Pter Boos
Tuesday, July 15, 2014
Many believe, this author included, that Barbados is currently failing miserably to maximize its social and economic potential.
Poor leadership is the primary reason.
Confidence levels are very low.
Growth is stagnant.
A comprehensive,compelling plan for our future has not been well articulated.
We are operating in a vacuum.
Yet Barbados has all the critical resources needed to prosper, especially people with skills, relatively good infrastructure and a strong respect for law and order.
Why are we not doing better?
There are several structural key performance indicators on which we must all focus before the economy will grow sustainably:
1) Demand competent leadership in all sectors.Leadership with integrity and a set of shared national values and goals that are inspirational for all and grounded in trustworthiness and competence.
2) Create a business friendly environment that provides world class competitive business facilitation services. Doing business in Barbados today is painful.
3) Implement and vastly improve transparency and accountability in Government. The 2012/13 Auditor General’s Report is essential reading and should be discussed publicly and acted on. Mismanagement of public funds is a serious disincentive to taxpayers to pay even more.
4) Commence a debate on strategic National Governance Reform that eliminates patronage and corruption and engages the full skills base in Barbados on a non-partisan basis.
5) Reform the Legal Justice System.
We continue to refer to ‘the global recession’ as an excuse for our depressed state. Most of our wounds are self-inflicted.
The solutions are totally within our control. Difficult decisions are needed. Leaders are needed.
Confidence will begin to be restored when we make serious credible efforts to address the five issues above.
