BARBADOS-POLITICS-Barbados on “fiscal cliff” warns Opposition Leader

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC – Opposition Leader Owen Arthur is warning of a “fiscal cliff” in Barbados and accuses the Freundel Stuart government of putting the country in that crisis. Addressing a political meeting of his Barbados Labour Party (BLP) on Sunday night, Arthur, who is seeking to regain the government he lost in 2008, said that the decision of the government to call the general election so late could have an effect on the economy particularly as it relates to the government’s Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure. Arthur, an economist and former finance minister, said that the Constitution dictates that the Estimates have to be laid and debated in parliament by March 31.