Acting Prime Minister, Richard Sealy, speaking at the start of the Week of Excellence 2018 at the Courtney Blackman Grande Salle today. (C.Pitt/BGIS)
Government is committed to working with the social partners to implement a series of measures to improve the economy.
This assertion came today from Acting Prime Minister, Richard Sealy, as he delivered the feature address at the start of the Week of Excellence 2018, at the Courtney Blackman Grande Salle, Central Bank of Barbados.
Mr. Sealy said several policies and programmes would be put in place as Government worked to reverse the current economic situation.
“In addition to our priorities of lowering the deficit, stabilising the foreign reserve levels and accelerating economic growth, we are pursuing policies that revolve around sourcing new overseas markets for our local products; attracting foreign direct investment into the country; facilitating the expansion and upgrading of our present hotel room stock; and increasing tourist arrivals and the associated spend with our visitors,” he stated.
He added that Government’s focus is also on “improving the ease of doing business in Barbados; and transforming our education sector into one that is demand-driven, competency-based and service oriented”.
The Acting Prime Minister underscored the importance of productivity, saying it was a central factor to the policies he outlined. He disclosed that The Productivity Council would be seeking to undertake a European Union-funded consultancy, which would see the development and implementation of a Public Sector Improvement Programme for Barbados.
“This consultancy will focus on three areas to improve productivity and performance in the public sector. These areas are concerned with Marketing and Promotions, Training and Development and Human Capital Development.
“The Council will also be placing greater focus on Multi-Factor Productivity. Currently, the Council develops productivity-related metrics in seven business sectors, with a focus on labour productivity. It intends, however, to offer the business community added value through the development of multi-factor productivity metrics, which will assist firms in gaining a more holistic view of their business positioning within their sector,” Mr. Sealy explained.
He pointed out that the multi-factor productivity metrics would provide the business community with more critical information that would assist them in making more informed decisions and allow for greater comparability with international best practices.
The Acting Prime Minister stressed that the Week’s theme: Productivity: The Heart of Our Future, was timely and relevant, given the myriad social and economic challenges impacting the country.