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The Barbados Labour Party recognises that to
be a successful nation and to meet the needs of
our people, our nation must achieve economic
security and prosperity.
We envision a Barbados in which high levels
of economic well-being enable our people to
choose the paths their lives will follow, with
access to broad-based social welfare structures for
those truly in need. We accept that a country will
invariably face periods of economic adjustment
and uncertainty. When this happens, the burden
of adjustment must be shared fairly; but, equally,
when times of plenty return, the bounty must be
shared fairly among all of our citizens.
This vision embraces a new economy built
upon a foundation of a fair share for workers
and adequate returns on private investment;
effective employment of new technologies
across the public and private sectors; a credible
and efficient court and legal system; and access
to diverse energy resources and information and
communication technologies at competitive
prices. Additionally, food and water security,
and the protection of our natural and built
environments
should
support
balanced
economic growth and a secure future for
generations to come.
For this vision to become reality, we must
continuously refresh and add new industries
and sectors to our country’s existing economic
mainstays, not just to strengthen the economy
but also to widen its ownership base and provide
decent work for all our citizens.
As the Government confronts challenges, the
question that will inevitably confront us is how
best can we build partnerships with our citizens
through economic enfranchisement to ensure
equitable access to critical public services and
wealth creation for our people?
In addition to supporting traditional
economic drivers, the Barbados Labour
Party believes in a modern, innovative,
resilient economy that employs new
technologies:
1. To enable the investments in
infrastructure
and
the
policy,
legislative and regulatory actions
that make it easier for Barbadians to
establish new businesses and grow
existing ones.
2. To develop a ‘Digital Economy’
(including digital payments and cyber
security laws and infrastructure)
on a platform that guarantees free
universal access tobroadband internet
for all Barbadians, facilitating new
industry and improving the efficiency
and quality of the public and private
sectors of the economy.
3. To create a ‘Professionals’ Economy’
that
supports
the
educational
development
of
Barbadians
to
internationally
accredited
professional standards in medical,
legal, financial, engineering, creative
and other professions and the export
of professional services to the world,
but, in particular, to countries in which
we have reached agreements that
support trade in these services.
4. To facilitate a ‘Youth and Creative
Economy’
that
capitalises
on
the
growing
interconnections
globally between sports, culture,
entertainment and digital technology.
5. To build a ‘Visitor Economy’ that
revitalises our traditional tourism
sector by converting the Barbados
brand into one that exceeds
visitors’ expectations and is highly
competitive in attracting investment
in a transparent manner for the
continuous renewal of this sector.
6. To support an ‘Educational and Health
Economy’ that discovers and develops
new avenues of value creation in
these areas to establish Barbados as a
hemispheric hub.
