Minister of Finance, Christopher Sinckler, has promised to have more dialogue with officials of the Barbados Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI), in an effort to hear about initiatives and deal with any burning issues.
Mr. Sinckler made this disclosure recently, when BCCI President, Eddy Abed; Senior Vice President, Ed Clarke; Vice President of Finance, Betty Brathwaite; and Executive Director, Lisa Gale; paid him a courtesy call at Government Headquarters.
Also present was Acting Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Finance, Nancy Headley.
Mr. Sinckler??told the officials that all Barbadians had a duty to ensure that there was continuous improvement in the country.??During the wide-ranging discussions, Mr. Sinckler said the home-grown fiscal consolidation programme was working, but stressed that it still had Government???s attention.
He stated: ???Government is also working hard to ensure that we lock in and accelerate the new growth in GDP recorded in 2015 by increasing its facilitation of proposed private sector projects while intensifying its own public sector capital investment programme.???
Mr. Abed welcomed the suggestion for increased meetings between the Minister and his team and the Chamber, saying the organisation???s membership would be pleased with the opportunity for greater dialogue.
He said ???green shoots??? were being seen in the economy and most of the BCCI???s members had reported an increase in activity last Christmas. However, he suggested that more must be done in the tourism industry to attract more revenue.??
sharon.austingill-moore@barbados.gov.bb