If Barbados continues to borrow at the rate it has been doing for the past two years, the country could end up in a debt trap, says economist Carlos Forte.
However, although he does not believe being under an International Monetary Fund (IMF) programme is inherently a bad move, he urged Government to be cautious with its borrowing.
“I don’t want to create the impression that being in an IMF programme is a bad thing in [and] of itself. However, is the magnitude of the borrowing we’ve seen over the last two and half years sustainable? The answer, quite frankly, is no,” he said.
Forte, a Barbadian based in Canada, is the senior consultant and project manager, research, valuation and advisory, economic consulting, of the Altus Group. He was a guest speaker on the Democratic Labour Party’s The First Republican Estimates: Implications For Barbados discussion, which was held virtually yesterday. (TG)
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