My reading of a number of articles in the Sunday Sun of September 28, 2014 has given me the impression that many people in Barbados seem to think that going to the IMF is akin to going to the dogs. I think that Prof Michael Howards argument against his previously-expressed recommendation that the GoB seek the assistance of the Fund, as reported on page 3A of the said newspaper is reasonable. I support his objection to advocates who propose that Barbados seek to enter a Fund program but fail to specify the measures which would be contained therein, and to distinguish them from the initiatives currently being pursued by the Barbadian authorities. I feel that such a position is intellectually irresponsible. Indeed, in my view, it is naive to believe that any perceived failure of economic managementby the GoB can be remedied by passing those responsibilities to an external agency. Successful Fund programs have been shown to be built on appropriate analysis, ownership, and political will. To approach programming from a perspective that is devoid of these elements will consign that activity to the failure that critics usually ascribe to dealings with the dreaded IMF. I suspect that many persons who attempt to analyze IMF programs have no real understanding of the process by which such programs come into existence. Having had some involvement in the negotiation and implementation of the 1991 stand-by arrangement, which is generally held to have garnered some success I have thought from time to time, with some amusement, that few Bajans know who were the real bystanders, or realize how close we came to not having a program at all. In sum, and in fine, the success of such negotiations depends as much on the personalities of the participants (including their psychological profiles, experience, qualifications, and skills) as on the intrinsic merits of the substantive issues negotiated. What a pity that none of the members of the current political directorate was involved in any substantive manner with the 1991 program, although some of the non-political participants still lurk (Frankie Howard - no relation to Prof Michael) in officialdom! It is even sadder that institutional memory tends to fade rather quickly!!
Posted on: Mon, 29 Sep 2014 04:41:02 +0000
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