Barbados witnesses major drop in inflation to 4.4% in 2023: PM Mottley

Barbados: As the year 2023 came to a close, Prime Minister Mia Mottley recalled various sectors in which the country has made major achievements. She said that various measures of the government have led to a significant reduction in inflation to 4.4% by August 2023.

PM Mottley also said that contrastingly, Latin America and the Caribbean experienced a higher average inflation rate of 13.9%. These highlights were made during the Prime Minister’s address to the nation on January 6.

She announced that the government also worked on job creation and skill development and outlined, “The government is working on the creation of new job opportunities in construction, hotel and digital sectors.” Thousands of Barbadians were trained for emerging job roles, addressing unemployment and fostering economic growth, she added.

While talking about the agricultural growth for food security, PM Mia Mottle said that the food crop production increased by 24.3% in 2023, and the country marked progress towards the 2030 goal of reducing the food import bill and achieving food and nutrition security.

Notably, the country also witnessed a major growth in tourism because of the strategic marketing efforts of the government. PM Mottley said that increased airlift resulted in a notable rise in tourism arrivals.

The past year also saw the strengthening of the National Insurance Scheme (NIS). According to the Prime Minister of Barbados, NIS places on a sound footing for sustainability and the government worked on the recapitalisation of the NIS Unemployment Fund and reinforcement of the public sector pension scheme.

During her address, she also talked about the crime rate and said that the government, along with the police officials, worked day and night to improve public safety. The murder rates in Barbados reduced by more than half, from 43 to 21 in 2023, said the PM.

PM Mottley appreciated the efforts of police officials who worked hard to tackle the crime in the country and said that the work will continue to address other crime-related incidents in Barbados.

Additionally, she also said that Barbados achieved a 4.4% growth in 2023, post Covid-19, with healthy foreign reserves. The gross international reserves stood at $2,989.1 million, providing more than 31 weeks of import cover.

Regarding fiscal responsibility and debt management, the Prime Minister said that the country has a lower public debt than it has been at any time since 2018, with the debt-to-GDP ratio falling to 114.9%.

The government of Barbados also successfully adhered to economic strengthening markers under the BERT program, earning positive international ratings.

The island nation also saw positive economic indicators and investor confidence, which highlighted the successful economic policies and fostering positive global perceptions. Barbados met all economic strengthening markers under the BRET program and also received high marks from international rating agencies for economic performance.