Remittances to the Caribbean on the rise again — World Bank

WASHINGTON, USA (CMC) — After what was considered to be a "rough 2009", the World Bank says remittances are on the rise again in the Caribbean.

A briefing paper by the Washington-based financial institution said remittances "began to bottom out during the last quarter of 2009" and, as a result, "money transfers now appear to be on the rise" in Jamaica, Haiti and other places.

The briefing paper said remittances to Latin America and the Caribbean didn't fall as sharply as private capital flows to the region, as investors pulled out of emerging markets.

The bank said remittances to Latin American and Caribbean nations sank 12 per cent as the US and global economies "hit the skids" last year.

Overall, World Bank researchers said remittances to the region are expected to increase this year by an estimated 5.7 per cent and would also grow in 2011.

The World Bank said remittances to Haiti are expected to increase this year as relatives abroad seek to assist those at home.

It said the post-earthquake decision by the United States to grant temporary protected status to 200,000 Haitians living in the country illegally could also increase remittances by as much as US $360 million this year.

The bank said the Haitian Diaspora sent an estimated US $1.32 billion in remittances to their homeland last year. In 2008, remittances accounted for a fifth of the Haitian economy.

September 14, 2010

jamaicaobserver

Bahamas Blog International

Waiting for Superman: Can the US and the Caribbean save its educational system?

By Rebecca Theodore:

At a time when a cheerless wind chills the mist and gathering swallows twitter in the approaching dusk, the International Film Festival ushers in an appropriate opening to the beginning of a solemn first day of film and harvest in Toronto.

In high-heeled shoes that pinched, I sat tense and earnest, overwhelmed in the shadows of standing ovations at the Winter Garden Theatre, eyes soaked in tears, infinitesimal in the company of automatic enthusiasts, and birthing reformist.   Looking back, I saw myself walking down memory lane in the corridors of Bense Primary school in my beloved island home of Dominica.   I saw a multitude of US and Caribbean kids full of dreams, hopes and aspiration…. I had seen the opening of the film ‘Waiting For Superman.’

Davis Guggenheim’s look at what’s wrong with the educational system was not only a wake up call to the problems children face from kindergarten to high school in the US and what is needed to fix it but also a plea to education ministers in the Caribbean letting them know that education is crucial to development and a basic requirement for achieving genuine equal opportunity in a competitive world.

In reminding us that education "statistics" have names: Anthony, Francisco, Bianca, Daisy, and Emily, whose stories make up the engrossing foundation of Waiting For Superman, Guggenheim follows a handful of promising kids through a system that inhibits, rather than encourages, academic growth, as he undertakes an exhaustive review of public education, surveying "drop-out factories" and "academic sinkholes," methodically dissecting the system and its seemingly intractable problems.

Guggenheim pulls no punches as he makes the point over and over again that bad teachers must be eliminated from schools and replaced with good ones.   His archenemy is the teachers’ unions which oppose evaluation of teachers, and the firing of poor teachers.

It is evident that Guggenheim’s film depicts the time has come for a review of the education system not only in the US but also in the Caribbean to better cater to the needs of children, who are faced with increasing challenges because there is a disconnect between children and teaching.

In this regard, Waiting for Superman provides a rethink of the education system from early childhood all the way up to tertiary level.   Ironically enough, the same day the movie premiered, the first round of educational grants to states for Obama's Race to the Top program were announced and the government of Trinidad and Tobago allocated the largest slice of the 2010/2011 national budget -- $8 billion to the training sector.

These are worthy footprints for the remainder of other Caribbean islands to follow for the film has made it apparent that US and Caribbean kids are entering an unfriendly labor market without appropriate qualifications, thus increasing their prospects of long term unemployment, poverty and crime.

Even though it is perceived by many that the education system in the Caribbean evolved from a colonial historical legacy which was predicated on privilege; education should no longer serve as a primary device for social selection and class stratification because the attainment of independence and the growth of nationalism, has limited the effects of a socio-political priority and Caribbean education is no longer modeled on the British school system.   Therefore, changes to the education system will equip Caribbean schools to meet the challenges of the 21st Century.

It is clear that Guggenheim has done what artists are supposed to do in trying to understand this problem.   In propelling people to be outraged in his outstanding cinematography, he has disturbed the social order in demanding that schools in America and also the Caribbean are great for every kid.   Educational opportunities should not be determined by playing a bingo card to get a good education.   There is a chance to be won in having a future in the world by breaking the code on how kids are educated.

September 13, 2010

caribbeannewsnow

Saga of Taiwan politics/business in Caricom

ANALYSIS

RICKEY SINGH



WHETHER at the level of its government or private business interests, Taiwan seems to be creating problems for some of the member states of the Caribbean Community (Caricom) as it continues its long, arduous battle for international recognition to secure membership of the United Nations as a sovereign state.

In our Caribbean region, Taiwan -- which the Chinese officially view as a 'renegade province' of the People's Republic of China — has been investing in what came to be known as "dollar diplomacy" to influence support among political parties.

Since the dawning of political independence 48 years ago in the English-speaking Caribbean, first in Jamaica, Taiwan's effort to win friends and influence votes on its behalf has proven to be a dismal failure.

The present count of converts is a mere four of the 14 independent countries of Caricom -- Belize, St Kitts and Nevis, St Vincent and the Grenadines and St Lucia -- as more and more community partners walked away from diplomatic ties.

That's despite the financial generosity displayed by the Government in Taipei towards parties across the political divide in this region -- at times dealing with both ruling and opposition parties in the same country. St Vincent and the Grenadines has long been such an example.

While it suffered losses in once-firm relations with countries like The Bahamas, Dominica and Grenada, it is in St Lucia that Taiwan was to secure a very surprising return with a change in government in Castries at the December 2006 general election after the defeat of the then two-term St Lucia Labour Party (SLP) by the United Workers Party (UWP).

$$ diplomacy


And it is in that Windward Island state that Taiwanese-style 'dollar diplomacy' was to manifest itself in a most aggressive and contemptuous manner in political financing which reportedly contributed significantly to the return of the UWP to power and subsequent severing of relations with China.

The daughter of the late founder-leader of the UWP and once long-serving prime minister, Sir John Compton, was to show courage and honesty in post-election financial accountability.

Shortly after the UWP's return to power, Taiwan succeeded in replacing China in diplomatic ties, against the advice of the then seriously ill Sir John.

Following the death of her father, and amid open political controversies over Taipei's diplomatic replacement of Beijing, Jannine Compton was to disclose in Parliament how she had spent some EC $1 million, made available from Taiwanese funding, for projects in her Micoud North constituency.

As of this September, and with some 15 months more before a constitutionally due new general election -- though expected earlier -- none of the other 10 Government MPs of Prime Minister Stephen King's administration has yet accounted for expenditures in their respective constituencies as allocated directly by Taiwan through its embassy in Castries.

At this period in regional and international politics, when there are growing demands for accountability of election campaign financing -- an issue currently seriously engaging politicians and parties in Jamaica, for instance -- the Tawain/UWP $$ connection appears headed for a decisive phase in the electoral politics of that Caricom member state.

The Opposition SLP of former Prime Minister Dr Kenny Anthony, which -- like the ruling UWP -- is currently actively preparing for new general elections, has already made clear its anxiety for the expulsion of the Taiwanese ambassador to Castries for what it claims is his "arrogant and contemptuous" involvement in St Lucia's domestic affairs.

Embarrassing deal

Meanwhile, in Grenada, there is a different kind of problem for the Government of Prime Minister Tilman Thomas involving a deal with a Taiwanese group of investors that seems to have gone terribly wrong.

It has resulted from a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that Prime Minister Thomas signed in May this year with a Taiwanese company known as Sewang One World (SOW) for development financing of well over US$2 billion on various projects.

However, there came the sensational disclosure last month that primary figures of SOW had been arrested by the Taiwanese authorities for bank fraud and linked to the establishment of dummy companies in Taiwan, South Korea and the USA.

By September 3, the Grenada Government was ready to publicly confess its error in signing the MOU with the Taiwanese company without first undertaking an appropriate due diligence exercise.

Finance Minister Nazim Burke has stated that it was wrong to enter into the MOU without careful scrutiny of SOW. He has also disclosed to the media in St George's that it was "regrettable" that Prime Minister Thomas and his office were "exposed to the (Taiwanese) company without required due diligence". According to Burke, the entire business deal with SOW has now been abandoned.

News of the charges against the SOW representatives were first learnt of in Grenada from an August 24 report in the China Times of Taiwan.

Interestingly, this same Taiwanese company had first established business contact in 2004 with the then Government of former Prime Minister Keith Mitchell during the diplomatic romance between Taipei and St George's.

Later came the ditching of Grenada's diplomatic relations with Taiwan by the Mitchell Government in favour of China, which has been maintained by the current administration of Prime Minister Thomas.

What next, I wonder, in the saga of Taiwanese politics and business deals in the Caribbean?

September 12, 2010

jamaicaobserver

Bahamas Blog International

My reading of the situation on the ground in Haiti

By Jean H Charles:

I have travelled from the southern point of Haiti, the beautiful town of Port Salut, to the bursting frontier city of Ouanaminthe in the northern part of the country near Fort Liberte, talking to the locals, observing and forming an opinion on the situation on the ground.

My conclusion is the nation of Haiti is plagued with the syndrome of mediocrity and of leveling at the bottom due to fifty years of ill and corrupt governance.  There was, first, 35 years of dictatorship by the Duvaliers, then three years of military governance -- Namphy-Cedras -- and lately twenty years of anarchic-populism by the Preval-Arisitide regime that set Haiti into a course leading to an abyss without end.

It was first the assassination of the intellectuals in the 70s, followed by the forced departure of the middle class in the 90s and now governance by the mob culture.

The Haitian middle class that in the past set national values in education, formation and upbringing has fled the country for pastures in Montreal, Canada; Miami, Florida or Brooklyn, New York, leaving the large mass of uneducated Haitians on their own, fending without proper guidance.  The successive Haitian governments for the past fifty years have cultivated lower aspirations in the minds and the spirit, trickling down into a culture of arrogance, incompetence and plain criminality as a way of life accepted by most.

Compounding the problem, the international community has been a loyal incubator and facilitator of the successive regimes that keep their tight grip in the past, the present and the future destiny of the Haitian people.

On the ground, the road from Port au Prince to the south of Haiti is a pleasant experience.  The nightmare comes when travelling through the suburb of the capital (Carrefour- Martissant), where a water pipe break has been unrepaired for the last forty years.  The road construction is carried on during the day instead of at night when the traffic is lighter.  Being caught in a traffic jam that lasted three hours is not unusual.

Passing through that logjam, the entire country is unspoiled and undeveloped.  The Aquin beachfront has sand so soft and water so warm that one has great pain to leave for firm land.  Filling oneself with lobsters, crabs and shrimp is limited only by the fear of a sudden death due to an overdose of cholesterol.  Haiti, for those who have the means, is a land of fantasy, where everything is possible for the simple reason that you can.

Yet the extreme misery as well as the lack of governmental service is overwhelming.  Public transportation is not regulated.  People are packed like sardines in recycled American school buses that serve as the backbone of the transportation system.  The mountains of Haiti that an enlightened government would fill with mahogany trees that would enrich the nation in the next generation are showing rocks that were deep into the ground.

Crossing the capital, which is now in rubble, with tent quarters everywhere, including on the dividing line of the highway, one has the impression of travelling through a war zone, except Haiti is not at war and the Haitian people are busy, surviving one day at a time.  The gate to the north of the country needs a bus station but successive governments did not realize this minimum of standard of service and attention is a must in most metropolis of the world.

Large improvements have been made in the auto-route to the north of the country; the headache is crossing the city of Gonaives, which after six years since the inundation of 2004 still necessitates a long and dangerous detour.  Why is this repair not a governmental priority?  You enter into the realm of arrogance of the government on one side and complaisance of the people on the other side that explains the squalid condition of Haiti.

Cape Haitian, the second largest city of the country, a damaging jewel that rivals Old Town, San Juan, the French Quarter of New Orleans or Old Santo Domingo, is showing the pressure of overcrowding (some 350,000 new internal refugees have invaded the city since the earthquake!), as well as profound neglect and plain disregard of a minimum standard of public hygiene.  The main Iron Market should be closed by any respectable public hygiene inspector due to the large amount of detritus and unclean sewers that may go back to 15 years of lack of maintenance.

The city streets are undergoing a much needed renovation. The city’s splendor of the past can already be perceived.  Yet Labadie, the celebrated beach facility of Royal Caribbean Cruise Line, located 15 minutes from the city proper, cannot pour into the city its 10,000 foreign visitors who visit Haiti every week to meander into the antique streets where each home could be a museum site.

Haiti has a fully-fledged government with all types of ministries. Taking as an example the ministry of labor, we find 87% of the population is unemployed; yet, there is not systematic program of job creation.  The ministry of tourism has a master plan with no incremental process to deliver essential services that will induce the tourists to come back.

The city of Cape Haitian has no running water for a population of more than a million people. There was a breakdown of the system some fifteen years ago.  The city now has electricity thanks to Hugo Chavez, a thank you note for the Haitian contribution to the Venezuelan liberation against slavery.

There is no excitement in the air about the upcoming election, orchestrated by the Preval government, monitored by CARICOM, engineered by the OAS and secured by the UN.  Those under tents have now raised their voice, they will not vote under their appalling condition; the public at large has called the exercise a political masquerade where the winner is known beforehand.

Haiti, like South Africa before Mandela, needs the help of all good people of the earth to profit from this transitional window of opportunity to usher into a true democracy.  The comedy has lasted for too long!  Mother Nature is showing clear signal of fatigue; the chickens are coming home to roost!

Map of Haiti with Port Salut in the south-west and Ouanaminthe near Fort Liberte in the northeast

September 11, 2010


caribbeannewsnow

The Caribbean is globally uncompetitive: Time to get serious

By Sir Ronald Sanders:

Only one Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country made the top 50 countries in the World Economic Forum’s “Global Competitiveness Report 2010-2011”.  Barbados is rated at 43 of 139 countries that were surveyed.  Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and Guyana were rated 84, 95, and 110 respectively.

No other CARICOM country was rated because of a lack of survey data.

This is not good news for the CARICOM area already beset by severe economic problems including high debt to GDP ratios, increasing unemployment, and contracting economies.

Barbados’ higher ranking over the three other CARICOM countries surveyed is due, according to the Report, to its better health and education facilities and technological readiness, but it got poor marks for inefficient government bureaucracy, access to financing, a poor work ethic among the labour force and foreign currency regulations.

Crime is rated highest among the problems that beset Trinidad and Tobago followed by an inefficient government bureaucracy and, surprisingly, access to financing.  None of its rankings – not for basic requirements, efficiency enhancers or business sophistication and innovation - matched Barbados.

However, Barbados’ ranking in the specific areas of business sophistication and innovation at 52, suggests that there is need for the business community to improve its performance if Barbados is to continue to be a leader for the region in maintaining global competiveness.

The Report highlights University-Industry collaboration in Research and Development as a strong point for Barbados.  With a ranking of 40, this is an area that Barbados could further develop, and that other CARICOM countries should emulate across a broad area of economic activity.

Like Trinidad and Tobago, crime was identified as the biggest problem facing Jamaica’s competitiveness.  An inefficient government bureaucracy, access to financing and an inadequately educated work force were also identified among its major setbacks.

High tax rates headed the list of Guyana’s problems, followed by crime, and inadequately educated work force and access to funding.  The enrolment rate for secondary education and hiring and firing practices were Guyana’s two most notable competitive advantages with rankings of 16 and 20 respectively.

So, who are the top ten most competitive countries in the world for business?  In order of priority, they are: Switzerland, Sweden, Singapore, United States, Germany, Japan, Finland, Netherlands, Denmark, and Canada.

The inclusion of Singapore, a small island state, is significant.  It shows that small size is not a barrier to being competitiveness in business.  Singapore, incidentally, was the top recipient last year of investment of every country in the world.

And, what distinguishes these top ten countries from the other 129 nations in terms of their ability to be competitive globally and attract businesses?  The World Economic Forum identifies 12 interrelated pillars for competitiveness, among them are: the strength of institutions and laws, political stability, the quality of infrastructure, public health, and education, and levels of technology and innovation.  The Forum makes the point that “the pillars are not independent; they tend to reinforce each other and a weakness in one area often has a negative impact on other areas”.

In the case of Singapore, a physically small island state, it is ranked “number one for government efficiency; second for its financial market sophistication ensuring the proper allocation of these factors to its best use”.  It is also ranked fifth for its world-class infrastructure with excellent roads, ports, and air transport facilities.  In addition, it has a strong focus on education, providing individuals with the skills needed for a rapidly changing economy.

Singapore’s accomplishments are greatly to be admired particularly when it is considered that both Guyana and Jamaica at the time of their independence in 1962 and 1966 respectively were more prosperous than Singapore.

Clearly there are lessons to be learned by Caribbean states from Singapore’s success.  Not all of them will be transferable because of the different work culture that exists between Singapore and the Caribbean, but there are other basic experiences and knowledge that Singapore could offer, among them: how to make government more efficient and institutions stronger.

Lessons might also be learned from Malaysia, which, like 13 of the 15 CARICOM states and Singapore, is a member of the 54-nation Commonwealth.  Apart from Taiwan, China, and a few oil-rich Arab states, Malaysia is the highest ranked developing country in the competitive index at number 26.  In business sophistication and innovation, it is ranked at 25 and 24 respectively of the 139 surveyed countries.  Were it not for its security situation, Malaysia would have been higher up the list.

CARICOM countries have to do much better if they are to emerge from their present economic morass and rise up to claim a significant share of the world’s opportunities for investment and business.

Bringing crime under control has to be a top priority for CARICOM countries and they can best do so together.  The sooner governments explore the establishment of regional machinery for collectively tackling crime within each country, the better.

Establishing the Caribbean Single Market also should be accelerated with mergers and acquisitions between Caribbean countries being facilitated by legislation.  This will improve business sophistication, enhance efficiencies, and strengthen institutions.  Taxation levels in many countries also have to be reviewed to make them more competitive globally. Importantly, access to financing should be a high priority that should be tackled by governments and the private sector collectively devising ways to do it.

The government bureaucracy that slows down investment also has to be overhauled rapidly. Inordinate delays and red tape that slow investment cost Investors money.  They don’t hang around; not with a world eager to lure them.

A series of meaningful consultations between governments and the University of the West Indies; between governments and the regional private sector organizations; and the creation of task forces drawn from all three could offer implementable solutions to the problems of competitiveness that beset the Caribbean region.

It is time to get serious, or get left behind.

September 10, 2010

caribbeannewsnow

Sir Shridath Ramphal worries about CARICOM unity

by Oscar Ramjeet:



One of the Caribbean's most vocal regionalists is worried about the future of CARICOM and the integration movement and said that if the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) collapses, CSME and the entire regional institution will fail.

I had a lengthy meeting with Sir Shridath Ramphal at his Barbados home, and he expressed grave concern about the pace of activities in the move towards Caribbean integration, for which he has been clamouring for five decades.

He said the Heads of Government and CARICOM have to "recapture the vision that led a generation of Caribbean leaders to the understanding that we have to have functional unity -- if we are to meet the challenges of the 21st century... We have seen to have lost our way in governance at the regional level in economic integration which is the heartbeat of CARICOM... We have lost our inspiration within the developing world when we were once the leaders of the ACP (African, Caribbean and Pacific nations) and perhaps worst of all Caribbean people are losing faith in the political leadership of the region."

The old problem of implementation is still with us and, without implementation, decisions are meaningless, Sir Shridath stressed and cited the CSME, which he said has still not gotten off the ground after so many years.

Touching on the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), the former three-term Commonwealth Secretary General said the CCJ is the central pillar of regional integration under the Treaty of Chagaraumas. He pointed out that the CCJ is essential to the functioning of the CSME because the CSME is a legal regime. He added that we have come to the limit and asked what can be done without law at a regional level.

He has joined with four other recipients of the region's highest award, the Order of Caribbean Community (OCC), in calling on the various governments to remove the Privy Council and accept the CCJ as the final court.

I recall in 1977 when Sir Shridath spoke at the graduation exercise of the University of the West Indies at St Augustine, when he received his honorary doctorate from the UWI, he made an impassioned plea for regional integration and pointed out that the English-speaking Caribbean, which has a population of less than five million, has the most prime ministers, presidents, ambassadors and high commissioners on the planet -- although the population is so small.

The Guyanese-born diplomat is a regionalist at heart and was a keen player in bringing an end to Ian Smith's Unilateral Declaration of Independence and institutional racism in Southern Rhodesia. He also spent much of his last five years as Commonwealth Secretary General, until 1990, in the struggle to end apartheid in South Africa. He had the satisfaction of playing a part in Nelson Mandela's release from prison in February 1990, and Namibia's independence the following month.

Sir Shridath with Oscar Ramjeet at his home in Barbados

September 8, 2010

Unlock Common Wealth

Sir Ronald Sanders




An abridged version of a speech delivered by Sir Ronald Sanders -- a member of the Eminent Persons Group established by Commonwealth Heads of Government to report by October 2011 on strengthening the Commonwealth -- to a Consultation of Heads of Commonwealth Organisations and diplomats on 'Reinvigorating the Commonwealth'.

OVER the years of the Commonwealth's existence much has been written about how it is perceived, how it can better project itself, how it can strengthen its institutions, and how it can remain relevant in a changed and changing world.

The difference between what has been written so far by academics, think tanks, and parliamentarians, and the work of the Eminent Persons Group (EPG) is that the EPG's work has been specifically mandated by Heads of Government.

They have asked for a report that, in the words of the Affirmation issued at their meeting last November in Port-of-Spain, will ensure that "the Commonwealth will remain relevant to its times and people in future" and will help to build "a stronger and more resilient and progressive family of nations founded on enduring values and principles".

The group must present ideas that Heads of Government can collectively endorse and implement. They must be ideas that are visionary as well as practical; ambitious as well as achievable; standard-setting as well as opportunity-creating.

We have to be mindful that the Commonwealth is not an organisation tied by treaty whose rules are binding on member states. It is a voluntary association of sovereign states who have decided that because they share certain traditions, there is benefit in working together.

We must be heedful too that, in their association, Commonwealth governments have made commitments to democracy, human rights, human dignity and freedom, and that fulfilment of these commitments lie at the heart of the Commonwealth's credibility and its relevance.

The EPG recognises that the Commonwealth should not and cannot attempt to tackle every issue that confronts mankind, and that focus should be placed on its strengths and how to make them more effective.

We recognised the important inter-linkages between democracy, governance/human rights/rule of law on one hand and poverty alleviation, sustainable development/economic empowerment on the other.

We acknowledged that just as democracy will not be upheld without development, development will not be sustained without democracy.

We have begun to explore a number of ideas such as a Commonwealth Charter that expresses an ethos of Commonwealth community that reflects civil and political norms and through which member countries commit themselves to fundamental rights and freedoms, values and principles as contained in several declarations by Heads of Government.

Discussion has also focused on the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) established to protect Commonwealth values and principles and to take action against member states that indulge in serious or persistent violations of them.

The group regards CMAG as a bright jewel in the Commonwealth crown; one that should not be allowed to tarnish, but should continue to sparkle as a tribute to Commonwealth commitment to its values. The group would like to see further empowerment of CMAG to take up the full gamut of its remit to deal with "serious or persistent" violations beyond unconstitutional overthrow of an elected government.

We regard the secretary-general's "good offices" role as equally important in addressing violations of human and civil rights before they become cancerous. Prevention is better than cure. But we recognise that this role is under-resourced and requires not only wider machinery to alert the secretary-general to potential problems.

And we are not neglectful of the need to promote social and economic development or of the global challenges of the moment that have a great impact upon many Commonwealth countries. These include climate change which threatens the very existence of some Commonwealth countries; and the need for special and differential treatment for small states by the international financial institutions and the World Trade Organisation.

We also recognise that to do its job effectively, the Commonwealth Secretariat requires more resources which cannot come from governments alone. They can also come from strategic partnerships with private sector groups and foundations even outside the Commonwealth. And, through these partnerships, the Commonwealth could make a big difference to inoculations against disease, improving infant mortality, and improving educational facilities.

We would like to see youth brought into the mainstream of Commonwealth thinking and activity. Discussions have begun about the possible development of a youth programme aimed at promoting exchanges by young people between Commonwealth countries in which transfer of knowledge and volunteering would be underlying considerations.

We see it as a movement of young people across Commonwealth countries to live, study and commune in each other's countries in a structured and organised programme that would leave each of them with a better knowledge and appreciation of each other's culture and circumstances.

We are also considering the expansion of the four regional Commonwealth Youth Centres into larger Commonwealth regional offices for a wider range of activities.

The question has often been posed: if the Commonwealth did not exist, would we invent it? The answer is: we are lucky; we don't have to invent it. It exists. It is a gift — an association of 54 countries, large and small, from all the continents of the world representing two billion people of all races and religions.

Together, the countries of the Commonwealth are responsible for more than 20 per cent of world trade, about 20 per cent of investment and approximately 20 per cent of world GDP. According to the Commonwealth Business Council, "over $3 trillion in trade happens within the Commonwealth every year and the Commonwealth has seen over $200 billion worth of investment over the last 10 years". A common language and common laws have brought down the price of doing business among Commonwealth countries by 20 per cent.

This demonstrates that there is enormous potential within the Commonwealth for delivering benefits to its people, but Commonwealth leadership — in government and the private sector — must do something about it.

There is clearly an unlocked potential for boosting wealth in the Commonwealth. The key may very well be strict adherence to democracy and good governance by all Commonwealth countries that would encourage more trade and investment across the Commonwealth, improving the economies and social conditions of all its members.

Responses and previous commentaries: www.sirronaldsanders.com

September 05, 2010

jamaicaobserver

Bahamas Blog International