SALUTATIONS
It is with great satisfaction and optimism that I address you today as one of the new generation of leaders who are emerging throughout the Caribbean to take responsibility for the political, social and economic development of our Region in a rapidly changing global environment.
First, I want to thank the Government and people of Saint Lucia for welcoming us to this beautiful country, and for making the splendid arrangements for this historic Conference.
I bring all delegates fraternal greetings from the people of the Commonwealth of Dominica who in all wisdom, have recently endorsed my leadership as well as the policies and programmes of the Dominica Labour Party.
As you are aware, we in Dominica, have in recent years experienced the potentially negative effects of globalization on small island states. We are not fully recovered, and although our peculiar vulnerabilities remain, all the signs from the International Monetary Fund, and the other funding agencies that have supported us, suggest that we have turned the corner. After years of stagnation and negative growth we experienced a 3.5% growth last year, and are expected to experience at least a 4% growth this year.
Throughout that period, we drew strength and courage from the fact that we were not alone.
We knew that our allies would never let us go under. I therefore want to again, in this forum, thank all our friends, and supporters, from far and wide who stood by Dominica in its times of greatest need. Allow me also, to particularly recognize the International Development and Donor Agencies, which have maintained their support to Dominica.
In particular, I thank the European Union, Japan, Venezuela and Canada for their long-standing support. I must also thank the People’s Republic of China, for coming to our rescue in the nick of time.
But above all, I want to single out our OECS and CARICOM neighbours for their unwavering support throughout the crisis. You have kept Dominica going by giving support in critical areas of endeavour.
Out of this experience, we in Dominica have better understood the benefits of unity and solidarity.
It is with this confidence, and determination that I stand before you today with a new mandate to deepen and strengthen that relationship with our Caribbean neighbours.
My friends, there is a certain inevitability about Caribbean integration. We are all familiar with the external forces, which make it necessary for us to unite in order to survive in the new global market place. I need not repeat them here. We need to be mindful that there have always been internal factors emanating from both the rulers and the ruled that have halted the march to Regional integration.
Our colonial masters always craved for the convenience of having one single jurisdiction, for reasons ranging from security to trade. On the other hand, the poor masses always wanted a larger space within which they could find a safe haven or a better standard of living. I am sure that in the minds of the slaves who fled to Haiti to enjoy freedom after 1801 or the many migrants who moved around the Region in search of employment, the Caribbean was and always will be, one indivisible place.
In recent years, this quest for unity has periodically found expression at the highest level. It seems as though every 15 or 16 years the spirit of Caribbean unity reaches a climax and enables the Region to make a bold leap forward towards its destiny of full integration.
Consider the following high-water marks:
• 1958 – the creation of the Federation of the West Indies
• 1973 – The signing of the Treaty of Chaguaramus
• 1989 – The Agreement of the Grand Anse Accord
• 2005 – The launching of the Caribbean Single Market and Economy (CSME).
My friends, this is the year in which we must make bold decisions to take the process forward!
It would not be wise to assume that Regional integration, though inescapable, will proceed smoothly. Those who have a vested interest in the status quo, those who fear the unknown, and there are those who for their own selfish reasons, will place considerable hurdles in the way of full integration.
A few weeks ago, I listened to an informal discussion on the subject of the free movement of people within CARICOM. I was appalled to hear professional and educated people who I believed understood the benefits of operating in a larger domestic market, referring to the Free Movement of Skilled Nationals as people – “flooding into our country” from other CARICOM states.
There is no doubt we face very serious challenges in the years ahead if we are to achieve the dream of Caribbean unity.
However, I believe that at this juncture in our history, we should focus on both the physical and mental infrastructures for Caribbean integration. The key to integration and the operation of a single economy is the existence of efficient systems of communication. We need to make sure that transport by both air and sea, are available to take people and goods around the Region. Governments of the Region and the private sector must wake up to the tremendous opportunities for investment and profits in transport and communications.
I am convinced that maritime transport as well as telecommunications are the missing pieces of the jig-saw puzzle. There is a huge demand for ongoing contact between the people of the Region – at a price, which they can afford. I believe that our business people have to look carefully at their pricing policies. It seems to me that operators in the transport and communication sectors are pricing themselves out of the market.
With respect to our mental preparedness for integration I still believe that the greatest hurdle is “the lack of confidence in our own ability to shape our own future”. Undoubtedly, this is a legacy of our colonial past and is still pervasive.
However, it is surmountable. The same negative analysis was offered to justify the continued disenfranchisement of our people and to stall the independence movement.
I stand here today to affirm my confidence in the resilience of our people. I salute a people who have lived through one of the most devastating disasters of human history – racial chattel slavery – and have continued the struggle for human dignity, freedom and respect. Those who know Caribbean people would understand what I mean when I say that “even when we live like paupers, we think like royalty”.
It may be that we only perform at our best, when our backs are against the wall. It may be that the historical distractions prevent us from coming together and digging into our reserves. However, I am of the firm view, that there is no time like the present to demonstrate that resilience.
Today we face some of the most formidable challenges that small developing countries could ever face, in every sphere of human endeavour. These problems can only be addressed collectively.
High on this list would be:
• The Threat To Agriculture
Agriculture is still a major source of employment and its earnings still contribute substantially to revenue for our countries. Both bananas and sugar are in deep crisis. Protection, compensation and diversification will require us to speak with one voice and share information at all levels.
In this regard, I urge this Conference to rally around the Government of St. Kitts and Nevis, as it embarks upon the tumultuous task of grinding out its sugar industry. No matter the plans and preparations, there will be social and economic dislocation in the sister isle. I understand that this situation is necessary but never-the-less it is an agonizing period of economic restructuring and transformation. My wish is that, the Government and people of St. Kitts and Nevis find strength in the support and solidarity that Dominica and the wider Caribbean will demonstrate during this period of transformation.
Furthermore, I call on the international donor community to take the initiative and assist in a tangible way, to ensure a minimal fall-out from the closure of the sugar industry in St. Kitts.
• The Need To Diversify Our Tourism Product
Our tourism industry, an area in which we should have an absolute advantage, is under threat from competition from a variety of sources, and from countries as far as the Middle East. A tourism product made up of sun and sea on small islands is rapidly becoming obsolete. We need to offer the more discerning visitor a range of products or a package of experiences that include Health/Sports/Cultural/Eco tourism.
I envisage the typical tourist of the future spending a few days on the beaches in Barbados or Antigua, then moving on to enjoy the Jazz festival in Saint Lucia, the wildlife reserves of Guyana, the playing fields of Jamaica or Grenada and Carnival in Trinidad but never leaving the Region before enjoying the forest, mountains and fresh water of Dominica or the World Creole Music Festival.
Added to that list is also the issue of –
• HIV/AIDS
The biggest threat to us, however, is the HIV/AIDS pandemic that recognizes no national borders. We in the Caribbean have the unenviable task to turn around our reputation of having the highest incidence of the virus in the world, second to Sub-Saharan Africa. We also need to remedy the socio-cultural conditions that fuel its continued spread within the general population. Needless to say, a concerted Regional effort is necessary to stave off disaster.
The commendable efforts of the Pan Caribbean Partnership Against HIV/AIDS (PANCAP) are to be encouraged. We need to pool resources to conduct research, to share information on good practice, and to lobby for better deals for medication, as well as other resources to prolong and improve the quality of life of people living with the disease. The scourge of HIV is probably the greatest test of our will to survive. And since the purpose of life is survival, I am confident that we shall overcome this as well.
• World Cup Cricket
I now want you to cast your mind to the future. In two years’ time we shall be the hosts of the Cricket World Cup competition. We have two choices. We can either make a disaster of it or make it an overwhelming success.
This event, which will showcase the Caribbean to a world audience, should have sent shock waves of excitement to all stakeholders from the moment the Region was selected to host the event. This event offers us a splendid opportunity to put our house in order, not only for the visitors but also for our people.
I want to seize this opportunity, to appeal to the people of the Caribbean, to use Cricket World Cup 2007 as an event to galvanize us into action. Let us all “rally round the West Indies” and make ourselves winners not only on the cricket field but more importantly, in all the areas of development.
It is only appropriate that we use a cricketing event as a catalyst for the sustained development of our Region. Cricket more than anything else is symbolic of West Indian/Caribbean unity.
This unity and the striving for excellence that our cricketers achieved during the glory days in the second half of the 20th Century are essential for the great leap forward we need in the first half of the 21st Century. Let us use the powerful symbolism and oneness of cricket – including team-work, fair play, pursuing excellence on a level playing field – to overcome the hurdles we now face.
The Way Forward
For me, the way forward will require the motivation and mobilization of the people. We need to go back to the drawing board. Our experience in Dominica, to which I refer again without apology, was that we must put the people first if we want to move forward.
We must never underestimate the wisdom of the ordinary citizen. Neither should we underestimate the power of people when they are pulling together. It is only the people working together who can turn around an economy. It is only the people working together who can build nations.
Ladies and gentlemen, this is the time for us to build institutions of productivity. This is the time for us to get ordinary people, the majority of our people involved in the process of establishing a Caribbean nation.
My friends the way forward for us in the Caribbean is to equip our people to be our masters. We need to embark on a massive educational and training programme to release their energies. Above all, we must show them how they can benefit from the changes.
The focus question in all our deliberations should be: How can we make CARICOM and CSME work to OUR best advantage?
This is a question that I am always posing to my people. Naturally, we in Dominica have to satisfy ourselves that we are getting the best possible deal. However, it is the responsibility of all Caribbean peoples to ensure that the final details of integration arrives at a balance that will meet the needs of the strong-willed as well as protect the existence of the weak among us.
Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you again for your welcome, for your support for Dominica and your patience as we prepare ourselves for the great leap forward as part of a Regional organization.
Despite the challenges before us, from where I stand I visualize a bright picture of only peace, progress and prosperity redounding from a wider Caribbean state and to this end you have my resolute and unswerving commitment. Let us make 2005 a watershed in that relentless movement towards unity.
May God Bless us all. I thank you.
