Estwick calls for state-led growth, development bank

Democratic Labour Party President Dr David Estwick has called for a new development bank and laws requiring public institutions to buy 60 per cent of their goods domestically as part of a state-led economic model for Barbados.

Estwick argued that Barbados needs an economic model in which the State leads development, and the private sector works alongside it, rather than one in which private business is expected to drive growth on its own.

Speaking at a DLP St Michael East branch meeting at St Giles Primary School on Sunday, Estwick said the island’s size left it without the advantages enjoyed by larger economies, making a leading role for the State necessary.