by Leela Ramdeen, Chair, CCSJ and Director, CREDI
Disruptive Thinking. Bold Action. Practical Outcomes! This was the tagline for the recent Forum on the future of the Caribbean (May 5–7). More than 400 persons attended the Forum which was co-hosted by UWI and T&T’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in collaboration with the UN, regional inter-governmental partners and the Commonwealth Secretariat.
Participants included Caribbean heads of government and policy-makers, civil society, business leaders, and academic experts. I was only able to attend some of the sessions. In a region where there are many faith communities, it would have been helpful to focus also on how we could harness this rich diversity to build the common good. Spirituality is essential for inclusive growth and development, particularly in a world in which individualism, moral relativism, selfishness, and ‘territorialism’ are rampant.
When we were asked to share our vision of the kind of Caribbean we would like to see in 2050, I said I would like to see a Caribbean in which right relationships prevail; one in which self-respect and mutual respect are the order of the day; one in which domestic violence will be a thing of the past; one in which modern technology will be used positively and not the way in which some people are using it, e.g. to access pornography.
I gave the example of the growing number of students who are filming sexual activity in schools and posting it on Facebook. Without self-respect, it will be difficult to promote mutual respect which is critical to nation-building. If we wish to see a Caribbean in which the youth are fully integrated into national development, we must instill in them values that will steer them along the right path.
I ended by stating that if there is mutual respect between people, then our governments will respect the people they serve. The words of Deodat Maharaj, Deputy Secretary-General for Economic and Social Development, Commonwealth Secretariat, still echo in my head: “The time of government by expediency and convenience has come to an end. Too much is at stake!”
If, as was suggested, the region is to identify and implement targeted solutions, we must address the challenges that speakers at the Forum identified, e.g. deficiencies in government, in our capacity for resilience building and in our education systems, low productivity, poverty, debt, youth unemployment, crime & security, poor fiscal management, poor health care, poor ocean governance, climate change, inefficiency and indiscipline in the public service, the dilemma of the Caribbean’s middle income status and its impact on access to concessional financing, the region’s vulnerability to shocks and social challenges in determining eligibility for concessional funding.
Let us pray that advocacy efforts will be successful and that international financial institutions will do, as Maharaj said, and re-examine their mode of classifying those countries considered as middle income and will not rely solely on per capita GDP but will use “vulnerability” as a criterion also.
The example was given of the way in which the $1B in losses (equivalent to 2 years’ GDP) sustained in Grenada because of Hurricane Ivan could cause a country to drop to zero income. As Maharaj said, “small island nations are highly susceptible to external forces, with dire economic and social consequences.”
In some countries in our region, more than 40% of the youth are unemployed. About 16% of drugs flow through the Caribbean, compared to 5% five years ago. The proliferation of small arms is linked to the drug trade. One speaker stated that if there was not so much corruption in our region, the GDP in some countries would be 3 to 4 times higher. He said 90% of the debt burden is due to unproductive government expenditure and corruption, which was corrosive.
Like many, I hope that this Forum will not end up being another ‘talk shop’ and that we will all ‘pull together’ to identify/ devise/ implement strategies for securing a sustainable future in the region. Maharaj believes that: “The future of the region is bright. It is important for all those in the Caribbean to take responsibility and ownership of development, to shape a towering and realisable vision.”
I end with the words of H E Dr Mukhisa Kituyi, Secretary General, UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD): “There needs to be new thinking, new dynamism, new politics to address the challenges we face, or we may be left behind. The pace of moving forward is too slow.”
