Prime Minister Mia Mottley says her administration has provided about $94 million in relief to help Barbadians cope with rising living costs driven by global economic pressures, including higher energy prices linked to the conflict in Iran.
Addressing supporters and party officials at the Barbados Labour Party’s 87th Annual Conference on Saturday evening, Mottley outlined a series of measures introduced to cushion households from rising electricity, fuel and commodity costs.
Prime Minister Mia Mottley addressing supporters and party officials at the Barbados Labour Party’s 87th Annual Conference on Saturday evening. (Photo by: Ricardo Roberts)
“Since April, this government provided $40 million in cost-of-living cash credit to 57 985 Barbadians,” Mottley said.
She said the assistance was directed to pensioners, recipients of special needs grants and welfare beneficiaries.
Mottley also pointed to the government’s decision to absorb half of recent fuel-related electricity cost increases rather than pass the full increase on to consumers.
According to the Prime Minister, the measure has provided approximately $11 million in support to the Barbados Light & Power Company.
She said the government also extended the reduction in value-added tax on the first 250 kilowatt-hours of electricity and allocated $36 million to the Barbados National Energy Company to help stabilise diesel and gasoline prices for motorists and public transport operators.
Mottley said those measures, together with water subsidies and other concessions, brought the total value of the relief to about $94 million.
The Prime Minister also pointed to legislation intended to strengthen protection for credit union members.
“We have also passed legislation to extend deposit insurance protection to credit unions and [those] who got accounts in credit unions in this country,” she said.
The legislation is scheduled to be introduced in January 2027 and is expected to provide deposit insurance coverage for more than 100 000 credit union members, protecting personal savings and education funds.
Mottley said the measures were made possible through fiscal discipline and urged Barbadians to manage their household finances carefully as the country continues to navigate global economic challenges.
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