Regional Headaches Continue 2020

-
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
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Education Reform

-
One Caribbean Nation. It is extremely difficult to believe that we are incapable of solving current challenges relating to crime and other acts of social deviancy. Our culture remains the foundation of our development. It has undergone tremendous change, both for the better and the worst, during the last four decades. However, we remain a society that still demonstrates some virtues of basic decency toward each other but we   have failed to recognize that culture must be maintained, instilled and explained to our citizens. We cannot continue to ignore the depth of cultural penetration , as we sought socio economic development during the post-independence period. To address this , we must seriously examine our education system . The present raging debate regarding the transformation of the system clearly shows we want change but also expect to cling to the status quo ; this creates a perfect   recipe for confusion. The current method of transferring children from the pr...
Read more

Brasstacks Moderators Should Respect all Callers and Views

-
Image
                                                                   Letter from Brooklyn Walter Blackman Tucker Carlson                                                                                Michael Headley    By Michael Headley On a daily basis, I, like many other listeners, enjoy listening to VOB''s Getting Down to Brass tacks.  On any given day the talk show can be entertaining, funny, educational, informative or controversial, as callers voice their differing opinions on various topics.  And most Moderators allow for spirited give-and-take, to enlighten the listening audience.  ...
Read more

Abolish 11 - Plus

-
One Caribbean Nation. ‘Abolish 11-Plus’: VETERAN EDUCATOR ADAMS SLAMS ‘EXAM INEQUALITY’ By Sheria Brathwaite Former senator and retired principal Alwyn Adams on Friday reignited calls to scrap the Barbados Secondary School Entrance Examination, commonly known as the 11-Plus, describing it as an outdated relic of educational segregation that stifles the potential of the working class. While delivering the keynote address at Speech Day of St Leonard's Boys' Secondary School where he was once principal, Adams criticised the island's education system, declaring that it was failing the people and urgently needed reform. Repeating a call made two years ago, he argued that the common entrance examination is an antiquated mechanism designed to limit the academic advancement of Barbados' working class and perpetuate educational segregation. He said then that with Barbados having transitioned to a republic, the country ought to get rid of the current educational system which he...
Read more