Where some people consider risk and uncertainty a problem others see [them] as an opportunity. – ingrimayne.com The year 2011 has opened and is before us like a long and winding pathway that meanders ahead uphill and down into a future that we could approach with fear and pessimism, or with hope and optimism. It is no use looking back. Last year is gone. 2010 is now history.
So as we look ahead, what is the agenda that lies before us? One may argue that factors on the international scene will largely dictate our agenda for 2011. Yet others might opine that our agenda is generated from within our shores without reference to outside factors.
Given globalization and all that it brings in its trail, it is very difficult for small developing countries to insulate themselves from the vagariesof the international community. A look at what the economic agenda might be would reveal to some degree the extent to which we are boxed in.
We continue to put all of our eggs in one basket. We still depend heavily on tourism to provide us with the foreign exchange that we need so badly to prop up our reserves. There have been repeated calls for us to diversify the economy. All of our attempts at diversification of the economy have been feeble and unsustainable. International business, which seemed to offer some hope, is difficult to sustain within the global economic meltdown whose effects have prevailed for much longer than projected.
The successes of a thriving manufacturing sector like that of the 1970s and 1980s have largely eluded us. The days of tax-free incentives to lure foreign investors to set up industries are nothing more than memories and nostalgia. It seems that our economic agenda is pretty much set for us. If for some reason the oil rich countries decide to play with the price of oil, or even create a false shortage, economies like ours could find ourselves “catspraddled”.
The eyes of all Barbadians are on our newly assigned Minister of Finance Christopher Sinckler. Prime Minister Freundel Stuart in his response in the 2010 Budget debate asserted that the options of a Minister of Finance were limited. We will watch to see if his creative ability will help him to wrench free and find novel ways to bolster our economic fortunes and set our own economic agenda.
The political agenda does not present any urgency beyond the St John by-election. By 2013 the situation will change as the current Prime Minister will have to seek his own mandate.
On the other hand, the Barbados Labour Party will by then hopefully effectively heal the internal rift and present a united front as it challenges the ruling party for which there is still much goodwill. Those people who are predicting a one-term Democratic Labour Party Government may be disappointed.
As a small developing country, there are number of social ills that must concern us. While our crime rate is not alarmingly high, we cannot ignore the frequency with which our young men are “snuffing out” the lives of others. The level of gunplay in this small “two-by-four” country is worrisome. When this is linked with the amount of drugs on our streets and the general lawlessness one sees daily, a clarion call must be made to the social engineers for action. There must be a collaborative initiative among the Ministry of Family, of Education, of Sport, of Culture and Royal Barbados Police Force. Unless this is done we will lose control of the agenda for addressing the social ills that threaten to undermine our social fabric.
But there is another agenda that is critical to our sense of well-being as peoples who came here on “the same ship from the same place”. The passion for regionalism which motivated the leaders of the 1960s and 1970s and which the CSME concept rekindled has dwindled to nothing more than a spark. The agenda for 2011 will be grossly incomplete unless it includes a clear recognition that our collective destinies remain inextricably linked.
The near death-bed state of the Caribbean Court of Justice and the extent to which we remain the laughing stock of the British law lords are manifestations of our lack of commitment to the lofty ideals of regionalism. This must be properly put on the agenda for 2011 and beyond. The 2011 agenda, while not totally in our hands, has still not eluded us. It is us who must fashion our future. It is us who must reach deep down into our collective bowels and find creative ways to give our people hope, especially in an environment of despair.
As we set the 2011 agenda, let us manipulate our response since we have little control over the vagaries in the international marketplace.
• Matthew D. Farley is a secondary school principal, chairman of the National Forum On Education, and a social commentator. Email laceyprinci@yahoo.com.