The Barbados government and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have reached a Staff Level Agreement that would see the country getting access to a total US$290 million. Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley and Deputy Division Chief of the Caribbean II Division of the IMF, Bert van Selm made the announcement during a press conference last Friday, the end of an August 30 to September 7 visit by a team from the Washington-based institution.

“I am pleased to announce that, in support of the Barbadian authorities’ economic reform program, the IMF team and the government of Barbados have reached staff-level agreement on a 48-months Extended Fund Facility (EFF), with access of SDR 208 million (equivalent to 220 percent of quota, or about US$290 million),” Van Selm said.

“If approved by the IMF Executive Board, SDR 35 million (about US$49 million) would be immediately available. Staff envisages that the IMF’s Executive Board would consider the proposed arrangement under the EFF by early October.

”The IMF official suggested that the Barbados Economic Recovery and Transformation (BERT) Programme, on the basis of which assistance is being granted, had the Fund’s thumbs up. “The authorities’ reform programme, and the important commitment of IMF resources that it entails, is a vote of confidence in Barbados’ Economic Recovery and Transformation Plan,” he said.

“The cornerstone of the programme is a strong front loaded fiscal adjustment, focused on curbing current expenditure, while maintaining space for social safety nets and infrastructure spending. And in this context, measures to reduce Government expenditures that were announced…are critical and are a very important first step…

“The Barbados Economic Recovery and Transformation Programme aims to restore macroeconomic stability and put the economy on a path of strong, sustainable and inclusive growth. Fiscal consolidation together with the announced debt restructuring is needed to place that on a clear, downward trajectory.

The strategy of accelerating growth focuses on attracting new investment in areas such as renewable energy, the creative and artistic industry, education and health services and of course tourism,” he said.