The Government of Barbados has been able to meet all of the targets of the Barbados Economic Recovery and Transformation (BERT) programme, under the International Monetary Fund’s Extended Fund Facility.
This despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the volcanic ashfall.
That’s according to the BERT Monitoring Committee, which shared its 11th report yesterday, noting that Government has specifically been able to meet the primary balance of 0% of GDP, and the growth in net international reserves to levels well above the programme target.
However, the Committee says the recent spike in COVID-19 cases, high unemployment levels and limited GDP growth opportunities remain some key risks to the programme.
The Committee also revealed that there were 10 new structural benchmarks established.
These focused on improving the administration of taxation, modernization of the Barbados Customs and Excise Department, implementation of additional fiscal and monetary discipline and general improvement of efficiency within the Government.
