The decision by Government to rekindle a relationship with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in order to pursue a second round of the Barbados Economic Recovery and Transformation (BERT) programme is a positive move for the economy.This assessment has come from noted economist Marla Dukharan, who explained that the country was still in need of funding that was difficult to access on the capital market due to high interest rates and the bitter taste of the 2018 debt restructuring still lingering in the mouths of investors.At the same time, however, Dukharan has warned of the need for a new BERT programme to be accompanied by private sector growth, which she said can be done through improvements in the ease and cost of doing business.“I think that the announcement that there will be a renewal of the relationship with the International Monetary Fund is a positive step. If you think about what would have happened in the absence of that, there would be a lot of questions as to how Barbados will receive the funding that it needs for the kinds of reforms, investments, diversification and fiscal consolidation in the future that it needs, given that Barbados can’t really raise commercial debt at this point, given that the debt restructuring was so recent,” Dukharan explained.