Prime Minister Mottley - New Realities for Forging a Nation

Prime Minister MOTTLEY

- New Realities for Forging a Nation

by Carol Williams

One week after she spearheaded Barbados’s transition to a republic, Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley credited The UWI, Cave Hill Campus for its contribution to cementing Caribbean identity and providing a platform for intellectual thought and leadership to flourish.

The Barbadian leader indicated the campus contributed to her intellectual development as she had visited in her formative years to listen to scholarly discussions and presentations that featured a multitude of perspectives from people across the region.

In her speech entitled,

“Forging A Nation:

Confronting New Realities”, Prime Minister Mottley singled out notable Caribbean personalities, including Grenadian-born academic Patrick Emmanuel in whose honour she was speaking, as being among the trailblazers of Caribbean nation-building.

The message by the first female prime minister of Barbados was delivered during the 16th Patrick Emmanuel Memorial Lecture held virtually on 8 December 2021, and centred on hope, ambition, and trust.

She said although the transition that took place on 30 November 2021 was ‘a golden moment’, the business of nation-building was not a one-off, but rather, an inter- and intra-generational process of

baton passing with, each generation committing to run its best race.

“What my government has had the privilege and duty to do is to run our leg by finalising the process of removing our country from the colonial premises now. We have completed this process and moved it to full republican governance with a Barbadian head of state that we are proud to call our head of state.”

Prime Minister Mottley explained there was no time to bask in the achievement since the country faced an uphill battle due to numerous challenges, among them the COVID-19 pandemic that affected the education of many of its citizens.

“While I fully endorse and appreciate the importance of online learning, it is clear that the disruptive impact, which the pandemic has had on face-to-face teaching for our primary and secondary students, in particular, has created a situation where many students are unable to cope with the new system because their home environment lacks the human as well as the technical resources for them to cope, far less function efficiently. Absence from school also robs them of the opportunity for the development of themselves at a social and emotional level.”

Prime Minister Mottley noted the necessity for education reform and spoke of the need to address unemployment and poverty alleviation. But she cautioned that cash grants and short-term work programmes were not sustainable to solve these problems. Instead, she said this required long-term approaches predicated on a return to a functioning and productive economy and bolstered by appropriate training and educational programmes for residents.

Her address touched on many other issues that she suggested remained stumbling blocks to achieving success. These included violence, climate change,

inadequate access to financing on the international market, and non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Added to the foregoing were supply chain problems that led to a worldwide shortage of products and skyrocketing prices. The Prime Minister said this underscored the importance of the local agricultural sector and achieving food security. “The COVID-19 epidemic has exploited these existing vulnerabilities and has caused us to remember that if we want to make sure that there is not the proliferation of comorbidities in our society, then we would do well to attain this food and nutritional security. The reality is the benefits that we get will more than outweigh those which we want. Perhaps this is a funny way to make sure that the healthy lifestyles that we need are literally now inculcated in all of our citizens.” The prime minister also addressed issues of economic empowerment, land ownership, jobs, the digital and knowledge economies, political reforms, and the green economy. She said Barbadians needed to disabuse themselves of the culture of contentment that seemed to have taken root over the last 20 years and become active and responsible citizens, with everyone bearing a measure of responsibility. “For small island ... the business of nation-building was not a one- governments, the moment is off, but rather, an inter- and intra-generational now, my friends, to be brave process of baton passing, with each generation and to be strategic; to build committing to run its best race. new frameworks of economic enfranchisement for our people, recognising that we can do so just not only through renewable energy but through embracing and understanding and deconstructing the power of the digital for our people to be able to democratise so many more; to no longer be afraid of speaking and striving towards wealth creation. We need a generation of Caribbean millionaires and billionaires if we are going to sustain these economies in the region. We need a generation of Caribbean, young entrepreneurs that convert our particular sensibilities and approaches into billion-dollar global businesses.” l