We have just celebrated the 46th anniversary of our Independence and this is as good a time as any for some stocktaking as we make steady progress towards a half-century of managing our own affairs.
Soon, those under the age of 50 will have spent their entire life living in a Barbados which has been totally free in every constitutional, political and social respect.
The aspirations and life plans of all such people will have been conceived and executed without the retardation of the clammy colonial hand on the shoulder of local politicians, in restraint whenever their benevolent, social and enlightened programmes would move at a pace too quick for the measured approach of the technocrats and policymakers of the Colonial Office.
We have achieved at an astounding rate since that wet night in 1966. Our housing stock has changed from the ubiquitous chattel house to modern, well appointed abodes of concrete blocks and reinforced steel construction that are not only more resistant to hurricanes, but speak to a higher standard of comfort and social hygiene.
This upgrade of social standards has been achieved in a country that has changed its fiscal arrangements from rudimentary income tax as the major domestic revenue earner, with sugar dominating the foreign exchange earning landscape and tourism playing a supporting role.
Now, sugar has virtually disappeared and our major foreign exchange earner is the offshore sector, with tourism playing a much enhanced role in providing employment and foreign exchange, and with value added tax being the major contributor to the domestic fiscal landscape.
At this juncture we must now focus even more fiercely on how to adjust for the future. We have climbed mountains to achieve what we have done so far, but the challenges of the future cannot depend only or even mainly on the parternalistic approach of the state leading the way in providing all the social services as it did, given that we were a poor, postcolonial society.
Our major political parties, and the thinkers and commentators in our society, must now debate the changes required in the management of our current political and social economy if we are to progress in a world in which it is clear that small open economies cannot depend on old remedies for the new challenges presented by a World Trade Organization-dominated playing field.
We recognize the role of our profession in helping to bring about a greater appreciation for the challenges ahead and the necessary adjustments that will have to be made. The immediate demands of the society have changed since Independence, and the gains made at all levels must now be reinforced so that we may have firm fiscal footings on which to continue to provide for those who remain truly vulnerable and need state help.
In all of this, the changing demographics have implications for the social security of our nation that will include a smaller working population compared with those who have retired on public pensions.
The size of Government may become a challenge, and the policies to provide an environment in which entrepreneurs can thrive and make reasonable profits while providing efficient export-oriented services will require careful thought. Yet we need not fear, for we have come thus far on our own steam, through the collaborative efforts of all the society. Long may this national effort continue!
