Barbados renews call for debt relief for the Caribbean

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (CMC)– Barbados Wednesday renewed a call for an international debt relief programme for developing countries like those in the Caribbean saying it was not enough to speak “almost disparagingly” about the debt situation.

Finance and Economic Affairs Minister Chris Sinckler addressing the 11th annual meeting of the group of Latin America and Caribbean debt management specialists (LAC Debt Group) said the time had come for there to be a re-thinking of the debt situation by the various stakeholders.

“For us small states it is not enough to speak almost just disparagingly about our negative debt matrices as if pouring scorn on us for daring to pursue the development of our people and societies.

“And it is certainly not enough to keep sending missions of sterilised technocrats, all helpful as they are, and even academics to study the situation and if we are lucky publish a book to which we get entitled a free copy.”

But Sinckler told the meeting “No, that is not what the Caribbean needs”.

He said there was need for a better approach to deal with the debt situation in the Caribbean, saying it was necessary given the fact that debt is part of the reality for several regional countries as they embark upon developmental programmes.

He said there have been capacity building initiatives such as in the preparation of medium term debt management strategies and that “work remains ongoing for example on the improvement of our debt management data bases and certainly having our representatives participate in a forum such as this is also geared at continued those efforts to ensure that the Caribbean is current with new debt developments.

“We are therefore very cognisant of the fact that a sound and robust debt management system is one of the important pillars that must work in tandem with our ongoing fiscal consolidating measures,” he added.

The LAC Debt group was established in 2005 and works to strengthen the capacity of governments to manage debt and to foster better management practices through continuous sharing of experiences across countries and technical discussions.

The three-day meeting here, the third to be held in the Caribbean, is by invitation and provides a forum for discussion among debt management specialists, who are mainly Central Bank directors and directors of public debt in member states to exchange experiences and knowledge on public debt management practices in Latin America and the Caribbean.