Barbados says no to IMF

Barbados Prime Minister David Thompson says he has no intention in following Jamaica’s lead in entering into a stand-by arrangement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).



According to Thompson, Barbados is not in a similar position as Jamaica as it still has an investment grade rating and can access capital markets.



He says further that the country is currently securing a loan from the Trinidad market.



Mr. Thompson has insisted that his government, which was elected just over a year ago, has no intention of re-opening the wounds of the 1990s when the island was forced into a harsh structural adjustment programme with the IMF.



Among the conditionalities imposed then was an eight per cent cut of public servants’ salaries, which was met with massive street protests.



Its also believed that the IMF programme, was responsible for the Democratic Labour Party’s (DLP) defeat in the 1994 general elections.