CARICOM CHAIRMAN Prime Minister Freundel Stuart is again appealing to the international community not to use the gross domestic product (GDP) of Caricom states to determine their middle income status.
He said the situation in Dominica, which was devastated by Tropical Storm Erika, underscored the vulnerability of regional states and was proof that the GDP of Caribbean countries could be wiped out within hours.
“When in large and powerful countries there are natural disasters, they are natural events because the society was able to function. However, it is a national event in Caricom states because every facet of life is touched and unsettled,” he said during his address at the 60th Annual Conference of the Democratic Labour Party yesterday.
“I want to take this opportunity to impress again on all those who have ears to hear that we must revisit this GDP per capita measure by which countries in Caricom are graduated and labelled middle income countries. (WILLCOMM)
Please read the full story in today’s Daily Nation, or in the eNATION edition.
