Time for drastic changes

SOMETIMES one has to wonder if the people of the Caribbean – including Grenadians – are prepared to make drastic changes which must be undertaken to pull their countries out of their present malaise.

The majority of countries making up the Caribbean Community are experiencing grave economic stress as well, and in the case of three of them – St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Dominica – their situation was aggravated by heavy rainfall and eventual flooding which disrupted the lives of citizens.

It is as if the region is in a deep hole and all kinds of assessments are being currently undertaken to ascertain exactly how the Caribbean has ended up in this position, and what it is going to take to get these countries out of this predicament.

Several analysts, including those at the Washington D.C.-based financial institutions – the IMF and World Bank – have reasoned that overdependence on tourism and especially the markets where visitors originate are responsible for this situation. The majority of visitors to these shores come from the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Europe. These are the countries that felt the full fury of the global recession and therefore the contagion spread to the Caribbean islands.

In comparison, the Latin American countries have been cited as prime examples where states undertook more economic diversification. They partnered with China and other Asian countries, where for example the demand for commodities was at its peak, and in the process benefited enormously. Economic reforms that were also undertaken by the countries in South and Central America worked in their favour to the extent that there was minimal disruption from the global crisis.

Other assessments have concluded that the islands of the Eastern Caribbean concentrated too much on commodities – sugar and bananas – for too long and did not spend enough time trying to diversify their economies. Essentially, they were ‘caught napping’ and they were late in getting the message that trade preferences were on the way out.  

No one has added the fact that as these countries moved to pursue niches in offshore activities, they were being watched by the international  community, which has consistently used their might and power to force the islands to submit to global standards – when in actual fact this has not been the case with some of the more powerful nations.

Another fault that can be levelled against the Caribbean is that they tended to borrow too much. They ran up enormous foreign debt and with declining export sectors, they had difficulties repaying borrowed funds.

These are difficult times and people have to bite the bullet and be prepared for the long road ahead.

While other countries like Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Suriname and Belize are not encountering the same challenges as the other small islands and Jamaica, they could be impacted in another way. Their trade and in particular exports could be disrupted in the event that economic conditions in the affected countries do lead to falling demands for imports.

Let us hope that as a region these countries find solutions out of the present situation.