industrial countries; our media are knowledgeable; and we have a strong mechanism for putting policy into effect. Thirdly, we have preserved the value of our dollar, protecting the value of people’s savings, and providing more predictable returns for investors.”

In addition, Worrell said that Barbados has “reserves which are more than sufficient to ride out the storm.

“With these resources we may confidently address the challenges, which are twofold. The first is to balance foreign exchange inflows and outflows.”

He said following the national economic consultation last month, the Freundel Stuart administration is in discussion with the social partners on measures that will be introduced to reduce the fiscal deficit. -(CMC)