I’m Olu Walrond, and this is Straight from the Heart.
The Governor of the Central Bank has been presenting a series of educational television dramatisations to break down for the average Barbadian the technical concepts and terms used in economics. The need for this kind of public education could not be greater, for it is clear that more than a few Barbadians are lacking in basic knowledge of the nature and operation of a national economy.
Nothing demonstrates this more than the discussion surrounding the sale of land to investors and the redevelopment of some coastal areas for tourism. Some critics say such development is putting our land in the hands of foreigners, selling the country to the highest bidder, some claim. They fear that if this continues, there won’t be much left for us who were born and live here.
The land being taken up for foreign investment projects is largely coastal land, the western south coast. It is a tiny fraction of the landmass of Barbados, a tiny fraction, and it is land that is so highly priced that the vast majority of Barbadians won’t be able to afford to buy it anyhow. It must call for a very active imagination to conclude that because a few investors buy on the west coast and south coast, that our country is being sold out to the highest bidder.Don’t we still have 11 parishes in Barbados, the majority of them untouched by tourism development?
But let’s zero in on the nucleus of this viewpoint. It’s a perspective that does not recognise the connection between development of this kind and the economy. Small poor nations like ours will not develop without investment, whether local or foreign, and it is short-sighted folly for us to adopt a negative attitude to investment.
It is through investments like those ongoing and those proposed for a whole town and other parts of the country that the government gets money to pay for the social services we expect. It’s through investments that Barbadians find employment to be able to put bread on their tables. It is as basic as that.
The two investments made by Abeds and Courts at Welches created jobs for Barbadians and will put money into the treasury so that the problems at the hospital can be fixed. History and heritage and all such things are important too, but they cannot take precedence over investment.
The legendary Singaporean leader Lee Kuan Yew understood this and was able to transform Singapore, a small former underdeveloped country like ours, into one of the wealthiest nations today.
Singapore’s rapid economic transformation was due to foreign investment in part. In 2023, foreign direct investment in that Asian country reached a record 159 billion dollars, making it the third largest recipient of investment worldwide.
It is because the Prime Minister of Barbados understands the vital link between investment and development that she’s pursuing this goal in the way she is.
Those who go around claiming that Barbadians are sucking salt must understand that jobs don’t drop down out of the sky. They have to be created and that can only happen with investment. Sometimes it’s the size of the mind that determines whether we succeed or fail. I’m Olu Walrond.
Straight From The Heart,By Olutoye Walrond
