Government To Introduce More Measures To Ease Cost Of Living

Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley is promising additional cost of living measures to put back more disposable income in the pockets of Barbadians, who have been crying out for relief.

Ms. Mottley stressed that apart from the $142.2 million annual package announced during the recent election campaign, more measures are in the works to help ease the squeeze.

Speaking to the large audience at CARIFESTA House, including the newly sworn in Cabinet Ministers, other parliamentarians, members of the Diplomatic Corps, relatives, friends and well-wishers, the Prime Minister stressed that the cost of living was not a slogan for her Government, but a daily reality which all households must manage.

Speaking  in her capacity as the Coordinating Minister for Finance and Economic Affairs, Ms. Mottley stressed: “My Government will implement the package of measures that I spoke to each and every night on the platform to reduce the burden on people in this country and to put more disposable income in their pockets, and not just the $142 million that I spoke on, but also the additional benefits to the middle class that we indicated we could not quantify at the time, but will quantify by the next budget, in March.

“But the truth is this is essential, given the fact that we have now had two stable years of seeing the performance of the corporation tax revenue and we are now in a position to put money back in people’s pockets.”             

Ms. Mottley shared that in addition to the cost of living measures outlined, the next step will be to keep prices affordable for the public. She promised to work in a targeted and sustainable way with the social partners to shield the most vulnerable from “the vagaries of global inflation”. (PR/GIS)