There should be absolutely no doubt in the hearts of serious-minded people of the Caribbean that many of our local economies are still under tremendous financial and economic pressure. Arguably, the problems that exist in our economies at the moment are reflections of several factors including weak domestic policies, lack of adequate institutions to facilitate sustained growth and development, and the fallout from a global financial and economic crisis that has created turmoil in economies – large and small – throughout the world.
Indeed, one does not have to look too far to develop some appreciation of the magnitude of the challenges facing regional economies. Reports after reports from domestic, regional, and international sources have painted less than flattering images of the state of many economies in the Caribbean. That fact coupled with the adjustment strategies pursued in countries such as Barbados, Grenada, and Jamaica surely reveals the harsh reality of life and living in the Caribbean at present.
This unforgiving reality is captured in the underperformance of many of our productive and foreign exchange earning sectors such as agriculture and tourism; excessive pressure being brought to bear on our capacity to deliver and sustain the quality of our tertiary, technical and vocational training programmes; weak export capacity coupled with high imports, thus placing lots of stress on our external accounts and exchange rates; reductions in remittances and foreign capital inflows; huge fiscal deficits; large and unsustainable public debts; and rising unemployment, among other things.
What the foregoing paragraph highlights is the need for all hands on deck if Caribbean countries are to come even remotely close to turning around their current economic fortunes and subsequently emerging stronger financial and economic powers out of the ruins that now characterise our individual experiences. It is for this reason, primarily, that there clearly is an important role for all and sundry to play in the fight against economic hardships.
Hence, in keeping with the call by the Leader of the Opposition in Barbados as well as other pundits, the people of the Caribbean must rise up and let their voices be heard by advancing meaningful ideas for the socio-economic development of our countries through various formal as well as informal mechanisms. If we as a people fail to respond to our nations’ needs, there will be little hope for a turnaround in our economic fortunes since Governments have demonstrated time and time again their incapacities to resolve the major problems facing us in the region by going the distance alone.
After all, our economies are expected to perform and survive within the context of a rather unpredictable global environment. The widespread and rapid changes that take place internationally continue to challenge our local business environments to sustain themselves even though, in several instances, we are forced to respond to forces far beyond our control. And that is why we all have to appreciate the need to make our contributions, however small, as we seek to confront some of the more pressing issues that affect our daily lives and livelihoods. That is what true peoples’ power should be about.
