Dear Editor,
We have received news that the 51st Conference of Heads of Government of CARICOM (COCHG) will be meeting from 6-8 July in St. Lucia.
Incoming CARICOM Chair, Saint Lucia’s Prime Minister Philip J. Pierre, has expressed publicly his concern about global developments. Also, he mentioned that during his chairmanship he intend to do all he can to “bring CARICOM closer to the people.” This is a tall order since, following a meeting of Heads, save for the issuance of an official Communique and an investigative press, little or no official information is released by governments in member states before or after
such meetings as regards policy positions that will be advanced at the meeting. Nor are report-back engagements held to inform the public about positions adopted.
The incoming Chairman holds lead responsibility for Sustainable Development (including Environment, Climate Change, Disaster Management and Water within the CARICOM Quasi Cabinet.
On this occasion, the meeting will be held under the theme, ‘From Resilience to Renewal in a Changing World.’
On the question of resilience, the theme by its very nature implies that the community intends to shift from a given state of existence to another or to embrace both. However, since heads cannot predict what’s around the corner insofar as ‘renewal’ is concerned, they must be ready for any eventuality not in a ‘changing world’ put more accurately, in changed world. And, be that as it may they nevertheless, should say what they mean by renewal in this changing or changed world.
My point is, even in this changing or changed world, resilience, especially in the context of climate change or otherwise remains relevant and applicable. Experts claim ‘there are four key factors that underpin resilience in any shape or form; latitude, or, how far the system can be attacked; resistance, or, the rigidity of the structure to resist change; precariousness, or, the fragility of the current state of the system; and finally, panarchy, which refers to the degree to which different systems connect and interact.’ It is to be assumed that member states have, on the basis of their individual and collective experience/s, having grappled with resilience are now desirous of shifting from one national project to another.
If we were to restrict ourselves to resilience in the context of climate change, the fact of the matter is that nowadays cities, towns and villages are on the frontline of the climate change debate. As such, they have become testing grounds for ideas about resilience, even if the test creates tension between human and ecological concerns.
The good news is that internet technology and big tech have introduced the means to aid ‘resilience. Furthermore, we assume that ‘resilience’ and ‘renewal’ within the meaning of the theme for the Caricom meeting has to do with confronting economic shocks from the war in the Persian Gulf, the global energy crisis, the challenges of climate change and talk about war in Europe.
But there is a much more important question that needs to be addressed; what is the price tag attached for transitioning from resilience to renewal and what concrete benefits would it bring to country and people enabling both to exist and to live in a changing or changed world? Moreover, what happens when the price for renewal gets too high? Who will pay the price and who will cover the costs? Clearly, experience has shown that the industrialised countries in the G7 are less than forthcoming to fund either disaster preparedness or the aftermath of a natural disaster. Just look at Venezuela then imagine a Caricom member state in that situation.
Resilience and renewal are complex matters neither of which can succeed without popular support. Caricom leaders together with their planners and environmental scientists should collaborate with their counterparts overseas. They should join in the discussion on the fragility of small and low-lying coastal states as part and parcel of transitioning from resilience to renewal.
The incoming chairman struck a familiar people- centered philosophical note when he declared that “a robust community was as essential a defence against disaster as any engineering solution, and that social solutions to disaster are ones that politicians and planners ignore at their peril.”
If we plan on building resilience and transitioning to renewal or a combination of both at the same time then we have to think hard about tackling inequality and augmenting the living standards of people in Caricom member states.
Ours is the age of the rule of law and liberal democracy where political parties are elected to govern through free and fair elections and to deliver the will of the people. No obstacle, whether undemocratic or unconstitutional should obstruct nor stand in the way blocking or impeding peaceful, progressive and transformative initiatives aimed at advancing ‘renewal’ and at the same time upholding ‘resilience,’
Some view the election of right-wing nationalist and pro-fascist political parties around the world as a threat to democracy; and while the threat is not new, they nevertheless pose grave dangers that must be confronted.
Caricom’s theme invites member states to be part of a period of transition towards ‘renewal’ but ‘renewal’ for whom and towards what end? No one has the slightest idea.
Liberal democratic institutions, such as the Courts, the parliament and the police exist only so long as people have confidence in them. Experience has shown that when that confidence evaporates, political change can be rapid; democracy can submerge into a vague notion with no meaning nor substance. In the circumstances, we should beware of leaders riding a wave of demagoguery and populism
Today, we hear growing concerns for the poor, workers’ rights; desires to create an ethnically divided society and some kind of utopia. But it is those very social and political forces who while articulating those concerns and desires seek to dismantle the guardrails of democracy.
A case in point is the land of Mandela and the ANC, where repeated dehumanising language is used against fellow Africans describing them as ‘enemies,’ ‘parasites’ and ‘foreigners,’ accompanied by the readiness for violent action by paramilitary and extrajudicial forces
The task Caricom member states now face is to renew and reinvigorate the institutions of good governance that can best protect the people’s constitutional rights, defend worker’s rights as well as the rights of vulnerable groups; to create the political virtues that put national democracy to work in favour of those who feel betrayed by a system that gave them nothing in return for their sacrifices.