Barbadians do not need to be told we are living in hard times.
We feel the pressures daily. In recent times, the cost of creature comforts – food, health care, shelter, utilities – have risen substantially and keep rising.
But Barbados is not in a singular position. All across the democratic world, First and Second World populations, like never before, have taken to the streets showcasing their dissatisfaction. In this information age, instant communications through the world wide web and social networks at the fingertips are used universally.
But life goes on and we must make adjustments to ensure we are not swept away by the economic tsunami ravaging the world. Among other things, the prices of oil and major grains have risen serially pushing up several other commodities and the global cost of living.
As a nation state, there are regional and international institutions to which we belong and commitments and responsibilities from which we cannot resile. Unfortunately, Caricom, without an ambassador, seems stuck in the mud. At the international level, it is imperative that we continue to participate fully in the work of the Commonwealth and United Nations.
It is expensive maintaining embassies, high commissions and consulates in major capitals to promote and protect the interests of our diaspora populations, promote tourism, the offshore sector and trade and participate in the numerous discussions and decisions of relevance to our stability, growth and development.
National representation is an essential and inescapable consequence of transition from colony to nation state within the comity of Commonwealth countries. It is costly, especially in key diplomatic centres like New York, London and Washington.
But it is part of the global architecture and imperative for reciprocal respect if Barbados expects to be treated seriously.
Against that background, the hard times notwithstanding, it is in the best interest of Barbados that this country be represented by a Prime Minister-led delegation at the biennial meeting of the 54 member states at the Commonwealth Heads of Government (CHOGM) this weekend in Perth, Australia.
I cannot fathom why an announcement by the Minister of Health that a new general hospital costing in excess of $800 million will be built on a green field site was less newsworthy than the Page 1 headline in the major Friday newspaper: $1/4m Trip. Under the Page 3 headline: High Cost Of Going Down Under there is a breakdown of costs, but nothing of benefits, of a six-person delegation flying to Perth.
The cost of flying anywhere today is exorbitant, even the short distance from Barbados to Antigua, just over 300 miles and 40 minutes by jet. Barbados to London is 4 000 miles and eight hours, Australia a further 24 hours away.
It is mandated and reasonable that the Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs travel first class. On such a lengthy trip, it is imperative.
I was a member of the Barbados delegation at the last CHOGM meeting in Australia. I considered the enervating non-stop flight a modern form of torture and broke my trip from London with a short stop-over in Borneo at no extra cost to the taxpayers. I arrived in Melbourne feeling fresh and ready for the meetings.
Before the Queen opens CHOGM, there is a business forum at which delegations have an opportunity to fraternize and tout for Commonwealth business. Prime Minister Stuart would be expected to have used this optimally to promote Barbados’ interest as a small state with serious financial constraints and restricted diplomatic representation.
Critically, this summit, in addition to the usual agenda items, will receive the report of the Eminent Persons Group (EPG) appointed July last year to make recommendations for reforming the ailing Commonwealth, including the appointment of a commissioner for democracy, the rule of law and human rights, all valued attributes.
Sir Ronald Sanders, whose term as Antigua and Barbuda’s high commissioner in London was concurrent with mine, was a key member of the EPG. He wrote in his weekly column in another section of the Press that among the group’s 106 recommendations, the greatest priority was placed “on the urgent issue of the damaging effects of climate change on small island states and coastal states”.
The report recommended strategic partnerships with international agencies and philanthropic organizations to tackle this problem which threatens all small island states, including Barbados.
In addition to climate change problems, CHOGM will also address recommendations about debilitating debt, reform of the international financial institutions and the crippling situation facing small, developing states, all issues critically important to Barbados.
The EPG’s mandate was to recommend urgent reforms to make the Commonwealth “relevant to its times and its people”. This is long overdue and I trust the Prime Minister and Barbados’ delegation participate meaningfully in what can be either a watershed or death knell after its 62 years’ existence.
Peter Simmons, a social scientist, is a former diplomat. Email [email protected]