Could Barbados ever become a banana republic? The idea itself seems preposterous – “of course, it couldn’t” you say? . . . . We don’t produce that many bananas and Barbados is not a republic.
American political commentators coined the pejorative term ‘banana republic’ in the early 1900s to refer to Central America’s politically unstable multinational-controlled banana-growing autocracies, all of them dependent on that single commodity market, and having racially stratified social classes, including a large underemployed rural population while the professional, merchant, political and public-service elites shamelessly avoided taxes and exploited the weak regulatory system for their own lavish living, exposing huge inequality the fuel for crime.
To compensate for the absence of non-banana employment opportunities, government resources were used to artificially create employment in nonsensical projects resulting in a culture of government inefficiency.
Of course, Barbados could never get like that! Neither will Barbadians ever easily accept that the island could become a “republic”. The word republic implies that the power of government resides in the people. Perish the thought – do we really need democratic equality? We have a Queen!
Whether Barbados is tagged a banana republic or a tourism monarchy, let us not be among the countries that became fragile or even failed states by taking our leading industry for granted. We had better stop tiptoeing between the roses.
Small islands that have accepted the sovereignty of tourism suffer from racial and class polarisation, uneven development, ecological degradation, high foreign exchange costs and leakage, rising alienation among locals . . . .
In effect, severe structural underdevelopment with inflationary pressures when that one sector causes dramatic factor price rises in other sectors.
Our current model’s sustainability is fraught with these risks and poses major threats to the island’s socio-cultural, ecological and even public health gains. An economy based only on sun, sand, fun, rum and sex is so extremely vulnerable to the uncontrollable internal and external shocks (that is, recession, natural disaster, civil disorder, and so on).
So much for talkable content.
1. Where is the Tourism Master Plan? Not ready yet? What about the famous “Ten-Point Plan”, then? We trust that having had so long to work on the “New Tourism” model, we can expect a little more than “new tourism CEOs”.
2. Honourable ministers all, please take a drive or a walk along any stretch of Highway 1 and Highway 7, and see the island we are offering our patrons.
3. If Bridgetown’s colonial built heritage is considered enough of an inducement to make travellers come and spend and circulate – fine. Personally, I think not. My focus for a new tourism model would rather be on health and wellness, but neither product can hope be developed in such an untidy setting.
Barbados’ appearance is in a disgracefully unkempt state in time for the season. We respectfully ask Government to help us regain some of our lost pride. Put some of the municipal tax collections to work or let us start growing bananas! . . . . Or is it the Queen to whom we need to address our appeal?
