Jamaica And Barbados Secure Over $200 Million USD | The 2 Best Leaders In The Caribbean For 2025

Added: 2026-05-22

[00:00:07]Hey guys, welcome back to Carb 21 Network wherever in the world you're watching us from. So we have some good news coming out of Barbados and Jamaica.

[00:00:17]So the Jamaican government after the most catastrophic natural disaster in the history of Jamaica, the government have just signed off on another catastrophic bond just in case we see another hurricane like Hurricane Melissa. And this bond is a bond of over $200 million US. And this was some news that came in yesterday. So the Jamaican government have been able to to secure Jamaica again just in case there is another natural disaster and the government of Barbados have been able to sign off on a $200 million line of credit from the IMF and this is also just in case there's any hurricane just in case there's another pandemic or just money that the government can draw down on if the government need this money. So what is interesting about this news and the timing of both countries is that the government of Jamaica, the prime minister of Jamaica and the prime minister of Barbados, they have been the two best performing government in the Caribbean for the past 10 years and everything is just aligning when you see when you compare these two governments.

[00:01:38]Both the prime minister of Barbados, the honorable Mia Mley and the prime minister of Jamaica, the honorable Dr. Andrew, they both recently won their third consecutive term as government in their country. And it is so interesting when you track the the progress that these two governments have made over the past 10 years and it is so identical, Jamaica and Barbados. So this, as I said, this news is coming out of Barbados and Mia Matley announced this just a few days ago about the money that they are going to be able to draw down from the IMF. So this is the prime minister of Barbados, the honorable Mia Mley.

[00:02:29]You're aware there was an IMF mission in town that we've been dealing with.

[00:02:33]Barbadus belongs as you know to the International Monetary Fund and whether we're in a program or not there is continuous engagement as you would have known from the past. Um in this particular instance we came out of the last IMF program a year ago and on that occasion I told you that the most we would ever do is to keep the IMF on speed dial for a standby arrangement.

[00:02:57]Since then, much has happened in the world and I don't need to tell you where the prices of oil have gone since we were last here. I don't need to tell you what other actions. Um, Minister of Finance, as you know, is on Zoom, but he's very much in this call. Um, he is um on on personal leave today, but has still come in here for this meeting. Um, I don't need to tell you that in the last budget, the government also put a range of policies in place to protect the vulnerable and to protect Barbados as a whole by being able to address the issue of the cost of freight, the cost of energy um and and um ensuring that we can protect the consumers and the producers in the country in whatever limited ways we can. We anticipated that we would have seen some kind of resolution in the near future, but you and I both know that this thing is still swirling and and and and we're not sure where we will end up. So, we're conscious very much that while our discussions have proceeded that neither them or us can speak to where the world is going because of the scale of uncertainty now. And that just means being therefore having to be nimble, having to continue to reinforce first principles, which we have done, and having to ensure that if we need to make a change or a pivot, we are not a cruise ship. We're not a large country, so we can do things quicker and easier than most. Um but at the same time we go in to um our discussions with the fund with a credibility that few countries have ever had in dealing with the IMF. We've had two programs that by any stretch of the imagination have continued to be excellent. Um we are the only non-energy producing country that has exhibited the level of fiscal >> Yes. So what is interesting about Barbados and Jamaica as I said it is so identical because when the prime minister of Barbados Mia Mley when she took when she came into government the debt to GDP ratio in Barbados was over 170 debt to GDP ratio and it is very similar to Jamaica and the prime minister of Jamaica the honorable Dr. Andrew on when he took office it was over 140. So these two countries Barbados and Jamaica were in like heavily in debt when these two governments took office. And to see what the prime minister of Barbados have been able to do in terms of bringing down the debt to GDP ratio to under 100 and also keep funding Barbados. the like social program in Barbados are probably the best social programs in the Caribbean.

[00:05:59]We know that Barbados they have um free tertiary level education. Most of the other Caribbean islands cannot brag about you know free tertiary level education. They have a lot of social program. you know, Barbados, the the quality of life in Barbados is better than pretty much, I would say, every other Caribbean island, especially within the West Indies. So, it it is just amazing to see what she's been able to accomplish coming into office with one of the highest debt to GDP ratio in the region and was able to bring it down. And the same thing with the Jamaican government. And what is interesting, the prime minister of Barbados and the prime minister of Jamaica, they both got man and woman of the year from the Caribbean weekly. So it is just so as I said, it is very interesting to see the progression between Barbados and Jamaica and these two governments and the past 10 years, the two best performing government in the Caribbean. And as I said, they have been able to secure these money to ensure that both countries can withstand a natural disaster, pandemic or anything like that. So let's continue to hear what the prime minister Mia Mley have to say.

[00:07:27]discipline that we have in the top seven countries of the world looking at the question of fiscal discipline but we have not replaced fiscal discipline or we've not put fiscal discipline as the only consideration because this is a country as you know that while being in IMF programs have increased public servant salaries three times have reintroduced pre-tertiary education has refleed the transport port board um bus stop has reflected the sanitation services authority bus stop has built a new accident and emergency has done a whole host of social things while still applying fiscal discipline and it shows us that fiscal discipline does not exclude social protection and fiscal discipline does not exclude developmental priorities. I'll pass the floor first to our dear friend Mike um who is leading the IMF mission and then when he speaks I will say any things after we'll take a few questions after if that is okay. Can you pass that?

[00:08:37]Thank you.

[00:08:37]>> Thank you prime minister. So good morning everyone a little closer.

[00:08:41]>> I'm very pleased to report that after productive discussions over the last two weeks uh we've reached a staff level agreement on a precautionary standby arrangement. Uh the precautionary arrangement will be for the amount of 189 million SDRs or about $260 million US. Um we expect the request to go to the IMF executive board for consideration sometime in in June. So the key objectives of the standby arrangement will be firstly to provide insurance against external shocks uh in a in a more shockprone world. Secondly, to help preserve macroeconomic stability and thirdly to support the reforms under the homegrown uh bur 2026 plan which itself moves from the focus from stabilization and growth towards long-term economic transformation. Um, I'd like to acknowledge up front that with strong ownership, Barbados has made uh significant progress in implementing its previous BERT plans and as a result, Barbados enters this proposed precautionary standby arrangement from a position that strengthened macroeconomic credibility. Let me just highlight a few key achievements. So, first uh the improvement in the fiscal account has helped put debt public debt that is on a firm downward path. Uh second, international reserves have been rebuilt and Barbados has successfully returned to international capital markets. Third, important structural reforms have been implementing implemented including uh to stateowned enterprises and pensions alongside other efforts to boost growth and resilience.

[00:10:14]Moreover, recent economic developments have also been encouraging. Growth remains solid, sustained by construction related to tourism and public investment. Fiscal performance continues to be strong boyed by corporate income tax revenues and international reserves remain ample uh supported by uh foreign direct investment. So having said all that it's worth emphasizing that the outlook now remains subject to significant downside risks as the prime minister mentioned amid the heightened global policy uncertainty including with respect to commodity prices um but also Barbados's ongoing vulnerability to natural disasters. So in this context, the precautionary SBA will provide critical insurance. Let me be clear that Barbados does not have an actual balance of payments of need need at the moment.

[00:11:02]This is for potential balance of payments of need need that could occur in the event of a shock materializing over the next 2 to 3 years.

[00:11:10]>> Yes. So as I said, this is some good news coming out of Barbados. And the good thing about this is that this time as opposed to like say 15 years ago or the previous IMF agreements this time Barbados they are in a position of strength. So I know a lot of times people don't really like the IMF when Caribbean islands when we do business with the IMF because we have heard some stories about the IMF and certain things certain requests that they would ask countries but when you are negotiating from a position of strength when you are not like a country that is dire in need of the funding I think you're in a better position to negotiate and this is what we're seeing taking place with Barbados because this is not money that they are going to need to use to run their economy right now. This is like a line of credit just in case of emergency. They can draw down as much as they want or as little as they want. And every single country even the mighty United States of America is the most indebted country in the world. So a lot of country most countries operate with debt because infrastructure takes a lot of money to build schools to build hospitals and stuff like that. So most countries pretty much have to mortgage the future of their country and the the you know kids that are that are not even born yet they are going to have to pay tax to pay down those debts. But the good thing about it is that there's good infrastructure. There's good social programs in Barbados. And as I said, Barbados has one of the best quality of life in the Caribbean. So that is some good news coming out of Barbados, as I said. So next up, let's take a look at Jamaica. and Jamaica the catastrophe bond $200 million US that they were able to secure going into the future because after the hurricane Melissa after what Hurricane Melissa did to Jamaica now we are seeing that this bond is actually a good investment and the government now they have $200 million that they can draw down from if just in case of another emergency.

[00:13:38]Yes. So, Caribbean News Weekly is reporting this and I know there are other media houses that reporting it.

[00:13:44]So, Jamaica gets 200 million in hurricane disaster preparation from the World Bank. So, as I said, Jamaica received this $200 million US from the World Bank and Barbados receiving over $200 million in line of credit from the IMF. So it is so interesting as I said the two countries that 15 years ago were in debt so much in debt and the government of Barbados was able to bring down the debt to GDP ratio. The government of Jamaica in the past 10 years was able to to do the same thing.

[00:14:28]And it is so interesting when you line up the two countries side by side and their trajectory is almost identical. So you can see here Barbados at the height of their um debt to GDP ratio was um 2017 2018 178.9 that is like that is some crazy amount that mean Barbados was in so much debt that the government would have to be keep borrowing to pay off their debt but they were able to bring it down to 94.6 and then Jamaica was in a similar situation and for the past 10 years the Andrew only administration they were able to to do some good work and as you can see Jamaica 65.8 coming from over 150% debt to GDP ratio. So as I said these two islands when you look at the path that they have taken and the two government the Mayor Mley administration third consecutive term the Andrew administration in Jamaica third consecutive term when you look at when both of these leader took office two of the highest debt to GDP ratio in the entire region and we saw the IMF reporting a few years ago that the performance of the Jamaican government was like almost like miraculous for a country that was on the verge of collapse with such a high debt to GDP ratio and they were able to turn things around and we saw the same thing with Barbados and what is fascinating about this also is that the two governments the the prime minister of Barbados different ideology the prime minister of Barbados. The government of Barbados that is currently in office now is more of a socialist type of government. And you can see that in Barbados, there's a lot of social programs in Barbados for the elder, for people that are on disability, for people who are down on their luck. Barbados have a lot of social program. And as I said, Barbados, the the the Mia Mly government is more of a socialist government while the in Jamaica now the Jamaica Labor Party with Dr. Andrew is more of a capitalist. But what we have seen from Dr. Andrew, it's almost like he merged the two worlds together. And for um a government that the ideology is capitalism, we see a lot of social program coming from this government in terms of social housing, in terms of um um affordable or free healthcare in Jamaica. So we have seen the Andrew on administration kind of turn away from the traditional capitalist model and merge I would say capitalism and socialism together and that is what we're seeing from this administration. So, two governments, two different ideology, but when you look at their track record, it's almost identical. And to me, these two leaders in the Caribbean right now, the prime minister of Barbados, the honorable Mia Mley and the prime minister of Jamaica, the honorable Dr. Andrew Ones, they are on, they are racing right now for GOAT status. who is going to one of these leaders could eventually be the greatest prime minister that the Caribbean has ever seen. Right now, I think most people would give that to um Eric Williams from um Trinidad and Tobago, but right now we are seeing two of the best leaders the Caribbean has ever seen. And the work is there to show from bringing their countries, bringing Barbados from a high debt to GDP ratio to where Barbados is now to bring Barbados to republic status. That is the legacy of Mia Mley. And the third term also now in Jamaica, we are seeing the lowest unemployment rate in the history of Jamaica, the lowest crime rate in over 40 years. And this Andrew only government is also you know performing very well and it's going to be very interesting to see these two leaders in the Caribbean. I know that Mia Mley she pretty much dominate. So if Mia Mley decides to run again she's going to be able to win a fourth term. I don't think there's any challenge with the opposition in Barbados. in Jamaica now it might be a bit different because it's a bit closer but also the prime minister of Jamaica if he decides to go for a fourth term I believe that he can also do it so it is so interesting to see these two leaders and it is going to you know looking in the future it is going to be very interesting to see which one of these leader could do a fourth or a fifth term. So guys let me know your thoughts in the comment section. What do you think about Jamaica being able to secure another bond for over $200 million to secure Jamaica just in case of another um hurricane? And also Barbados signing off this deal with the IMF. And this is pretty much a line of credit deal that Barbados will have over $200 million to draw down on just in case of a natural disaster or a pandemic. Anything that that happens in the future, the government of Barbados will be prepared for it. Let me know your thoughts in the comment section.

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