Regional Headaches Continue 2020

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The Mahogany Coconut Group
Afer a rather long hiatus, we are ready once more to continue our thoughts and positions affecting the Caribbean region. Unfortunately, we enter 2020, with all the baggage of the last four decades. There are many who now opine , that the independence project has faltered and the continued political personality clashes within the region, are becoming a source of great embarrassment.
We witnessed in very recent times the continued confusion inrelaton to LIAT. The regional airline is still unable to make a profit and the high costs of inter-island travel remains an almost permanent block to business and leisure travel within the region.
Another source of bewilderment was the recent visit of the America's of Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo to meet a number of Caribbean leaders ( January 21st.20.). Prime Minister Mia Mottley of Barbados, the current Chair of CARICOM took umbrage to the gathering and refused to attend or dispatch her Foerign Minister to the meeting . The Mahogany Coconut Group is in solidarity with Prime Minister Mottley on this issue. The sooner that regional leaders realise that we will be better positioned as a unified geopolitical group, the quicker will our region progress on the international front.
The Independence Project should be moving full speed haead with : freedom of movement; common currrency; unfied foreign policy positions and further development of the Caribbean culture ethos. The region's educational system  should by now be in concord with regional goals to harness the collective creativity of our people as we seek to develop strategies to make our people self suffiicient in all areas of economic development.
The emergence of Guyana as a future large oil supplier and the great promise of further development of its natural resources, have obviously given us some hope. While we expect the Guyana economy to benefit greatly from what is being heraled as its "new found wealth", we cannot deny that the major corporatiions investing in Guyana , may not have or should not be naively expected to have any philantrophic, connetcion to Guyana or its CARICOM neighbours. The profit motive will drive these investors. 
With crime on the increase and many youth feeeling disconnected from the mainstream of economic activity, we do not anticipate an easy task for governments. This new decade may well become the defining era of the post Independence Project.

The Mahogany Coconut Group wishes all  happy 2020. 

Comments

Unworthy of God's Love said…
You are so right and welcome back. This blog was greatly missed. The best of 2020 to you and to all drawn to this blog.
March 2, 2020 at 1:38 PM
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