Political economist Professor Don Marshall has cautioned that Barbados’ programme with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will limit Government’s ability to help struggling micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs).In fact, stopping short of saying the IMF did not care about the development of the sector, the Director of the Sir Arthur Lewis Institute of Social and Economic Studies (SALISES) argued that the Washington-based financial institution disapproves of state assistance to stimulate those businesses.Prime Minister Mia Mottley announced earlier this month that the Government will be seeking to enter another IMF programme when the current arrangement expires at the end of the month, saying that the Fund is the cheapest form of financing available. Her administration is seeking US$130 million under a three-year programme to support another Barbados Economic Recovery and Transformation (BERT) plan.“The IMF’s lending comes with restrictions on your public policy manoeuvre,” Professor Marshall said in a presentation during the Small Business Association (SBA) State of the Industry Conference at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre on Tuesday.
