The growing interdependence of economies worldwide is making external developments more and more interesting for all and sundry. And that reality is helped to a large extent by the vast advances in technology in the past few decades.
Despite the many challenges these external developments have posed for us in the Caribbean, no one can deny that many opportunities have also been created. Some, we have taken full advantage of; others simply passed us by.
Today, I will not focus on the challenges and opportunities that coincide with global developments. Instead, I wish to zero in on two critical issues that should present lessons for every country in the Caribbean; lessons we all should take very seriously and fully incorporate into our everyday political and economic life.
After several months of tactical manoeuvring, the trial of Allen Stanford finally began and within five weeks the jury has released its verdict: guilty on all but one of 14 charges including fraud, money laundering, conspiracy, and obstruction. The charges related to defrauding investors of US$7 billion over several years.
To me, the importance of this issue has to do with the fact that Mr Stanford operated some of his businesses from within a Caribbean jurisdiction for many years and was even involved with one of our greatest and perhaps most loved institutions – cricket.
And when his case is coupled with the CLICO/BAICO saga, the lesson for us is clear: every country in the region must become much more diligent and aggressive in its enactment and enforcement of financial rules and regulations. Period!
From Trinidad and Tobago in the south to Jamaica in the north, governments come and governments go. And that is fine. What isn’t fine is the unnecessary and vast amount of changes to plans, policies and programmes that we have now become used to in the Caribbean.
It seems as if our mindset is so simple that new governments sometimes believe they have to take possession of things. We believe that we must stamp our authority on activities in order to take ownership of them. And that practice often runs our economies into real trouble.
But perhaps more important is the dreadful practice of commissioning study after study on all sorts of matters only to shelve the recommendations of those studies, a practice that wastes millions of dollars.
Well, in Iceland, former Prime Minister Geir H. Haarde has been accused by prosecutors of ignoring the recommendations of a commission established in 2006 to look at financial and economic issues affecting the country and is now facing criminal charges over the 2007-2008 financial crisis.
According to the New York Times, “Mr Haarde is charged with doing too little to protect the country against the depredations of its bankers as they pursued wildly expansionary lending that resulted in financial disaster for the country. He was indicted in 2010 by a sharply divided parliament, charged with violating the laws of ministerial responsibility.” Wow!
Need I say anything further?