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

Bahamas Blog International

Caribbean 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

Bahamas Blog International

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

"The world of the future has to be shared by everyone"

Interview with Fidel Castro (Part 2)

(Taken from the Mexican La Jornada newspaper)
• Fidel answers questions from the editor, Carmen Lira Saade

HAVANA.—Although there is nothing to indicate any unease on his part, I think that Fidel is not going to like what I’m going to say to him:

"Comandante, the whole charm of the Cuban Revolution, the recognition, the solidarity from a large part of the world’s intelligentsia, the people’s tremendous achievements in the face of the blockade; in short, everything, everything went down the tubes as a result of the persecution of homosexuals in Cuba.

Fidel did not shy away from the subject. He neither denied nor rejected the statement. He only asked for time to recall, he said, how and when that prejudice broke out among the revolutionary ranks.

Five decades ago, and as a result of homophobia, homosexuals were marginalized in Cuba and many of them were sent to military-agricultural work camps, accused of being "counterrevolutionaries."

"Yes," he recalled, "those were times of tremendous injustice, tremendous injustice!" he repeated emphatically, "whoever was responsible for it. If we did it ourselves, ourselves… I’m trying to delimit my responsibility in all of that because, of course, on a personal level, I do not have that kind of prejudice."

It is known that some of his best and oldest friends are homosexuals.

"But then, how did that hatred of the "different" come about? "

Fidel believes that it was all generated as a spontaneous reaction within the revolutionary ranks, which stemmed from old customs. In pre-revolutionary Cuba, there was not only discrimination against blacks, but also against women and, of course, homosexuals.

"Yes, yes. But not in the Cuba of the ‘new’ morality, of which revolutionaries both within and outside the country were so proud…"

"And so, who was responsible, either directly or indirectly, for not putting a stop to what was happening in Cuban society? The Party? Because this occurred during a time when the statutes of the Communist Party of Cuba did not explicitly state the prohibition of discrimination based on sexual orientation."

"No," said Fidel. "If anyone was responsible, then it was me.

"It is true that, at that time, I did not concern myself with that issue… I was mainly immersed in the October (Missile) Crisis, in the war, in political matters…"

"But that became a serious and grave political problem, Comandante."

"I understand, I understand… We didn’t know how to assess it… systematic acts of sabotage, armed attacks, were happening all the time; we had so many terrible problems, problems of life or death, you know, that we didn’t pay sufficient attention to it."

"After all of that, it became very difficult to defend the Revolution outside the country… Its image had been irretrievably damaged among certain sectors, particularly in Europe."

"I understand, I understand," he repeated. "That was fair…"

"The persecution of homosexuals could have been taking place with greater or lesser protest in any part of the world. But not in revolutionary Cuba," I said to him.

"I understand: it’s like when the saint sins, right? It’s not the same as the sinner sinning, eh?"

Fidel gave a hint of a smile but then became serious again:

"Look, think about how our days were during those first months of the Revolution: the war with the yankis, the missile situation and, almost simultaneously, the assassination attempts against my person…"

Fidel revealed the tremendous influence on him of the assassination threats and the actual attempts of which he was victim, and which changed his life:

"I couldn’t be anywhere; I didn’t even have anywhere to live..." Betrayal was the order of the day and he was forced to move around in a haphazard way…

"Eluding the CIA, which was buying so many traitors, including one’s own people, was no simple matter; but, in short, in any case, if someone has to assume responsibility, then I will. I am not going to place the blame on other people..." affirmed the revolutionary leader.

He only regrets not having corrected the situation at the time.

Nowadays, however, the problem is being confronted. Under the slogan "Homosexuality is not a danger; but homophobia is," many cities throughout the country recently celebrated the 3rd Cuban Event for the International Day against Homophobia. Gerardo Arreola, La Jornada correspondent in Cuba, wrote a detailed report on the debate and the struggle underway on the island for respect for the rights of sexual minorities.

Arreola comments that it is Mariela Castro – a 47-year-old sociologist and daughter of Cuban President Raúl Castro – who directs the National Center for Sexual Education (CENESEX), an institution that, she says, has succeeded in improving Cuba’s image following the marginalization of the 1960s.

"Here we stand, Cuban women and men, in order to continue fighting for inclusion, so that this is the fight of all women and men, for the good of all women and men," stated Mariela Castro at the inauguration event, surrounded by transsexuals holding the Cuban flag and another rainbow one representing the gay pride movement.

Today in Cuba, efforts for homosexuals include initiatives such as the identity change for transsexuals and civil unions between same-sex couples.

Homosexuality on the island was decriminalized in the 1990s, although it did not immediately result in the end of police harassment. And since 2008, sex change operations have been offered free of charge.

THE BLOCKADE

In 1962, the United States decreed the blockade of Cuba. That was "a ferocious attempt at genocide," as Gabriel García Márquez, the writer who has best chronicled the period, described it.

"A period that has lasted up until today," Fidel informed me.

"The blockade is more than ever in force today, and with the aggravating factor at the present time, that it is constitutional law in the United States for the very fact that the president voted for it, the Senate did and the House of Representatives…"

The number of votes and its implementation could – or not – considerably alleviate the situation. But there it is…

"Yes, there is the interfering and pro-annexationist Helms-Burton Act… and the Torricelli Act, duly passed by the Congress of the United States.

"I very well remember Senator Helms on that day in 1996 when his initiative was passed. He was elated and repeated the aim of his plan to journalists:

"Castro has to leave Cuba. I don’t care how Castro leaves the country: whether he leaves in a vertical or horizontal position is up to them… but Castro has to leave Cuba."

THE SIEGE BEGINS

"In 1962, when the United States decreed the blockade, Cuba soon found itself with the proof that it had nothing more than six million determined Cuban people on a luminous and undefended island…

Nobody, no country, could trade with Cuba; there couldn’t be any buying or selling; heaven help that country or company which did not submit to the commercial harassment decreed by the United States. What always struck me was that CIA boat patrolling territorial waters until just a few years ago, there to intercept boats carrying merchandise to the island.

The greatest problem, however, was always been that of medicines and food, which continues up until today. Even today, no food company is allowed to trade with Cuba, not even taking into account the importance of the volumes that the island would acquire or because Cuba is always obliged to pay cash in advance.

Condemned to death by starvation, the Cubans had to "invent life all over again from the beginning," as García Márquez said.

They developed a "technology of need" and an "economy of scarcity", he related: a whole "culture of solitude."

There is no sign of regret, far less of bitterness, when Fidel Castro admits that a large part of the world simply abandoned the island. On the contrary…

"The struggle, the battle that we had to fight led us to make greater efforts that perhaps we would have done without the blockade," said Fidel.

He recalled with a touch of pride, for example, the immense mass operation undertaken by five million young people, grouped together in the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution (CDRs). In just one eight-hour day, they achieved a mass vaccination program throughout the country, eradicating illnesses such as polio and malaria.

Or when more than 250,000 literacy teachers – 100,000 of whom were children – took on the responsibility of teaching the majority of the adult population, who were unable to read and write.

But the "great leap" forward is, without any doubt, in medicine and biotechnology:

"They say that Fidel himself sent a team of scientists and doctors for training in Finland, who would subsequently be responsible for the production of medicines."

"The enemy used the bacteriological warfare against us. It brought the Dengue Virus 2 here. In pre-revolutionary Cuba, not even the Dengue Virus 1 was known here. The Virus 2 appeared here; it is much more dangerous because it produces a hemorrhagic dengue that attacks children above all.

"It came in via Boyeros. The counterrevolutionaries brought it, those same individuals who went around with Posada Carriles, the same ones who were pardoned by Bush, the same ones who planned the sabotage of the [Cubana] aircraft over Barbados… Those same people were given the task of introducing the virus," Fidel denounced.

"They blamed Cuba because they said that there were lots of mosquitoes on the island," I told him.

"And how were we not going to have them if the only way to get rid of them was with Abate (Temefos, an insecticide) and we couldn’t get Abate? Only the United States produced it," he revealed.

The Comandante’s face saddened:

"Our children began to die," he recalled. "We didn’t have anything with which to attack the disease. Nobody wanted to sell us medicines or the equipment to eradicate the virus. One hundred and fifty people died from that disease. Almost all of them were children…"

"We had to resort to buying contraband goods, even though they were very expensive. Everywhere they prohibited them from even being brought in. Once, on compassionate grounds, they were allowed a little to be brought in."

On "compassionate grounds," said the strong man of the Revolution. I confessed that I was confused…

Not exactly on compassionate grounds, rather in solidarity, some friends of Cuba resorted to doing precisely that. Fidel mentioned Mexico, the Echeverría family, Luis and María Esther who – although not in government at that time – were able to secure some equipment that allowed Cuba to alleviate the epidemic to a certain degree.

"We will never forget them," he said, visibly moved.

"You see," I told him, "Not all your relationships with figures from Mexico’s power elite have been negative or difficult…"

"Of course not," he said, before we drew the interview-conversation to a close and went to have lunch with his wife, Dalia Soto del Valle.

From that terraced area where he sits to reflect and analyze the world and life itself, Fidel raised a toast to "a world of the future with just one homeland."

"What does it mean that some of us are Spanish, others English, others African? And that some have more than others?

"The world of the future has to be a shared one, and the rights of human beings have to be above individual rights…And it is going to be a rich world, where rights are going to be exactly equal for everybody…"

"How is that going to be to achieved, Comandante?"

"By educating… educating and creating love and trust."

Translated by Granma International

granma.cu

Havana. September 3, 2010

Bahamas Blog International

- “Obama has to be persuaded to avoid nuclear war” (Part 1)

Doing business in Jamaica

RAULSTON NEMBHARD




MR Gordon "Butch" Stewart is right. Speaking recently at the launch of the Observer's annual Business Leaders Awards, he called attention to the difficulties that businesses in general and small entrepreneurs in particular are experiencing doing business in Jamaica. He lamented the strangulating bureaucracy that stymies businesses and which results in the loss of valuable productive time.

Mr Stewart's concern is in line with what others have said before, including Mr Phillip Paulwell, the former Minister of Industry and Commerce, when he made the cryptic statement that Jamaica is a place that is inhospitable to investment. As long as I have been alive, the country has been living through the gyrations of the obstacles that are placed in the path of those who would want to put their entrepreneurial energy to work. Jamaica is an entrepreneur's nightmare, especially when as an entrepreneur you have to contend with government and its departments. You make phone calls, people promise to return your calls and you wait and wait for that call to come, not realising that you have been given a six for a nine. You get the impression that the promises to return your calls were done simply to get you off the line quickly. And never make the mistake of calling a government agency with a cellphone, especially if you are calling from a Digicel phone. I had the rude realisation recently that all landlines are LIME lines, and that if you call from, say, a Digicel phone to one of these lines you are paying the highest rate per minute that is available in the marketplace (which I believe to be $12.00 per minute from Digicel to C&W lines. Bear in mind that most, if not all government departments use landlines as do most private sector companies. LIME still maintains a monopoly of landlines in Jamaica, so do the math.

You make a big mistake if you ever sound irascible or disagreeable to a government bureaucrat as you are likely to be "punished" by having your matter ignored. It is like arguing with an attendant in a restaurant: a cockroach is likely to be stir-fried in your serving! And what is the matter with our customs officers who serve at the front line of our ports of entry, especially our airports? What does one have to do to get a smile or a suggestion of pleasantness from these folks when they attend to you?

Let it not be believed that this is a problem in the public sector only. The private sector is a little better since greater accountability is demanded of workers, but you can get the same kind of runaround. I know that members of the public can be quite abrasive and rude, but there is a polite way to deal with the most abrasive consumer. Whether in the government sector or the private sector it should never be forgotten that the consumer is king, which does not mean that you have to abide his putrid idiosyncrasies, but recognising that you are there to serve and in a real sense he pays your salary.

There is one government department which it is a joy to do business with, and this is the National Land Agency. The service has vastly improved since the agency was created. The staff is very polite and you get the impression of a group of people who really do understand the virtue of hard work and the correlation between efficiency and productivity. This is not directly under their jurisdiction, but it is hard to fathom why a two-lot subdivision has to take close to one year to be issued a certificate of completion when everything else has been complied with. Again, I do not think that this is any fault of the agency, but it is equally puzzling why the sale of land which involves just a cash transaction (cash being exchanged for land) should take more than two months to complete.

Work at Customs is being vastly improved thanks to the tenacity of Mr Danville Walker. Under the watchful eyes of Mr Greg Christie and hopefully the obduracy of Mr Daryl Vaz, there is a greater efficiency being seen in the execution of contracts. The overruns and lag time on important projects have been vastly removed, although one cannot understand why the mere widening of the dual carriageway at Bogue in Montego Bay is taking such a long time to complete. Minister Henry needs to light some fire under the tail of the contractors.

Ultimately, what it all boils down to is the cultivation of an ethic of hard work; to understand that work is not just about the collection of a salary or wage at the end of the week or month; that there is an essential spiritual fulfilment that derives from the work we do and the humanity that is attended to in that work. No reorganisation of government bureaucracy or rationalisation of the public sector will bear any lasting fruit if a better attitude to work with a new culture of productivity that buttresses this work is not allowed to thrive. This calls for recognition of the personal responsibility and accountability that each worker, whether in the private or public sector, should have for the work or job for which he or she is being paid. We will never become a developed country by 2030 with the kind of work ethic that we have in Jamaica. The time to cultivate that new work ethic which will lead to a new psychology of productivity is now. Every single entity that hires somebody should place this at the very top of its agenda.

stead6655@aol.com

www.drraulston.com

September 04, 2010

jamaicaobserver

Bahamas Blog International

Bahamas: Loan Arrears Hit $1 Billion

LOAN ARREARS HIT $1 BIL
By CANDIA DAMES
Guardian News Editor
candia@nasguard.com:



Bahamians are now more than $1 billion in arrears on their loans as the public continues to struggle with keeping up mortgage payments.

In its latest economic report, the Central Bank said the banks'credit quality indicators deteriorated further in July.

According to the report--"Monthly Economic and Financial Developments July 2010"--this was buoyed by sustained high unemployment levels and a challenging business environment.

While there are no recent numbers on unemployment, it is widely agreed by those in government and in business that the rate of joblessness remains in the double digits.

With regard to the main components, the expansion in total arrears was due primarily to a rise in the dominant mortgage segment, which accounts for 52.0 percent of delinquencies.

The report said total private sector loan arrears rose by$22.4 million(two percent)to$1.2 billion, with a corresponding increase to 18.6 percent of total loans.

"The current numbers evidence the fact that the economy is still under some pressure and will probably continue to be for the near future,"said Barry Malcolm, chairman of the Clearing Banks Association and Managing Director of Scotiabank Bahamas Ltd., in an interview with The Nassau Guardian last night.

"Notwithstanding the current levels of delinquencies we're confident that the situation is stabilizing and will improve into 2011."

The Central Bank said that in terms of the average age of delinquencies, arrears in the short-term 31-90 day segment grew by$13.3 million(2.6 percent)to $534.2 million, resulting in an expansion in the corresponding loan ratio to 8.6 percent.

In addition, non-performing loans--those more than 90 days in arrears and on which banks have ceased accruing interest--rose by $9.1 million(1.5 percent)to $629.5 million, firming in the ratio to total loans to 10.1 percent.

Smaller gains were noted for the commercial and consumer categories, which comprise 23.3 percent and 24.6 percent of arrears, respectively.

Mortgage delinquencies expanded by $20.0 million(3.4 percent)to $606.8 million, owing to growth in both the 31-90 day, and non-performing segments of$11.3 million(3.5 percent)and $8.7 million(3.2 percent)respectively, the report added.

Malcolm told The Guardian that the absence of significant growth in the economy right now and the likelihood that growth will be slow in coming over the next year speaks to the need for prudence in how consumers save and spend.

In the United States, the economic outlook remains much more subdued than originally forecast.

Last week, Chairman of the Federal Reserve Ben Bernanke confirmed this.

Malcolm said,"To the extent that is the case in the U.S., it will as it always does have some direct effect on us."

Patricia Birch, who heads the Bahamas Real Estate Association, noted that it is impossible to tell from looking at the new numbers whether the majority of loans in arrears are for first-time property owners.

"Some of these may be properties that are not primary residences of Bahamians but may have been investment properties that they bought at a time when they were working steady and these may be lots or properties in the out islands or even here in Nassau,"Birch said.

"Certainly people are going through difficult circumstances, but in my opinion the banks do try to work with people as much as they can because banks are not interested in owning houses or property."

9/2/2010

thenassauguardian

Bahamas Blog International