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Minister Fred Mitchell remarks at the CARICOM roundtable dialogue in Barbados‏
Jul 2, 2015 - 6:38:15 PM

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Remarks by Fred Mitchell MP, Minister of Foreign Affairs And Immigration of The Bahamas on behalf of The Rt. Honourable Perry Gladstone Christie at The Round Table Dialogue On: Caricom –Vibrant Societies: Delivering on Human Development In The Post-2015 Development Agenda, 2nd July 2015, Bridgetown, Barbados


The Rt. Honourable Freundel Stuart, Prime Minister of Barbados & Chairman of the Conference of the Caribbean Community,

Colleague Heads of Government,

His Excellency Ban Ki-Moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations,

His Excellency Kamlesh Sharma, Secretary-General of the Commonwealth,

His Excellency Irwin LaRocque, Secretary-General of the Caribbean Community,

CARICOM Delegates and Senior Officials,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Good morning.

I am to apologise for the absence of the Right Honourable Prime Minister from this dialogue.  He had every intention of being here but as he will say himself this afternoon once he arrives, the best laid plans of mice and men are often delayed by matters of state.

He expects to be here for the formal opening this afternoon.

In a sense the reason for his delay in arriving is a case in point to the vulnerabilities of our region and the lessons in resilience.

Many of you when you visited Nassau in February for the opening of the Heads of Government conference in that month may have seen the giant hotel project going up next door to that venue.  We had plans to open that facility within months of the conference.  Instead the developer was unable to deliver on the promise of the opening and a bitter set of recriminations began in the public domain about who was at fault.

The government felt compelled in the national interest to step into the middle of the dispute, given the fact that some 2000 young people had been taken on in anticipation of its opening and the fact that some 3 billion dollars had been invested: 2.6 billion in Chinese Ex Port Import bank capital and 700 million of the developers money and another 100 million from the China Construction Company.  In the language of the Americans - that is too big to fail.

Yet despite the good faith efforts of the government and its best endeavours, the developer chose instead to file for bankruptcy of the project in the American courts where the companies who own the project are registered. This was done without notice and with the developer sitting at the table on the face of it seeking a settlement.

As often happens, everyone has now become an expert on what should have been done and what should not have been done but suffice it to say that the the Prime Minister believes that this project has to succeed and is working to ensure that it does.  What it raises however is the more general point about the vulnerability of our societies not only to the shocks of weather and climate but to the size and singularity of economic projects driven by foreign direct investment and sometimes our own internal investments.

When there is a crisis, we have no reserve currencies to be able to have quantitative easing, another expressing for printing money to ensure liquidity of the system.  These kinds of shocks have resulted in many cases in the high indebtedness that we face today.

Think of the various crises, the banker who had plenty to say to our region and who lectured our leaders like they were in school, who was thought by many to be a model investor, a good guy, only to end up in an American jail and leaving the Caricom country and its citizen holding the bag. Or the housing and mortgage bubble in one our countries where because of speculation by private investors the market collapsed and the Caricom country had to absorb all its reserve currency to protect the savings of the citizens of that country.  Or the giant insurance company that stretched its tentacles from The Bahamas to Trinidad and Tobago, paying super excellent returns on investments only to collapse in a heap, leaving governments again to hold the bag, while the investor walked away into the sunset.

This, in our view, shows that notwithstanding all that is said and whatever the fashion, at the end of the day governments still have a major role to play in the resilience of our societies and their abilities to adapt to the shocks of and vagaries of the world economy and our natural conditions. It is imperative then for our public administrations and our political directorates to be trained and up to the mark, adequately prepared for the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune.

I was a much younger man when I heard a speech in Miami by the late Errol Barrow and he reacting to the election fashions of his time, following the defeat of the democratic socialists in the region, excoriated the trend by describing those who looked north for solace and rescue rather than to self-reliance as “groveling mendicants with their caps in their hands.” We are too polite in this time to make those kinds of statements but I think that we get the point that when failure takes place it is to the governments of the region that our people look to for help, assistance and rescue.  No other entity. It is to the leaders and to the politicians.

Our task today is to reassure the region that come what may, our governments, their elected officials have the intellectual acuity and the intestinal fortitude to help rescue our nations. I am confident that we do.

Just twenty years ago, close to 40 per cent of the population of the developing world lived in extreme poverty. With the advent of the Millennium Development Goals and the galvanized efforts of the international community, extreme poverty levels have been halved.

Recognizing the success of the Millennium Development Goals especially MDG1-which calls for the eradication of poverty and hunger - we the Caribbean Community, as participants in those global efforts, are now preparing ourselves for the launch of an ambitious post-2015 sustainable development agenda with new targets called Sustainable Developmental Goals.

Therefore, Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, in reviewing my topic, Vibrant Societies: Delivering on human development in the post-2015 development agenda, the question that now beseeches us is, how does the global community maintain its forward momentum in the benchmarks attained thus far?

Goal 1 of the Sustainable Development regime is to ‘end poverty in all its forms everywhere’. Persons cannot come out of poverty, if we, as national governments, do not address unemployment, underemployment and the employability of our citizens.

We would be aware that people remain at risk of slipping back into poverty because of structural factors and persistent vulnerabilities thereby making developmental progress precarious. The challenge for our nation states in the eradication of poverty is not just about ‘getting to zero’; it is also about staying there.

The 2014 Human Development Report of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) entitled, ”Sustaining Human Progress: Reducing Vulnerabilities and Building Resilience,”  recommends that decision makers and development actors lock in development gains through policies that reduce vulnerabilities and build resilience.

This report also calls for us as leaders to ensure that there  is :

  •     universal access to basic social services, especially health and education;
  •     stronger social protection, including unemployment insurance and pensions; and
  •     a commitment to full employment (recognizing that the value of employment extends far beyond the income it generates).
  

Ladies and gentlemen
    
The global understanding of development has changed over the years, and countries now have agreed that sustainable development – development that promotes prosperity and economic opportunity, greater social well-being, and protection of the environment – offers the best path forward for improving the lives of people everywhere.
    

Similarly, human development, the theme for this presentation, is viewed as a well-being concept within a field of international development. It can be defined as the “process of enlarging people’s choices”, with said choices allowing them to “lead a long and healthy life, to be educated, to enjoy a decent standard of living”, as well as political freedom, other guaranteed human rights and various ingredients of self-respect.”  
 
One measure of human development, known as the Human Development Index (HDI), encompasses statistics on life expectancy at birth, an education index and gross national income per capita.
 
It is to be noted that, in addition to a human development index, UNDP experts also formulate other indices such as an inequality index, a human poverty index and a social progress index.


 Ladies and gentlemen

I am of the opinion that in delivering on human development in the post-2015 development agenda, national governments require a focus on pro-poor policies and investments in capacity building, with a focus on education, nutrition, health and employment skills.
 

Therefore, in pursuance of the post 2015-development agenda and adherence to the sustainable development goals (SDGs), national governments are required to demonstrate a commitment to full employment and the promotion of economic opportunity. It is imperative, therefore, to promulgate policies that align with:
   


  • SDG 4  Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all; and
  • SDG 8 Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all.
   
Accordingly, it is recommended that National Development Plans that include a national training policy and the creation of national training agencies be instituted in our jurisdictions.
  
A National Training Agency, or an equivalent entity, would be a catalyst that provides uniformity, standardization, accreditation, assessment and certification in the delivery of competence based training with a view to promoting and ensuring individual and workforce excellence.

Ladies and Gentlemen
    
Too often, you may have heard the lament of employers associations and other business associations that some of the young people and employment seekers do not possess the requisite skills and lack job-readiness.
 
A National Training Agency would be different from traditional training places and places of learning that put emphasis on the learning processes. Competency-based training, places emphasis on “learning outcomes” and  comprises modules of employable skills broken into “building blocks”. Learning outcomes are based on industry standards and learning is based on an individual's ability and places emphasis on what a person can actually do.
 
These strategies would strengthen relationships between employers, their organizations, and the labour work force. Also, I believe that work-industry-based training may lead, in the long term, to a more productive, competent and service-oriented work-force that can meet the demands of a 21st century marketplace.

I believe that National Training Agencies create opportunities for employers to become engaged in the development of a country’s human resources by partnering with the agency in its job training schemes, such as apprenticeship and internship programmes and other-on-the job programmes.
  
By way of example, I wish to inform that the National Training Agency in The Bahamas that was established in 2013 has fostered a beneficial partnership with City and Guilds, one of the leading vocational education providers globally. City and Guilds has supported the capacity building of national training agencies in a number of jurisdictions. Their certification is globally recognized and accepted.

Ladies and Gentlemen

It is a testament to the strength of a country’s national development programme when its workforce contains the appropriate competencies and skill sets to be employable beyond national borders.
  
We all know the saying, don’t just give a man a fish. If you want him to learn and grow, teach him how to fish.

Another point to be made on employment, refers to the need for societies, and in some cases governments, to adopt a paradigm shift so that the same level of prestige, value and regard that is given to academia and white-collar professions, is directed towards careers and accomplishments in vocational and non-academic careers.
   
Despite greater attention to technical and vocational education and training in recent years, and clearer understanding and definitions of the skills involved, this type of programme, unfortunately, remains of low priority in many countries.

CARICOM representatives would recall touring the newly established Bahamas Agricultural Marine and Science Institute (BAMSI) in February 2015 within the margins of the Twenty-Sixth Inter-Sessional Meeting of the Conference in The Bahamas. BAMSI signifies our continued policy thrust to develop our human capital in that vocational sector as well as ensure the progression of a sustainable agriculture and fisheries sector.
 
Additionally, Colleague Heads, we must remain attuned to the fact that we must always seek to provide the requisite institutional support for entrepreneurship and the growth of small and medium-sized businesses. Entrepreneurship, for example, plays an important role in promoting unique and valuable life skills and career pathways.

Education

We must realize, Ladies and Gentlemen, that the best investment a government can make, is investment in its own people thereby helping to facilitate the sustained development  and heightened human development measures for its citizenry. Also, I firmly believe that education is a key factor in building resistance and combating issues and vulnerabilities faced by small states such as climate change and migration.
  
The theme of the Strategic Plan for the College of The Bahamas soon to be University of The Bahamas reads, “No country should outsource the higher education of its citizens.” It is our responsibility to create that pathway that leads to optimum opportunities for our citizenry.

In tandem with this thrust is the need to ensure improvement, modernization and relevance of all aspects of education so that measurable learning outcomes are achieved by all and so that the learning needs of all young people, both boys and girls, are met through appropriate learning and life-skills programmes. This means, among others, raising the status of teaching as a profession through, for example, continued professional development and enhancement of conditions of service, the mobilization of a strong national commitment to education for all and the development of national action plans that enhance investment in education.

We have a responsibility to ensure quality “education for all”, that is, universal education from early childhood care and primary school level as referenced in Millennium Development 2; and transitioning to and past a post-secondary level education in adherence to Sustainable Development 4 – that calls for states to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.

These are the actions that increase the education index measures of a country and hence the increase of the human development index.

It is sad to note that the only difference between success and failure for our nationals especially our youth, is the access to opportunity.

Colleague Heads

The provision of education to all is considered to be a pre-condition of national development. Countries that are successful in the world today are led by governments that support higher education and research in universities, demanding in return a high level of performance accountability.

The greatest competitive advantage a country can build, is its people. When people are educated, innovative and  capable of applying their talent to the issues of the day, countries flourish. Whether in banking, in tourism, the arts, agriculture or vocational sectors, we must demonstrate our capacities to compete internationally and to build a reputation for excellence.
    

Cooperation with the International Community

Ladies and Gentlemen,

 The Region’s preparation for participation in the International Development Summit of September 2015 will provide us with a progress report on our attainment of the Millennium Development Goals and the lessons learned. National governments will then begin the transition to the incorporation of the seventeen proposed sustainable development goals into their national planning frameworks.

Ladies and Gentlemen

The 2014 Human Development Report indicates that overall human development levels continue to rise but at a slower pace than before. It was also noted that more than 15 per cent of the world’s people remain vulnerable to multi-dimensional poverty.

In particular to the countries of Latin America and The Caribbean, it was noted that, despite registering the biggest drop in overall inequality this year, the Latin America and Caribbean region still faces extensive income inequality.

Sustainable Development Goal 5 calls on UN Member States to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls. Hence, Ladies and gentlemen, the next fifteen years will require more earnest attention and policy focus to eliminate these inequalities.


The way forward

Colleague Heads of Governments

We would all wish to be a Norway, a country that has registered the highest human development index in the world for the past eleven years. However resource constraints and other mitigating factors prohibit that reality.

As small-island developing states, our attainment of some of the MDG benchmarks has been inhibited by the divergence of budgetary and other resources to address varying external shocks and global stipulations.

We must nevertheless thank our international partners for the support rendered from September 2000 to the present and stand ready to launch a revitalized partnership between the International Financial Institutions and our Region. CARICOM must also endeavour to speak with one voice on the challenges that confront our Region.

   
At a national level, we must adopt a holistic, best practice approach in the provision of all our essential services, skills training initiatives, job creation, the reduction of inequity and investment in human capital.
 

Ladies and gentlemen,

Our commitment to increasing the human development indices by virtue of the policies we implement is a reflection of our commitment to our people. Our people expect us to match rhetoric with real action. Our people expect us to match pledges with actual provision of resources. Our people expect us to match promises with actual opportunities.
   
Let me implore my Colleague Heads of Government, Ladies and Gentlemen

Not to let down the men, women and children of this Region who turn to us today with the hope of attaining a brighter and more secure tomorrow.

I thank you

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