Presentation
by
The Rt.
Hon. Perry G. Christie
Prime
Minister
and
Minister of Finance
Commonwealth
of The Bahamas at the
University of the West Indies, St. Augustine Campus
Distinguished
Open Lecture Series
Monday,
7th April 2014 titled,
"The
Role Of The Bahamas In Caricom: My perspective on Where We are Going:
I would like
to thank my hosts here at The University of the West Indies for inviting me to
speak here today, and for their kind hospitality during my stay.
I want to
thank the distinguished President of the Republic of Trinidad Tobago, His
Excellency Anthony Thomas Aquinas Carmona,
and the Honourable Prime Minister
Kamla Persad-Bissessar for the warm welcome
which they have extended to me and all the courtesies which have been extended
to me and my delegation.
I wish also to thank the Honourary Consul for The Bahamas, Dr. Monica
Davis, for so kindly arranging this forum and all the arrangements which she
has made for us over her term as Honourary Consul on this and a range of
issues. I thank her most sincerely.
It is a
profound privilege to be here this evening to speak to you about The Bahamas
and how we see the region, our role in it, and where it is going. In doing so, I mean to re-establish,
reaffirm, buttress and support the position of The Bahamas in Caricom. We are an integral part of the region. It is my firm personal view and the official
view of The Bahamas that we all work better when we all work together. The region is stronger when we pool our
national sovereignties and identities and work in concert with each other.
If I may be
permitted a brief personal intervention here, my association with the region
goes way back to the days when I was an athlete. As fate would have it, I became the second
Bahamian to win a medal in international track and field competition when I
medalled in the triple jump at the CAC Championships in Jamaica in 1962.
I was first
selected to represent The Bahamas at the West Indies Federation Games in
Jamaica in 1960. Lester Bird, a former Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda,
who was a classmate of the late Bahamian sports icon, Thomas A Robinson at the
University of Michigan, played a major role in my success as an athlete.
Lester Bird, a
long jumper and Tommy Robinson, a sprinter, had come to The Bahamas for their
final preparations for the games. While training with The Bahamas team, Lester
observed me jumping and told Tommy Robinson that he had seen a young man who
was not on the team jumping, and it appeared to him that I was as good or
better than those athletes who had been selected. A special 'jump off' was
arranged, which led to my selection to the team, and the rest as they say is
history!
Lester and I
struck up a lifelong friendship which carried through our time as law students
in England, and which endures to this day.
Throughout my
time as a law student in the UK I had the opportunity to develop many such
friendships with other contemporaries from the region.
I should
perhaps also mention that there was even a time when a valiant effort was made
by a group of Caribbean students to make me into a steel band player!
This group of
students included Compton Bourne (who went from a PhD student to becoming the
Principal of this UWI St Augustine campus and then President of the Caribbean
Development Bank). However, despite
their best efforts, I never made my mark in music. Having been relegated to the
bass, I was told by my Caribbean friends that it appeared as though my left
hand did not know what my right hand was doing!
Moving now to
a wider canvas, throughout the years, I have worked with Caribbean leaders as a
Minister of the Bahamian government on a range of issues relating to health,
sports, culture and tourism.
As Prime
Minister, I have encouraged the ministers of my Cabinet to encourage a
Caricom-wide perspective. It just makes
sense to do so. In making these
exhortations, I have followed the remit established by the distinguished
founding father of our nation, the late Sir Lynden Pindling. Indeed it was he who on the 4th
July, 1983 – more than 30 years ago - signed the official instruments to make
The Bahamas a part of Caricom. Later Sir
Lynden Pinding signed the Grand Anse Declaration committing The Bahamas further
to Caricom.
I wish to
recall, in part, the announcement made on 29th June 1983 by the
Bahamas Information Services about The Bahamas joining Caricom and I quote:
“Caricom is
the principal institution of Caribbean integration and cooperation and is
responsible for the consolidation and strengthening of the bonds which have
historically existed among Caribbean people.
“It represents
the common determination of the government of Caricom countries to fulfill the
hopes and aspirations of their peoples for full employment and improvement
standards of work and living.
“Caricom is
the medium through which concerned governments expect to attain most rapidly
the optimum utilization of available human and natural resources of the region
by accelerated, coordinated and sustained economic development, particularly
through the exercise of permanent sovereignty over the natural resources by the
efficient operation of common services and functional cooperation in the social
cultural education and technological fields; and by a common front in relation
to the external world.
“Although The
Bahamas will be joining the Caribbean Community it will not have membership in
the Caribbean Common market which is a separate organ of the Community
established under an annex to the treaty.
“There are a
number of institutions associated with the Caribbean Community of which The
Bahamas is a member or has participated in for a number of years. Some of these associate institutions include
the Caribbean Development Bank, which The Bahamas joined in 1969; The University
of the West Indies at which Bahamians have studied and which now maintains the
faculty of hotel management training in The Bahamas and the Council of Legal
Education."
I have taken
the time to repeat a substantial part of the announcement which formalized The
Bahamas’ participation in Caricom. And
“formalized” is a term that I use advisedly just as Sir Lynden used it in 1983
because long before we became a formal member of Caricom, The Bahamas was a
functioning part of this unique group of nations and territories.
Indeed, our
students have been attending The University of the West Indies since 1952. Moreover, we joined the Caribbean
Development Bank in 1969. Further, we
signed the protocol for participation in the Council of Legal Education in
1976.
But Sir
Lynden’s announcement in 1983 also spoke to the aims and objectives of Caricom
and the reasons why The Bahamas chose to join Caricom.
In this
regard, Sir Lynden’s announcement spoke of :
“
the
efficient operation of common services and functional cooperation in the social
cultural education and technological fields; and by a common front in relation
to the external world.
I take each in
turn.
Common
Services: I believe that most of you are aware that
in December of last year, the Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago Kamla Persad-Bissessargenerously offered the services of Caribbean
Airlines for the transport of the Caricom delegation to the official memorial
for the late South African President, Nelson Mandela. It was a 13 hour journey across the Atlantic.
On that flight
were three Heads of Government including myself and the President of Haiti; two
deputy prime Ministers, and several foreign ministers. This enhanced greatly the Caricom presence in
Johannesburg where we joined the Prime Minister of Jamaica, and the Presidents
of Suriname and Guyana.
This was
regionalism in action. During the trip
across the ocean, I held informal talks with the Trinidad & Tobago Prime
Minister on a variety of issues, including the issue of air transportation
within the region and into the region.
We mutually determined to have exploratory discussions between our
respective carriers, Bahamasair and Caribbean Airlines, to see how various
synergies might be achieved for the benefit of all.
For example,
Bahamasair is now required to implement flights into the Bahamas from outside
the region to serve our tourism sector.
It may be possible for Caribbean Airlines and Bahamasair to cooperate in
seeking to fulfill that demand. In
addition, the two carriers may be able to fulfill the wish of many of the
region to be able to traverse the region in a single day without having to pass
through Miami.
Functional
Cooperation: It is interesting how this term
“functional cooperation” came into vogue in the region following the decision
of The Bahamas not to join the Caricom Single Market and Economy in 2006. This decision was followed by the revival of
the expression “functional cooperation” in the post 2007 to 2012 era by my
immediate predecessor in office to describe the state of participation of The
Bahamas within Caricom.
In other
words, Bahamian participation would be in the realm of working together within
Caricom for the common good in trade, on the social side, in sports, in youth
work, in financing for development, in medicine and public health, in
education, in law and in emergency preparedness and lastly in foreign affairs.
A common front
in relation to the external world: The last of the points in the 1983
announcement formalizing our entry into Caricom was that of a common front in
relation to the external world was required.
This is central to the foreign policy of my administration. I am passionate about this.
The Foreign
Minister of The Bahamas will tell you that with regard to decisions on foreign
policy in relation to the external world, The Bahamas seeks to cooperate at all
times within the Caricom context. It
simply makes sense. We are stronger
within the context of a group of 15 sovereign nations rather than seeking to go
it alone.
Sometimes it
is not possible for all of us to vote as a solid bloc but for The Bahamas it is
essential that we at least know what each other is doing, and that we
understand the rationale for doing what we do.
A most recent example of this was the statementwhich the region
released about the Ukraine. Caricom
issued a statement and The Bahamas issued a statement but we first tried to
understand where the region was on the matter before our own public
pronouncements were made.
At the most recent Heads of Government conference in St. Vincent and
the Grenadines, I sought to make the point that there is unity and strength in
our numbers.
I gave the example then of our need to engage Canada on the question of
the trade agreement which is vital to our manufacturing and export
sectors. I also gave the example of the
need to engage the Dominican Republic on the question of the ruling of the
court in the Dominican Republic on the question of citizenship. Caricom, as a body, must at all times use
its full weight in the international community to make its point of view
known. Not only does it have the numbers
but it has the intellectual depth and moral authority as well.
There is, in my view, a need to be forthright in the “art of
leveraging” which is the current expression for the use of the strength of
Caricom unity in the region, the hemisphere and the world.
The distinguished Barbadian novelist and writer, George
Lamming, captures the dialectical nature of Caribbean sovereignty in a speech
entitled “The Sovereignty of the Imagination” in the book
George
Lamming: The Sovereignty of the
Imagination. This is what he said:
"This region has been staggering slowly and
painfully to resolve the contradiction of being at once independent and
neocolonial, struggling through new definitions of itself to abandon the
protection of being a frontier created by nature, a logistical basin serving
some imperial necessity, struggling to move away from being a regional platform
for alien enterprise to the status of being a region for itself, with the
sovereign right to define its own reality and order its own priorities.
Almost as a matter of course, every major country in the world comes
calling on the Caribbean region, seeking voting support for one project or the
next. Many times, the ambitions and
aspirations of traditional partners are admirable and certainly
supportable. However, we must never
forget in all our dealings with the extra-regional world to inform ourselves of
the answer to the indelicate question: what is in it for Caricom? Perhaps more properly put, the question
should be what is in it for the people of the region?
I have made this point to the former President of the United States of
America, George Bush, when I met him along with other Caricom Heads in New York
in 2004. In 2012 I made the point to
Hilary Clinton, the then American Secretary of State, about the symbiotic
relationship between our region and the United States of America.
The plain fact
is that The Bahamas, for example, begins less than 50 miles off the coast of
Florida. So when you take off on a flight from Florida you are almost
immediately in Bahamian airspace.
This proximity
factor works for both good and ill. Our
societies in the region profit from the sale of our tourism services to
millions of United States passengers every year. Yet it is this same proximity that attracts
the security vulnerabilities which we face.
The issues of drugs, illegal migration, guns and gun violence which plague
our societies are, at least in substantial part, a direct result of that proximity.
The ills which
we suffer in our economies are the direct result of the proximity to the United
States. The policies of that country affect the wellbeing of our citizens
whether it is immigration, the export of deportees, the raid on our talent or
brain drain, gun ownership, the inability to control the appetite for dangerous
drugs and the peculiar vulnerability of the United States to terrorism.
I have asked U
S leaders, and the two in particular that I have mentioned as well as the now U
S Attorney General Eric Holder, whether or not they fully appreciate the stake
which they have in the security of the region, to end the tide of violence and
to ensure that our societies are safe.
To their
credit they have responded favourably to the requests of the region. Of special
note, Heads have met with the Vice President and the Attorney General of the
USA.
In The
Bahamas, there is the groundbreaking “Operation Bahamas Turks & Caicos”, a
model for anti-drug cooperation for the region. The United States have supplied
warehouses for disaster-preparedness and an assortment of other goods and
services.
Given the very serious challenges which continue to beset the region,
however, we must continue to urge the Americans to expand their range of
assistance.
In that vein, I continue to insist that the greatest form of security
for any state is the education and development of its people. Poverty and underdevelopment is the source
for instability, unrest and insecurity.
Yet too many developed countries take this region for granted until it
is time for us to vote for some cause or other.
Then when we do not perform according to the preordained script, we are
castigated for being uncooperative.
That is why I think the region must engage. The region must leverage what it has in
numbers and use its collective voice to make sure that the world understands
the stake it has in the region, and what the expectations of the region are.
Security, however, is just one aspect which is important to the
developed world. The use of our natural
resources is another which is important to some of our partners in the
developing world. What is important to
us, however, is economic growth and development, the development and nurturing
of the skills through the education of our people; the support for our cultural
heritage; and the facilitation of our business people as they travel the
world. Our collective voice must be
heard in foreign affairs. This reaffirms
one of the principles of the Treaty to which we in Caricom subscribe.
Even as we
speak, the Organization of American States struggles to fulfill its mission to
the hemisphere, to live up to the principles of noninterference in the internal
affairs of a country and to respect the territorial integrity of each
individual state. The region has been
helped by Venezuela in the supply of its energy needs. This has not been without controversy. But as in so many aspects of public policy,
and as I said to President Bush: what do I say to a Bahamian mother and father
who may want to educate their son or daughter and there is no scholarship to
study in the United States but Cuba offers the scholarship? Do I for ideological reasons, tell them that
their child must not get that education?
The same argument can be applied to Venezuela in relation to its
intra-regional oilenergy policy in the context of the failure of the developed
world to provide a viable, real and practical alternative for the energy needs
within the region.
I should like to turn now to the question of what role The Bahamas sees
for itself in Caricom.
I pose this
question because I get the impression when I come to what I call the southern
Caribbean, many people think of The Bahamas as a world apart: with one foot in
and one foot out. The feeling is that
while we pay our dues to Caricom, we do not really participate. This is exacerbated by the inability to get
Bahamians to serve in the secretariat in Georgetown, a factor which we are
working to correct.
In order to
facilitate the service of Bahamians in Caricom’s organizations, we have offered
two Foreign Service officers a chance to be seconded to Caricom, with full pay
as part of their service even as Caricom also provides them with the Caricom
salary.
I hope that my
very presence here today says all that is needed to be said about The Bahamas'
robust participation in Caricom.
However, Caricom is a flexible instrument, a dynamic instrument, not a
static one and it permits countries to participate at the levels which their
peoples support. That is the best
explanation that I can give for the position of The Bahamas generally and with
particular regard to its continued non-participation in the Caricom Single
Market and Economy.
You will see
that our position has always been consistent.
From the very start we have not been a part of the trade pacts but
rather we have placed the emphasis on functional cooperation. That in my view does not diminish in any way
our commitment to Caricom.
One of the
areas in which we participate is the trade talks. We were a part of the Economic Partnership
Agreement with Europe in the context of the Cariforum. We are engaged in the trade discussions with
Canada now on the issue of a successor to the Carib/Can agreement on trade. The meetings have proven difficult and a
settlement has been nettlesome but we must harness the political will to settle
the issues.
We remember
that it was Canada who came to us to ask us to support their resistance to the
move of the headquarters of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)
from Montreal. They did so on the basis
of our traditional friendship. Yet our
traditional friendship has not been strong enough so far to be leveraged into
the conclusion of a trade pact. It is
highly arguable that there is a fundamental disequilibrium in that.
The discussion of The Bahamas participation in the Cariforum brings to
the fore our continued interface with the Dominican Republic.
Last year a
decision was taken by the Bureau of Caricom with regard to the Dominican
Republic and our relationship with that nation.
The decision was that until “the stripping of citizenship” issue was
reversed, there would be no further dealings with the Dominican Republic.
In the
circumstances at the time, this may have been an appropriate remedy. However, at the last Heads of Government
meeting the policy was ameliorated somewhat by the Heads who indicated that in
two material aspects there was a need to engage with the Dominican Republic.
First, the
government of Haiti is engaged in a dialogue with the Dominican Republic on the
matter of the citizenship of those of Haitian ancestry who have been
disadvantaged by the court ruling and were stripped of their citizenship. The Haitian government itself wished for
Caricom to be an observer to the process. Heads agreed that this was the right
thing to do. The Bahamas agreed with that and worked actively to achieve that.
Secondly, we
are all aware of the Cariforum process through which we interface with our
European trading partners. That process should also not be held hostage to
settlement of the citizenship issue.
In the
process, the argument was made for engagement with the Dominican Republic.
I believed
that it was important for The Bahamas to engage because there are important
bilateral matters between the Dominican Republic and ourselves on fishing which
demand specific and direct interface with that country. Poaching by Dominican fishermen in The
Bahamas is a serious issue. Our country
is in the midst of spending some 250
million dollars on the purchase of new ships and the development of new
harbours to more effectively to police our waters, and put the muscle behind
our just demand that poaching in our waters cease.
It is the
preferred approach of The Bahamas to try the diplomatic route. We should always be in a position to talk to
our neighbours.
A second and
important point that I made was to explain that in The Bahamas, we have a
serious problem of illegal migration from Haiti. Under the provisions of the
constitution of The Bahamas one does not acquire citizenship of The Bahamas by
virtue of birth in The Bahamas. One’s
parents have to be Bahamian. There is a
contingent right for someone whose parent is not Bahamian to apply for
citizenship at the age of 18. For good or ill, that was the policy put in
place by my predecessor, to protect against illegal migrants claiming a right
to be citizens of The Bahamas.
We therefore
understood the issues of citizenship and the domestic issues which arise in and
around that subject in the Dominican Republic.
It was in our view therefore important to engage in dialogue on the
subject. We believed that in order to
understand the issues which faced the Dominican Republic there was a need to
engage with them, while at the same time not supporting anything which would
leave people stateless.
Earlier in
this address I adverted to the view that some view The Bahamas in relationship
to Caricom as a world apart from the region: with one foot in and the other
out. Nothing can be further from the
truth. However, perceptions persist and
I would like to change these perceptions.
I shared at
the last Heads of Government meeting the fact that in many areas, my government
was inviting professionals to come to The Bahamas to offer advice and expertise
on the conduct of Environmental Impact Assessments, to share the results on
research and development and to advise on new policies. In my discussions with fellow Heads I
discovered a wealth of information and expertise available within the region
itself.
Further, when
there are shortages of skilled artisans in The Bahamas requiring the country to
recruit from outside The Bahamas, the region is the place to which we should be
able to look to find workers to supplement our workforce.
We both suffer
from the lack of proper exchanges about information and development. It is important for us to change these
perceptions and for there to be an increased exchange of ideas.
In pursuance
of this, I have suggested that at the earliest opportunity, fellow Heads should
visit The Bahamas and take the opportunity to meet our people and speak to the
issues of the region at an appropriate forum in both Nassau and in Freeport.
The University
of the West Indies, as the premier regional institution should be front and
centre in this interchange. I should not
have to look to the University of Florida or the University of Miami alone for
the expertise to develop some of our own institutions.
As we speak,
we are seeking to develop the Bahamas Agricultural and Marine Science Institute
(BAMSI). This is being developed in
Andros which is the largest island in The Bahamas. This is a landmass which is larger than the
island of Trinidad but with a population of less than fourteen thousand
people. We are seeking to make a
concerted effort for The Bahamas to develop its agricultural potential,
and train farmers and fishermen who will
not only conduct research and development but will grow food for our
country. This is a determined effort to
make the country more self-sufficient in food production.
An expert from
the Caribbean was central to developing our ideas on the subject. However, more of this can and should be done.
I think this
expertise can be supplied from the region, particularly in the area of tourism
which is now the premier industry in the region, supplying billions of dollars
to the gross domestic product of the region.
Tourism is very much our bread and butter. The University should be front and centre in
the forward movement of our tourism product, particularly as the product moves
to an even higher end. It should be
front and centre in preparing the management talent and in designing synergies
so that our countries can develop and obtain more from the tourism product in a
sustainable manner.
The all
important area of climate change and the management of the environment is
another area where the regional University can help. It clear from the latest report on climate
change that unless there is some dramatic turnaround in the policies of
consumption on energy we are in for dramatic shifts in the climate: longer
drought cycles and more intense rains and hurricanes.
This poses
life-changing dangers, especially to low-lying island nations like The Bahamas.
If sea level rises over one metre there will be catastrophic consequences.
I am advised
that in Dominica there is already evidence that the growing cycles are changing
because the periods of rainfall are increasing.
Our scientists
and academics should be front and centre in the management of these issues for
us. This should include not only
research and development and advice on what we can do to ameliorate the effects
of climate change but also how we can get the capital to manage the issues that
we face.
I believe in
education. I have already spoken about
the development of BAMSI in The Bahamas.
BAMSI is just one thrust in the area of education. We have also implemented a new National
Training Agency to prepare our people for the phenomenal demand which will come
during the next few years for workers in the high end tourism field. This year The Bahamas will substantially
complete a multi billon dollar tourist product at Cable Beach in New Providence
which is expected to create 5000 new jobs.
It is expected to open in December of this year. We have to be proactive in ensuring that we
can meet the demand for labour in that facility. That is not the only hotel
facility creating new jobs but it shows you the magnitude of the issue for
us.
There is also
afoot the development of the University of The Bahamas. A decision was taken by the government in
2007 to move toward a University of The Bahamas, upgrading the present College
of The Bahamas to university status by the year 2015. We are well on our way. Clearly, there are synergies between the
development of this university and the University of The West Indies which
should be developed.
I never miss
the opportunity however to make the
point that there must be a concerted effort in all of our societies to
encourage men and boys to get an education.
It is a cause of serious concern to us in The Bahamas and I am advised
throughout the region. Too many of our
men and boys are choosing not to keep up, to drop out and not to engage in the
work and development of society. We must
make them a special project, even as we continue to encourage the enviable
success which women have and continue to make to the development of our
societies.
Faced with
these new challenges, The Bahamas and all CARICOM members need to invest in
more research capacity to anticipate and avoid these new forms of challenges
and to inform the making of public policy.
The Bahamas
Government recognizes that prosperity is linked to national capacity to meet
global challenges, innovate and develop new products and services. Therefore, The Bahamas Government has
determined to re-position The Bahamas, which has a global reputation for its
tourism and financial services industry, as a centre of excellence in tertiary
education, training, research, food security and ecological sustainability.
While we are
fully committed to the University of The Bahamas, we recognize that one
regional university cannot meet our needs to build the capital of The Bahamas
to better define our reality and increase our competitiveness in the global
arena.
The Government
recognizes the importance of higher education to sustainable economic, social
and cultural development. In common with
other countries, graduates with university level qualifications reduce the need
for public expenditure by making less use of public services. They also
create employment opportunities in all sectors of the economy, from education,
to construction, to health care.
As such, they
have become in many ways, the motor which drives the economy. Consequently, The
Bahamas Government has undertaken to ensure the widest possible access to
higher education. Consistent with the aim of increasing the number of
people with a university education, the Government is encouraging the College
of The Bahamas to diversify its course offering and to increase the number of
graduate levels programmes.
We have
therefore mandated that the College of The Bahamas transitions by September
2015 to the University of The Bahamas to support and drive national development
through education, research, innovation and service by offering programmes
grounded in the unique features of the Bahamian environment, economy and
history.
We believe the
University of The Bahamas will become a centre of excellence for the region in
areas such as tourism management, financial services, maritime and
international arbitration.
Indeed an
announcement was made by our Financial Services Minister following a meeting of
the regional organization in Nassau that The University of the West Indies,
Bahamas Institute of Financial Services and the governments of Barbados and The
Bahamas will work toward Centres Of Excellence for training in Financial
Services.
Central to our
University of The Bahamas will also be the area of cultural production and
preservation. Therefore, a major focus
will be the School of Music, Literary, Visual, Recording and Performing Arts,
similar to the Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts in
Jamaica, along with the Institute of Oral and Public History, in stimulating
and cultivating the creative imagination and intellect of The Bahamas.
That is
another major thrust in which we are
engaged in The Bahamas. We have started
an effort to produce a post- Lenten Carnival for The Bahamas. In doing so the government of Trinidad and
Tobago and other key stakeholders have been most helpful.
The Bahamas
Carnival is a post-Lenten multi-layered cultural festival that would be
underpinned by indigenous Bahamian expressions in music, art and Junkanoo. It
will be similar in concept but not in content to the Trinidad Carnival and
other income-generating cultural festivals and Carnivals around the world.
We hope that
this will also bring increased synergies for our tourism product and therefore
grow the industry and attract more people to the country.
In addition, I
have mandated our Minister of Sports to put in every island sporting facilities
so that the children of The Bahamas can have access to such facilities, and the
opportunities which these facilities can open up to them.
No discussion
about the region today however will be complete without some discussion on the
question of access to capital. Each
country in the Caribbean faces the question of how to obtain capital for
development.
Some are
better off than others because of the state of their natural resources. However, even the most well off and developed
realize that the health of the economies of the region affects the wellbeing of
other states, whether it is the trade tensions which exist within Caricom over
the issues of alleged subsidies or on the issue of illegal migration which are
all driven by under development and poverty.
There is no
doubt that this region faces a crisis of capital for development. The countries are vulnerable to the
vicissitudes of the world economy due to adverse employment effects in the
developed world. This immediately causes
a contraction in tourism.
Changes in tax
policies in the developed world and attitudes toward privacy and wealth have
adversely impacted the financial services sector. Even the trade rules of the World Trade
Organization have not been an effective protection against small states that
are seeking to find a niche in which to fund their development. You can simply
ask the Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda to give you chapter and verse on
that question.
In this vein,
we must stand together, speak with authority in our defence and our economic
future. An example of this occurred on
the 28th September, 2013 when I used the platform of my country’s annual
address to the General Assembly of the United Nations to launch a defence of
International Financial Centres in the region, an industry largely responsible
for many high paying careers throughout Caricom. I said:
“We see this
[same] dynamic at work in the ongoing economic aggression of many of the more developed
countries against small offshore financial service-based economies, especially
in the Caribbean region of which The Bahamas is a part. … we criticize in the
strongest possible terms the efforts of some to maim and cripple, if not
destroy, the offshore economies within our region.
“And let us
not forget that the destruction of these offshore financial service economies
will destabilize the countries that depend upon them for their livelihood. To
destroy this sector in the Caribbean would effectively cause tens of thousands
of newly empowered middle class citizens to slip back into poverty or to
migrate to the developed world. The middle class of which I speak constitutes
the anchor of social stability for the countries in our region.”
This is an example
of how we as a region have to defend our future, defend our industries and
economies, defend with integrity and a commitment to excellence.
The Caricom
region therefore has to find ways to attract capital and investment to its
shores, and maintain the successes we currently have. Surely we can work together to do this. We should have a common outreach to the
Middle East and to China both of which have at this point in time surplus
capital to invest.
There is also
a need to utilize more the so called three p’s: that of the private public
partnership in development. This is
increasingly a public policy instrument in The Bahamas, a country with at least
25 different population centres on different islands, with different stages of
development but with infrastructure demanded in each island to match in each
island the demands of their local populations.
The Bahamas is
engaged in major outreach to the Middle East and to China. We think that this has been beneficial for
us, and we believe that there is certainly room to explore working together in
such areas as common trade and diplomatic missions. This was an offer made by the Prime Minister
of Trinidad and Tobago and The Bahamas is anxious to explore these opportunities
with Trinidad and any other Caricom state.
I believe that
what I have said today has set an adequate ground for our discussion here this
afternoon. There is much that can be
gained in the dialogue which ensues following this discussion.
Let me leave
you with these thoughts by way of summary:
The Bahamas is
part of this region. We have worked
together with the region and will continue to work within the context of the
region on a broad range of issues.
The Bahamas
supports common approaches toward attracting trade, investment and development
of the region utilizing what the Foreign Minister of Trinidad and Tobago has
called convergence: the coming together of our numbers and our pooled sovereignty, research and
development, outreach beyond the region and the use of the private public
partnership.
The Bahamas
believes that investment in our young people in their training, in the
enhancement of their talents in sports and in culture will inure to the greater
benefit of the region.
In a line, it
simply makes sense.
It has always
been an enormous pleasure to visit with you in Trinidad and Tobago. I have been to this twin island republic now five times within the
last year.
It goes
without saying that I see a positive future for the Caricom region with The
Bahamas being an integral part of working together for the good of all our
peoples and for our mutual benefit and development.
God’s
blessings upon the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. God bless our region and God Bless the
Commonwealth of The Bahamas.