Government is continuing on its mission to help citizens become financially literate, and even primary school children may get an opportunity to benefit from this training.
Minister of Energy and Business, Kerrie Symmonds, shared Government’s plans as he delivered the feature address at the recent launch of Phase Two of the Financial Literacy Programme – the Community Engagement, at the Frank Collymore Hall.
Mr. Symmonds told his audience: “One of our principal objectives is to make sure that part of this financial literacy training is now on the curriculum of the schools – primary, secondary and up to university level in Barbados….”
He noted that the Financial Literacy Programme was launched two years ago in an effort to create a financially literate population, and give them a sense of comfort as they dealt with financial matters. He said the target audience was initially the business and micro business communities.
“But we wanted to go beyond that because we recognised that we could not achieve a lot unless we went where we are going now, which is to the households in Barbados, because long before you get to the stage of starting a business you have to manage your household….
“We also wanted to strengthen our communities because it is only with stronger, national communities that we build out the economic base of the country,” Mr. Symmonds stated.
During his wide-ranging address, he stressed the importance of intergenerational wealth, and expressed concern that many black-owned businesses in the country did not go beyond the life of the founder of the business.
He opined that it was necessary to instill in the community a sense of sound business practices, pointing out that this should translate to better management, with a view to sustaining the business.
“The business must be encouraged to go on…and grow from generation to generation. But that does not happen by accident, it is about working with businesses so that they have the best possible practices,” he said.
Mr. Symmonds noted that some businesses needed assistance in areas such as managing their finances, debt, cash flow, and understanding why social security matters.
He emphasised the importance of the National Insurance Scheme, saying “it is critical” and that it served the country well during the COVID-19 pandemic, when some Barbadians became unemployed.
“We have seen now the value of an NIS system. We can’t let it collapse. So it will be recapitalised and we are working hard on coming to the country very soon with a…very exciting, and satisfactory projection for the way forward,” he said.
The Minister stressed the importance of phase two of the financial literacy programme, stating that it was necessary to expose households to training and interventions that would put people in a better position to manage their resources.
Minister of State in Foreign Trade and Business, Sandra Husbands, disclosed that the Community Engagement for the Financial Literacy Programme would be piloted in The City; Haynesville, St. James, and St. Joseph.
Ms. Husbands continued: “We are starting with three pilots and…we want…to fine-tune our programme and…build out additional capacity. Then we can multiply that programme right across all the communities in Barbados, so that every Barbadian has that chance of being able to break the back of poverty.”
The Minister explained that the communities would be involved in the journey. “We do not wish to step into a community and tell them what they should do. But we will talk with them so we can understand where they are coming from, and together we will plan how we are going to make adjustments, …so that we are able to produce for them the type of programme that works for them,” she explained.
She noted that important partners would be working with the Ministry of Energy and Business, and highlighted them as including the Ministry of People Empowerment and Elder Affairs and its Community Development Department.
She added that there would be facilitators and mentors who would assist the communities. Ms. Husbands expressed the Ministry’s commitment to transforming Barbados and empowering citizens.