In January 2014 Minister of Agriculture David Estwick in a surprising move submitted a proposal to Prime Minister Freundel Stuart urging the Cabinet to refinance and restructure the public debt by sourcing 4 billion USD from the UAE. In what is described as the UAE proposal Estwick advised there was interest by the UAE to lend Barbados the huge sum at an interest rate of between 2 and 4% with a term of 30 years.
Fast forward to 2017: the fiscal position of Barbados has deteriorated and has fueled national discussion about going to the IMF for balance of payment and other support, devaluation, low investor confidence and so on. What is surprising is that Estwick having had his UAE proposal rebuffed by the Cabinet voted YES at the second reading of the Appropriations Bill last night (15/03/2016).
As a public service BU shares the letter Minister David Estwick sent to Prime Minister Freundel Stuart in 2014.
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