Tag: CariCom

West African Case Study: ECOWAS to Launch ‘Single Currency’

Posted on October 25, 2017 in Economics, Government, Strategy

Go Lean Commentary

The Caribbean has the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere: Haiti. But even that is not the poorest (least developed) country in the world; that distinction belongs to 34 countries in Africa; see the full list in the Appendix below.

Yet still, there are lessons that some countries in Africa can teach us here in the Caribbean. One such lesson – Case Study – is the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS); see the full news article here of the endeavor for a Single Currency:

Title: ECOWAS leaders agree on single currency by 2020
The 4th meeting of the Presidential Taskforce on a common currency for the West African Monetary Zone (WAMZ) has taken place in Niamey, the capital of Niger, with the firm commitment towards the acceleration of the processes leading to the use of the single currency by 2020.

The meeting was attended by the members of the Presidential Taskforce, namely the President of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo; the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari; the President of Cote d’Ivoire, Alassane Ouattara; and the host, Mahamadou Issoufou, President of Niger.

Chairperson of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé, President of the Togolese Republic, was also present, and took part in the proceedings.

In a communiqué issued at the end of the 1-day meeting, on Tuesday, 24th October, 2017, the members of the Taskforce took note of the report of the Ministerial Committee meeting held earlier, and acknowledged the quality of the conclusions as well as the relevance of the recommendations made, whose substantive parts relate to the measures for the acceleration of the ECOWAS single currency programme.

The Taskforce appreciated the progress made by all ECOWAS institutions involved in the conduct of ECOWAS Single Currency Roadmap activities, and reaffirmed its commitment to the pursuit and the acceleration of the economic, financial and monetary integration agenda of ECOWAS.

In endorsing the main recommendations of the Ministerial Committee, the Taskforce urged Member States to pursue the structural reforms of their respective economies, to help them deal with fluctuations in the prices of raw materials, and enable their economies to be more resilient to exogenous shocks.

Additionally, the Taskforce urged Member States to take the necessary measures, including the attainment of the convergence criteria, necessary for the creation of the ECOWAS single currency by 2020.

The Communiqué noted that the Taskforce has “instructed the Ministerial committee to meet within three months to propose a new roadmap to accelerate the creation of the single currency by 2020. In this framework, a gradual approach can be undertaken, where a few countries, which are ready, can start the monetary union, whilst the other countries join later.”

The Presidential Task Force will hold their next meeting in Accra, in February 2018.

Background
It will be recalled that at the Extraordinary Summit of Heads of State and Government on 25th October, 2013, the Presidents of Ghana and Niger were appointed to oversee the creation of the single currency in a timely manner.

The two Presidents constituted a Task Force, whose membership included representatives of the President of Ghana and Niger; Ministers of Finance of Ghana and Niger; Governors of the eight Central Banks of ECOWAS member States; ECOWAS and UEMOA Commissions; West African Monetary Agency (WAMA) and the West African Monetary Institute, to advise them periodically on the monetary integration programme.

The membership of the taskforce was reviewed in 2015 to include the Presidents of Cote d’Ivoire and Nigeria, as well as the Ministers of Finance of the two countries.

The inaugural meeting of the Presidential Taskforce was held on 20th and 21st February, 2014 in Niamey. Subsequently, two other meetings were held in Accra on 7th and 8th July, 2014, with the last meeting held in Niamey from 4th to 6th February, 2015.

The main objectives of the third meeting were to examine the revised roadmap on the realisation of the ECOWAS single currency by 2020; a proposal from the ECOWAS Commission on the creation of an ECOWAS monetary Institute by 2018; and the concern raised by the WAMZ Convergence Council on the revised macroeconomic criteria adopted by the 45th Ordinary Summit of the Heads of State and Government held in Accra on 10th July, 2014.

After the third meeting, it was agreed, amongst others, that the Central Bank financing criterion be reclassified as a primary criterion because of its strategic importance to monetary and price stability. The revised roadmap on the realisation of the ECOWAS single currency by 2020 was to be costed, and sources of funding identified.
Source: Posted & retrieved on October 24, 2017 from: http://3news.com/ecowas-leaders-agree-single-currency-2020/

While ECOWAS has 15 member states, eight of these are French-speaking, five are English-speaking and two Portuguese-speaking – as of February 2017, not all are participating in this Single Currency endeavor … yet. (See Appendix VIDEO below on ECOWAS). The member-states that have pledged to launch this Single Currency in time for 2020 are as follows:

  • Ghana
  • Nigeria
  • Cote d’Ivoire
  • Togo

Why is this endeavor important and how can it guide the Caribbean? The foregoing article cited the rationale with this one quotation:

“enable their economies to be more resilient to exogenous shocks”.

This is a familiar advocacy for the movement behind the book Go Lean…Caribbean. In a previous blog-commentary from May 9, 2014 the merits of Single Market economic integration were related as follows:

Europe has the safety net of the economies-of-scale of 508 million people and a GDP of $15 Trillion in 28 member-states in the EU; (the Eurozone subset is 18 states, 333 million people and $13.1 Trillion GDP). The US has 50 states and 320 million people. Shocks and dips can therefore be absorbed and leveraged across the entire region .The EU is still the #1 economy in the world; the US is #2.

The Caribbean has no safety-net, no shock absorption, and no integration. This is the quest of the book Go Lean…Caribbean; it urges the introduction and implementation of the Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU). The book serves as a roadmap for this goal, with turn-by-turn directions to integrate the 30 member-states of the region and forge an $800 Billion economy.

…

The Go Lean roadmap signals change for the region. It introduces new measures, new opportunities and new recoveries. Economies will rise and fall; the recovery is key. Prices will inflate and deflate; as depicted in the foregoing article, there are curative measures to manage these indices. The roadmap calls for the establishment of the allied Caribbean Central Bank (CCB) to manage the monetary affairs of this region. The book describes the breath-and-width of the CCB.

There are many benefits when multiple countries come together and form a Single Market economy. This is also the quest for the CU/Go Lean roadmap: to form a Single Market and make the Caribbean’s member-states “Pluralistic Democracies”. Pluralism – recognition and affirmation of diversity within a political body – applies in this West African Community as well; as these countries have a diverse mix of tribal affiliation, colonial legacy and language prioritization. These African developments are therefore fitting for a Case Study for the Caribbean to consider.

This CU/Go Lean roadmap therefore urges the same Single Market effort with these 3 prime directives:

  • Optimization of the economic engines in order to grow the regional economy and create 2.2 million new jobs.
  • Establishment of a security apparatus to ensure public safety and protect the resultant economic engines.
  • Improvement of Caribbean governance to support these engines, including a separation-of-powers between the member-states and CU federal agencies.

A Single Currency in West Africa – eventually: Eco – is not so unfamiliar. There are two current currencies that fit the mold:

The West Africa Monetary Zone – identified in the foregoing news article – attempts to establish a strong stable currency to rival the CFA franc, whose exchange rate is tied to that of the Euro and is guaranteed by the French Treasury. The eventual goal is for the CFA franc and “Eco” to merge, giving all of West and Central Africa a single, stable currency. The launch of the new currency – with a target date of 2020 – is being developed by the West African Monetary Institute based in Accra, Ghana.

Wow, for the BIG ideas… to elevate the economic engines for 155 million people in West Africa.

The Go Lean book also presents a BIG idea for reforming and transforming the economic engines of the 42 million people in our 30 Caribbean member-states; the book stresses that our effort must likewise be a regional pursuit, and it must also optimize our currency landscape. This was an early motivation for the roadmap, as pronounced in the opening Declaration of Interdependence (Pages 12 – 13):

xi. Whereas all men are entitled to the benefits of good governance in a free society, “new guards” must be enacted to dissuade the emergence of incompetence, corruption, nepotism and cronyism at the peril of the people’s best interest. The Federation must guarantee the executions of a social contract between government and the governed.

xvi. Whereas security of our homeland is inextricably linked to prosperity of the homeland, the economic and security interest of the region needs to be aligned under the same governance. Since economic crimes … can imperil the functioning of the wheels of commerce for all the citizenry, the accedence of this Federation must equip the security apparatus with the tools and techniques for predictive and proactive interdictions.

xxiv. Whereas a free market economy can be induced and spurred for continuous progress, the Federation must install the controls to better manage aspects of the economy: jobs, inflation, savings rate, investments and other economic principles. Thereby attracting direct foreign investment because of the stability and vibrancy of our economy.

The Go Lean book provides 370-pages of turn-by-turn instructions on “how” to adopt new community ethos, plus the strategies, tactics, implementations and advocacies to execute so as to reboot, reform and transform the societal engines of Caribbean society. There is a lot of consideration in the book for optimizing the currency and monetary eco-systems. Consider this excerpt detailing the Money Multiplier concept; from Page 22:

b-1. Money Multiplier

In monetary macroeconomics and banking, the money multiplier measures how much the money supply increases in response to a change in the monetary base. The multiplier may vary across countries, and will also vary depending on what measures of money are considered. For example, consider M1 as a measure of the U.S. money supply, and M0 as a measure of the U.S. monetary base. If a $1 increase in M0 by the Federal Reserve causes M1 to increase by $10, then the money multiplier is 10.

A money multiplier is one of various closely related ratios of commercial bank money to central bank money under a fractional-reserve banking system. Most often, it measures the maximum amount of commercial bank money that can be created by a given unit of central bank money. That is, in a fractional-reserve banking system, the total amount of loans that commercial banks are allowed to extend (the commercial bank money that they can legally create) is a multiple of reserves; this multiple is the reciprocal of the reserve ratio, and it is an economic multiplier.

Banks are allowed to lend out the monies on deposit up to some regulated maximum. If banks lend out close to that maximum allowed by their reserves, then the inequality becomes an approximate equality, and commercial bank money is central bank money times the multiplier. If banks instead lend less than the maximum, accumulating excess reserves, then commercial bank money will be less than central bank money times the theoretical multiplier.

As a formula and legal quantity, the money multiplier is neither complicated nor controversial – it is simply the maximum that commercial banks are allowed to lend out. However, there are various theories/tools/techniques concerning the mechanism of money creation in a fractional-reserve banking system, and they all have implications on monetary policy. As such this sphere of concern is normally managed by the professionals, classically-trained technocrats.

The conclusion of this consideration is straight forward – there is a multiplier associated with the currency in the money supply. Therefore it goes without saying that if the Caribbean member-states trade in US dollars, then the multiplier effect is extended to the United States of America. By contrast, if the Caribbean member-states trade in Euros, then the multiplier effect goes to the stakeholders of the European Central Bank – no Caribbean state. Therefore the communities of the Caribbean must embrace, as an ethos, its own currency, the Caribbean Dollar (managed by a technocratic Caribbean Central Bank), thereby bringing local benefits from local multipliers.

There have been a number of previous blog-commentaries by the Go Lean movement that have highlighted Case Studies on monetary and currency best practices. See a sample list here:

https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=10513 Case Study from India: Transforming Money Countrywide
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=7140 Case Study from Azerbaijan: Setting its currency on free float
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=6800 Case Study from Venezuela: Suing Black Market currency website
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=4166 Case Study from Panama: History of the Balboa Currency
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=3858 Case Study from ECB: Unveiling 1 trillion Euro stimulus program
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=3814 Case Study from Switzerland: Unpegging the franc
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=360 Case Study on Central Banks: Creating Money from ‘Thin Air’
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=833 Case Study from the Euro: One Currency, Diverse Economies

In summary, shepherding the economy is no simple task. It requires the best practices of skilled technocrats. Hopefully these West African States will thrive with this new Single Currency effort as they embrace monetary best-practices.

We will be watching!

Hopefully too, the Single Currency efforts in our region – Caribbean Dollar – will manifest before 2020. The benefits are too alluring to ignore: growing the monetary supply, expanding the availability of investment capital and leveraging across a larger base to absorb the shocks naturally associated with a Free Market Economy. Wow; let’s get started.

We are past the time of needing Central Banking reform. We now need to Catch-Up and transform our own society to derive some of these benefits and innovations.

We urge all Caribbean stakeholders – government officials, bankers and ordinary citizens – to lean-in for the empowerments detailed in this Go Lean roadmap. These are best practices! These can make our homeland a better place to live, work and play. 🙂

Download the free e-book of Go Lean … Caribbean – now!

Sign the petition to lean-in for this roadmap for the Caribbean Union Trade Federation.

———–

Appendix – Current Least Developed Countries

Click on Photo to Enlarge

Source: Retrieved Wikipedia Online Encyclopedia October 25, 2017 from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Least_Developed_Countries#Africa_.2834_countries.29  

———–

Appendix VIDEO – About ECOWAS – https://youtu.be/f2m2UCuEYAs

Published on Jan 29, 2016 – MULTI-MEDIA ECOWAS.COMMUNICATION

  • Category: Comedy
  • License: Standard YouTube License
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Making a ‘Pluralistic Democracy’ – Freedom of Movement

Posted on October 23, 2017 in Economics, Locations, Social

Go Lean Commentary

I have a personal confession!

At one point, recently, I had a California address, Michigan Drivers License and Florida car registration; all at the same time. This is demonstrative of a country – United States of America – where stakeholders have ‘Freedom of Movement’. This is a feature of a Single Market.

Live here … work there … play everywhere …

There are planners for a new Caribbean that wants a Single Market economy, where citizens have ‘Freedom of Movement’ from one member-state to another. This would be part-and-parcel of a “Pluralistic Democracy”, which means a society where the many different ethnic groups (or national origins) have respect, equal rights, equal privileges and equal protections under the law; where there are no superior rights to any majority and no special deprivations to any minority, despite the border or language consideration. This is pure Pluralism, whose legal definition of the political philosophy is as follows:

… the recognition and affirmation of diversity within a political body, which permits the peaceful coexistence of different interests, convictions and lifestyles.[1] While not all political pluralists advocate for a pluralist democracy, this is most common as democracy is often viewed as the most fair and effective way to moderate between the discrete values.[2] – Wikipedia

This vision of a Caribbean “Pluralistic Democracy” should be more than words, but action too. This need has manifested in recent days with the devastation of two Category 5 Hurricanes in the region: Irma and Maria. Consider the news article here depicting the post-hurricane ‘Freedom of Movement’ among the 6 OECS countries (Organization of Eastern Caribbean States: Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, and St Vincent and the Grenadines):

Title – Antigua prepares for influx of Dominicans
Barbados Today – Antigua says it is anticipating an influx of Dominicans in the wake of catastrophic Hurricane Maria which has decimated that country.

Acting Prime Minister, Attorney General Steadroy Benjamin, on Saturday convened a meeting of the sub-committee of Cabinet responsible for managing the planning for natural disasters and their aftermath.

Government Chief of Staff Lionel Hurst described the meeting as “a proactive drive, intended to manage efficiently the anticipated flow of people from Dominica”.

Also in attendance where Ministers Molwyn Joseph, Asot Michael, Minister Melford Nicholas, Arthur Nibbs, the chief immigration officer and her deputy, law enforcement authorities, representative of the airlines association including LIAT, the head of the Red Cross, and officials from the ministry of social transformation.

The Acting Prime Minister directed the group to present a fixed set of policies that would apply to all those who are leaving Dominica for Antigua, and to plan the reception of those OECS/Dominican citizens who may choose Antigua.

It was agreed that there will be only two legitimate ports of entry – the V.C. Bird International Airport and the Montserrat Ferry Dock at Heritage Quay.

“The Coast Guard is to ensure that no vessel entering Antigua’s waters discharges its passengers at any other dock. Since no vegetables or other food items will be shipped from Dominica in the foreseeable future, all vessels must proceed to Heritage Quay,” Hurst said.

Citizens of Dominica have a right of entry into Antigua and other OECS countries and an automatic six-month stay and must present their passport, driver’s license or voter’s identification card to allow entry.

“A database of the Dominicans entering will be developed. Those citizens of Dominica who do not have any of the agreed identification will be permitted to enter Antigua, after completing a form which the Antigua and Barbuda Immigration Department has constructed specifically to meet the needs of those who have lost their documents in the hurricane. Those persons leaving Dominica who are not Dominican citizens must have onward tickets, or be prepared to purchase tickets for onward travel to their own countries,” Hurst said.

He added that the police and the ONDCP are to work closely to determine if any of the persons leaving Dominica are law-breakers. In this regard, the Dominica Police Force will also be asked to assist.

All Dominican citizens who enter Antigua will also be asked to provide certain health information so that continuing services can be provided or secured, in order to protect their health and the population’s.

“It is anticipated that women and children, the elderly of both genders and the infirm, are likely to be among the first wave of Dominican citizens to arrive [in] Antigua. It is also believed that many will choose to stay with family and friends, especially since a supportive group has already been formed. The entrants will be asked to provide names, addresses, telephone numbers and other contact information to the immigration authorities at both ports,” Hurst said.
He said consideration has been given to preparing shelters at various sites should the flow exceed the provision of housing by family and friends of the Dominicans who live on Antigua.

Hurst noted that the other four OECS countries – St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada – are also likely to welcome Dominican citizens to their shores during this crisis.

Source: Posted September 24, 2017; retrieved October 22, 2017 from: https://stluciatimes.com/2017/09/24/antigua-prepares-influx-dominicans 

Normality is disrupted in Dominica  – due to Hurricane Maria – so the people, societal engines and systems of commerce have to transfer over to Antigua. While this is not good for Dominica’s economy, it is better than losing the population permanently to some foreign location – the Diaspora. The Dominican people going to Antigua for hurricane recovery is not the “One Way” societal abandonment, it is just ‘Freedom of Movement’.

The movement behind the book Go Lean…Caribbean has repeatedly related that there is a need for new stewardship of the Caribbean societal engines (economics, security and governance). The world has changed; the “World is Flat“! The Go Lean book considers these Agents of Change (Page 57) that have dynamically affected the Caribbean economic eco-systems:

  • Technology
  • Globalization
  • Aging Diaspora
  • Climate Change

The Agent of Change of Globalization implies that people can easily move from place-to-place to live, work or play; everywhere is “virtually” next door. Ours, in the Caribbean, is not the first region to contend with this ‘Freedom of Movement’ option. In fact, this practice for the OECS is modeled after the European Schengen Area – ‘Freedom of Movement’ of people, goods, services and capital across 26 European borders, not the USA. See more in the VIDEO here:

VIDEO – Schengen Area: History, Facts and Benefits – https://youtu.be/xffvPWmoWsQ

Europe Guide

Published on Apr 13, 2016 – Today, Schengen Area signifies a zone where the free movement of people, goods, services and capital between 26 European countries is not just a concept any longer. Watch this very interesting video about the chronological history of Schengen Area to learn about how the dream for a borderless Europe came true, leaving the opportunity for more than 400 million citizens to travel freely inside the Europe without any border check control.

Website: http://www.schengenvisainfo.com

Follow us on Facebook: http://smarturl.it/SchengenVisaInfoFCB

Subscribe to our YouTube channel: http://smarturl.it/EuropeGuideChannel

Imagine this Caribbean-wide version of the Schengen Area, for all 30 member-states, not just the 6 OECS countries. Imagine a Caribbean-wide Single Market. Imagine how beneficial before, during and after a natural disaster … like Maria.

The book Go Lean…Caribbean – available to download for free – serves as a roadmap for the introduction and implementation of the technocratic Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU), for the elevation of Caribbean society in good times and bad – for all 30 member-states. This CU/Go Lean roadmap has these 3 prime directives:

  • Optimization of the economic engines in order to grow the regional economy to $800 Billion and create 2.2 million new jobs.
  • Establishment of a security apparatus to ensure public safety and protect the resultant economic engines.
  • Improve Caribbean governance to support these engines, including a separation-of-powers between the member-states and CU federal agencies.

The book stresses that reforming and transforming the Caribbean societal engines must be a regional pursuit, “all for one and one for all” member-state-wise. This was an early motivation for the roadmap, as pronounced in the opening Declaration of Interdependence (Pages 12 – 13):

xi. Whereas all men are entitled to the benefits of good governance in a free society, “new guards” must be enacted to dissuade the emergence of incompetence, corruption, nepotism and cronyism at the peril of the people’s best interest. The Federation must guarantee the executions of a social contract between government and the governed.

xvi. Whereas security of our homeland is inextricably linked to prosperity of the homeland, the economic and security interest of the region needs to be aligned under the same governance. Since economic crimes … can imperil the functioning of the wheels of commerce for all the citizenry, the accedence of this Federation must equip the security apparatus with the tools and techniques for predictive and proactive interdictions.

xxi. Whereas the preparation of our labor force can foster opportunities and dictate economic progress for current and future generations, the Federation must ensure that educational and job training opportunities are fully optimized for all residents of all member-states, with no partiality towards any gender or ethnic group. The Federation must recognize and facilitate excellence in many different fields of endeavor, including sciences, languages, arts, music and sports. This responsibility should be executed without incurring the risks of further human flight, as has been the past history.

xxiv. Whereas a free market economy can be induced and spurred for continuous progress, the Federation must install the controls to better manage aspects of the economy: jobs, inflation, savings rate, investments and other economic principles. Thereby attracting direct foreign investment because of the stability and vibrancy of our economy.

The Go Lean book provides 370-pages of turn-by-turn instructions on “how” to adopt new community ethos, plus the strategies, tactics, implementations and advocacies to execute so as to reboot, reform and transform the societal engines of Caribbean society. There is a lot of consideration in the book for the free movement of people, goods, services and capital in the Caribbean region. In fact, the organizational structure of the CU includes a “federal” Department of Labor with the charter to coordinate regional labor dimensions. Since one of the prime directives of the CU is the economic empowerment of the member-states – jobs – there are a lot of angles and views about delivering jobs that needs to be coordinated on a regional level. As such, there are proactive and reactive measures that this department will shepherd.

As related in the book (Page 89), this federal department also coordinates the activities for Labor Certifications in the region. This effort will be collaborated and in cooperation with the many member-state Labor Relations agencies. The CU‘s focus will be towards interstate activities and enterprises, as opposed to an intra-state focus. This Labor Certification is an important role for this agency as it requires monitoring the labor needs of the region to ascertain where skills are needed and where and who can supply the skills. The certification role involves rating the level of expertise needed for job and rating workers skill sets. (Consider a 10-point grading system for positions and personnel, where “apprentice” level ranges from 1 – 3, “journeyman” level ranges from 4 – 6, and “master” ranges from 7 – 10).

This certification role is vital to the strategy of preserving Caribbean human capital in the region, even if this involves some movement among the member-states. Notice these treatments from the book:

  • 10 Ways to Improve Interstate Commerce (Page 129)
    #8 – Labor Markets – Freedom of Movement
    The CU seeks to improve the transparency and mobility in the Caribbean labor markets to contend with the challenges of scarcity of skilled labor (openings can be staffed by any CU resident), innovation deficits (solutions come from a large educated market), and financial risks in social pension systems (need more young workers). The CU strives to offer an alternative Caribbean state to residents looking for a new address/dream. This will assuage risks of brain/capital drains.
  • 10 Ways to Model the EU (Page 130)
    #9 – Labor Issues
    The EU seeks to improve the transparency and mobility in European labor markets to contend with the challenges of an aging population, scarcity of skilled labor, innovation deficits, and financial risks in social security systems. The CU will have to contend with many of the same challenges plus the goal of repatriation. The EU model provides great lessons [for the Caribbean].
  • 10 Ways to Mitigate Black Markets (Page 165)
    #4 – Caribbean Dollar Realities
    The [CU] Federation plan … allows for mobility of labor from one Caribbean state to another. The CU will ensure protections for the work force (unemployment and health insurance benefits) thereby nullifying “black markets” for labor.
  • 10 Ways to Foster Empowering Immigration (Page 174)
    #1 – Lean-in for the Caribbean Single Market & Economy Initiative
    The Single Market structure allows for the controlled movement of labor from state to state, and the opportunity to correct actuarial imbalances. … The skills needed for today’s global economy may not be plentiful in the Caribbean and thus the need to invite empowering immigrants.
  • 10 Ways to Promote Contact Centers (Page 212)
    #6 – Capitalize on Multi-lingual Society
    With Dutch, English, French and Spanish speakers proliferating in the region, the CU will catalog bilingual (or multilingual) skills as an asset in the labor market. This will create more of a demand for this talent base as supply systems are implemented to showcase their skills. In macro-economics, the readiness of the labor market is called “capital”, and an offer (or fulfillment) of tele-services to foreign markets like Holland, France, Quebec (Canada), (Border States) and other former Dutch/French colonies will lead to growth of the industry and the CU’s GDP.
  • 10 Ways to Re-boot Haiti (Page 238)
    #8 – Labor, Immigration and Movement of People
    The recovery plan for Haiti would discourage the emigration of the population. Haiti has a population base (10 million) that can imperil other islands if too many Haitians relocate within the Caribbean. As a result, the CU will expend the resources and facilitate the campaign to dissuade relocation for the first 10 years of the ascension of the CU. During these first 10 years, Haitians visiting other CU member states, with Visa’s, with careful monitoring to ensure compliance.
  • 10 Ways to Impact The Guianas (Page 241)
    # 6 – Emigration Circuit Breaker
    Some chronic problems related to economic progress has been the shortage of skilled labor and a deficient infrastructure. The CU seeks to offer an alternative to citizens abandoning the region for EU or US shores. A diverse, well-managed economy of 42 million people, rather than the minimal 200,000 of Guyana alone and 160,000 of Suriname, offer more options to assuage pressures for Guianian talent fleeing. The whole CU can provide solutions to contend with the scarcity of skilled labor, innovation deficits, and financial risks in social pension systems.

The Go Lean…Caribbean roadmap presents the advocacy for Benefiting from Globalization (Page 119). Globalization has been exacerbated thanks to Free Trade Agreements – the CU Trade Federation is a Free Trade Agreement – so the goal is to master the art-and-science of Free Trade and the Free Movement of people, goods and capital. So these subjects are part-and-parcel of this comprehensive roadmap to elevate Caribbean society to be a better place to live, work and play..

Yes, this Go Lean roadmap considers the heavy-lifting of structuring Caribbean society to benefit more from Globalization. As individual member-states, there is no chance for success, but together, as a unified region, there is so much to leverage. The Go Lean roadmap seeks to unite the people of the entire Caribbean region (leveraging all 42 million people), diversify the regional economy (to create new 2.2 million jobs) and reverse the trend for our people to seek refuge in foreign lands. Let’s do better here at home. Let’s allow our citizens to prosper where planted here in the Caribbean.

Live here … work there … play everywhere …

Now is the time for all stakeholders in the Caribbean – governments and citizens – to lean-in to this Go Lean roadmap. We can do better and be better. This is part of our quest for a ‘Pluralistic Democracy’; this is Part 2 of a 3-Part series. The full collection is as follows:

  1. Making a ‘Pluralistic Democracy’ – Respect for Diwali
  2. Making a ‘Pluralistic Democracy’ – Freedom of Movement
  3. Making a ‘Pluralistic Democracy’ – Multilingual Realities

This ‘Pluralistic Democracy’ vision is a BIG deal, yet this is conceivable, believable and achievable. 🙂

Download the free e-book of Go Lean … Caribbean – now!

Sign the petition to lean-in for the roadmap for the Caribbean Union Trade Federation.

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Funding Caribbean Risk

Posted on October 13, 2017 in Economics, Government, Industries

Go Lean Commentary

A penny saved is … a penny.

This is not exactly how the expression goes. It is supposed to refer to the good habit of “saving money”, which is a positive community ethos – underlying sentiment that informs the beliefs, customs, or practices. “Saving money” is a practice that the stewards of any society should advocate for its people. It’s a simple formula: Earn money; spend some; save some!

CU Blog - Funding Caribbean Risk - Photo 0This is easier said than done. A practice of saving money – for a rainy day or any catastrophe – takes discipline, the discipline not to spend. One tactic is to pay yourself first! Before paying other overhead expenses, the priority would be to set aside monies in a savings program or some insurance program. Yes, an insurance strategy could be even smarter for rainy days or catastrophes; it allows the hedging of risks by leveraging across a wider pool; more people – savers – put-in and only a few … or just one withdraws. This is also the approach of the thoughtful Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Fund (CCRIF).

It is very sad when communities are not able to save or insure a “Rainy Day” fund for when it rains, especially in the tropical region where it doesn’t just rain, but pours and storms.

What is sadder is when the heavy-lifting of “savings” or insurance is done, but the dollar amount is not enough; because a “penny saved is only just a penny”.

This is the Caribbean dilemma, today. We have just experienced 2 devastating hurricanes – Irma and Maria – that have wreaked havoc on our region. We now need to tap the “Rainy Day” fund and frankly, it is simply not enough!

See the actuality of this dilemma in the news article here and the related VIDEO on CCRIF:

Title: CCRIF to make payouts to countries affected by Hurricane Irma

The Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility (CCRIF SPC) will be making payouts totaling over US$15 million to three Caribbean countries affected by Hurricane Irma earlier this week.

“The CCRIF board and team offer condolences for the loss of life and hope these funds will provide some assistance. We stand ready to support the Government and people of these CCRIF countries as they recover from the effects of this devastating hurricane,” said CCRIF chief executive officer, Isaac Anthony.

Payments totaling US$15.2 million
The CCRIF plans to pay US$6.7 million to Antigua and Barbuda, US$6.5 million to Anguilla and US$2.2 million to St. Kitts-Nevis.

The storm has been blamed for at least 10 deaths and millions of dollars in property damages as it made its way through the Lesser Antilles this week.

In the case of Barbuda, Prime Minister Gaston Browne has ordered an immediate evacuation of some 1,800 people on the island. The government has also announced a state of emergency.

“Nothing is functional in Barbuda,” Browne said, adding that he has given instructions that ‘every single soul must be taken out of Barbuda”.

Verifying payouts
The CCRIF is verifying the payout calculations and is in discussion with the three governments about arrangements for the transfer of these funds. The transfer will be completed within 14 days after the storm, as mandated by CCRIF’s operational guidelines.

“Anguilla and St. Kitts & Nevis also have Excess Rainfall (XSR) policies and CCRIF is assessing if these policies were triggered by the rains from Hurricane Irma, which may possibly result in a second payout under those policies. The assessment under the XSR policies will be determined in the next few days,” the CCRIF added.

Segregated portfolio company
The CCRIF SPC is a segregated portfolio company, owned, operated and registered in the Caribbean. It limits the financial impact of catastrophic hurricanes, earthquakes and excess rainfall in the Caribbean and, since 2015, Central American governments by quickly providing short-term liquidity when a parametric insurance policy is triggered.

Since its inception in 2007, the facility has made 22 payouts for hurricanes, earthquakes and excess rainfall to 10-member governments totaling approximately US$69 million.

It said the new payments will bring the total payouts to approximately US$85 million. Last year CCRIF made payouts totaling US$29 million to four countries after Hurricane Matthew.

Source: Posted September 9, 2017; retrieved October 13, 2017 from: https://www.caribbeannationalweekly.com/caribbean-breaking-news-featured/ccrif-make-payouts-countries-affected-hurricane-irma/

———–

VIDEO – WorldBank CCRIF Caribbean Gold – https://youtu.be/IlZ56ON9KnI

CCRIF SPC

Published on Feb 28, 2017 – Working towards sovereign risk protection in the Caribbean and Central America.

We now know what CCRIF is; how it works; and who can engage this program in terms of investors and beneficiaries; see more encyclopedic details in the Appendix A below. But …

… it is the assessment of this commentary that CCRIF is flawed and inadequate for the Caribbean’s needs.

  • The CCRIF is designed for 1-in-15 year hurricane (Source: http://www.ccrif.org/content/rtfs-faqs). Truth be told, thanks to Climate Change we are seeing storms yearly.
  • There is a catastrophic trigger – complicated formula – which generates a “measly” payout for a hurricane or earthquake.
  • This is a sovereign fund only and the trigger level is dependent on the coverage purchased by individual countries.
  • The pool is too small. Member governments may purchase coverage which triggers for a ‘one-in-15-year’ hurricane and a ‘one-in-20-year’ earthquake, with maximum coverage of US$100M available for each peril. The cost of coverage is a direct function of the amount of risk being transferred, ensuring no cross-subsidisation of premiums and a level playing field for all participants.

This fund is “too little, too late” for what the region needs. But like all other Caribbean integration (CariCom) efforts, it is a good start! Still after 50 years of autonomous rule, the expectation is not just for a start, it is for solutions.

While the habit of “saving” or paying for insurance is a best-practice, the financial amount is important for the subjective assessment of success. The foregoing news article relates that $15.2 million will be paid-out to the affected countries. But this amount is so small, too small! Consider just for Hurricane Irma alone, the estimated damage amount has been tabulated at $62.87 billion. While $50 Billion of that amount relates to the US Mainland, the rest is the Caribbean. So the Caribbean’s share is $12.9 Billion; – see Chart here:

CU Blog - Funding Caribbean Risk - Photo 1

CU Blog - Funding Caribbean Risk - Photo 3

On the other hand. Hurricane Maria, has estimates for damages at $51.2 billion. None of that amount relates to the US Mainland, the amount is all Caribbean, considering Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands; see Chart here:

CU Blog - Funding Caribbean Risk - Photo 2

CU Blog - Funding Caribbean Risk - Photo 4

An immediate result of these storms on the Caribbean will probably be the defection of masses of people from the region. As of this date – October 12, 2017 – Puerto Rico is still not relieved nor recovered from Hurricane Maria. In fact 84% of the island still does not have power. Since Puerto Ricans are American citizens, they have freedom of movement from the island to the US Mainland. In addition, many of the other Caribbean islands will also suffer abandonment as the Diaspora is large in North America and Europe; so bonafide family connections will allow for their emigration. Expect more societal abandonment in the region!

The quest of the movement behind the book Go Lean…Caribbean – available to download for free – is to lower the abandonment rates of our Caribbean citizens fleeing the homeland. Our quest is conceivable, believable and achievable. But the status quo of the Caribbean Catastrophe Insurance Funds is inadequate; it must improve. It must reform and transform.

The Go Lean book describes a Way Forward. The book serves as a roadmap for the introduction and implementation of the technocratic Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU), for the elevation of Caribbean society – for all member-states. This CU/Go Lean roadmap has these 3 prime directives:

  • Optimization of the economic engines in order to grow the regional economy to $800 Billion and create 2.2 million new jobs.
  • Establishment of a Homeland Security and Emergency Management apparatus to ensure public safety and protect the resultant economic engines.
  • Improve Caribbean governance to support these engines, including a separation-of-powers between the member-states and CU federal agencies.

The book stresses that reforming and transforming the Caribbean societal engines must be a regional pursuit. This was an early motivation for the roadmap, as pronounced in the opening Declaration of Interdependence (Pages 12 – 13):

xi. Whereas all men are entitled to the benefits of good governance in a free society, “new guards” must be enacted to dissuade the emergence of incompetence, corruption, nepotism and cronyism at the peril of the people’s best interest. The Federation must guarantee the executions of a social contract between government and the governed.

xvi. Whereas security of our homeland is inextricably linked to prosperity of the homeland, the economic and security interest of the region needs to be aligned under the same governance. Since economic crimes … can imperil the functioning of the wheels of commerce for all the citizenry, the accedence of this Federation must equip the security apparatus with the tools and techniques for predictive and proactive interdictions.

xxiv. Whereas a free market economy can be induced and spurred for continuous progress, the Federation must install the controls to better manage aspects of the economy: jobs, inflation, savings rate, investments and other economic principles. Thereby attracting direct foreign investment because of the stability and vibrancy of our economy.

Way Forward
The Go Lean book provides 370-pages of turn-by-turn instructions on “how” to adopt new community ethos, plus the strategies, tactics, implementations and advocacies to execute so as to reboot, reform and transform the societal engines of Caribbean society, despite the reality and risks of natural disasters. Accepting that the CCRIF is a government-member-state solution, the Go Lean book proposes a supplement of private solutions, instruments facilitated by the region’s Capital Markets – think the Caribbean version of Wall Street. The Go Lean book proposal is for region-wide (all 30 member-states; 4 language groups) private insurance companies and Re-insurance Side-cars traded on the Capital Markets.

Re-insurance Side-cars is a derivative product – see Appendix B below.

Consider these sample references to Re-insurance Side-cars in the book:

Tactical – Separation of Powers – Emergency Management Agency
There is also an economic/financial scope for this department. As the effort for a comprehensive property-casualty fund to cover the entire Caribbean region will also be coordinated by this agency. The classic solution is a large pool of premium payers and claims filed by the affected area. Beyond this model, there are also advanced products like re-issuance side-cars for market assimilation. The public can then invest and profit from the threat/realization of regional risks. This derivative product is a bet, a gamble, but in the end, the result is an insurance fund of last resort, much like the Joint Underwriters Agency (JUA) in Florida.		 Page 76
Implementation – 10 Ways to Pay for Change
#8 Homeland Security – Hurricane Insurance Fund
The risk pool for a 42-million population is so much lower than each member-state’s sole mitigation efforts. The CU will establish (contract with a service provider) reinsurance funds (& sidecars) from Day One, and glean the excess premiums-over-claims as profit.		 Page 101
Advocacy – Ways to Improve Housing
#7 Hurricane Risk Reinsurance Fund
This fund fits the Emergency Management objectives of rebuilding and restoring after disasters. This is similar to Florida’s Joint Underwriters Association but instead regulated at the CU so as to maximize the premium pool.		 Page 161
Advocacy – 10 Revenue Sources
#9 Natural Disaster Insurance Fund
The CU’s Emergency Management Agency will maintain a regional reinsurance fund to offset the casualty coverage for insurance carriers in the region. The difference between premiums and claims constitute revenues for the CU.		 Page 172
Advocacy – 10 Ways to Impact Public Works
#10 Capital Markets
A Single Market and currency union will allow for the emergence of viable capital markets for stocks and bonds (public and private), thereby creating the economic engine to fuel growth and development. This forges financial products for “pre” disaster project funding (drainage, levies, dykes, sea walls) and post disaster recovery (reinsurance sidecars).		 Page 175
Advocacy – 10 Ways to Improve for Natural Disasters
#7 JUA-style Insurance Fund
The fiduciary management of premiums and claims to allow the immediate response for reconstruction after disasters. These financial services, sidecars traded in markets can be direct or indirect as in reinsurance or insurer-of-last-resort.		 Page 184
Advocacy – 10 Ways to Improve for Emergency Management
#8 Casualty Insurance Plans – Reinsurance “Sidecars”
There is also a financial battlefield for Emergency Management. Reinsurance “sidecars” allow investment bonds to be issued in the financial marketplaces to raise casualty insurance capital. The differences between premiums and claims (plus reserves) equal the profit to be shared with investors. The end result should be an insurance fund of last resort.		 Page 196
Advocacy – 10 Ways to Develop a Pre-Fab Housing Industry
#10 Homeowners Casualty Insurance
Pre-Fab-ulous houses will be built with the structural integrity to withstand typical tropical storms/hurricanes. The CU will facilitate the Property Casualty insurance industry by offering Reinsurance sidecar options on the capital markets.		 Page 207
Advocacy – 10 Ways to Improve Fisheries
#7 Marine Financing
There is also a financial element to facilitating the Fisheries industry. Most fishing vessels require financing and insurance products. These areas have gotten more challenging with “climate change” and the higher propensity of hurricanes. The CU will adopt advanced financial products for the region’s capital-securities markets (i.e. Reinsurance sidecars), to offer the prospects of risk-and-reward to investors, thus inviting more capital to the fisheries marketplace.		 Page 210
Advocacy – 10 Ways to Help the Middle Class
Prepare for Healthcare Realities
While a Middle Class family may obtain a degree of financial security, just one catastrophic illness or injury can wipe out a family’s fortunes overnight. This is the proper place for insurance programs, and reinsurance to hedge the risk for carriers. The CU will proactively institute the measures (industry) to protect Middle Class prospects from this real threat.		 Page 223
Advocacy – 10 Ways to Impact The Guianas
#4 Disaster Planning, Preparation & Response
Hurricanes are not as dire a threat for The Guianas as the Caribbean islands, yet still there are many natural disasters for this region to contend with, namely floods and earthquakes. The CU will better plan-prepare-respond, with Public Works initiatives (dams, reservoirs) and a professional Emergency Management Agency to recover with elite financial products (i.e. reinsurance sidecars) powered by regional capital markets to restore economic engines in these Guiana states.		 Page 241
Advocacy – 10 Ways to Impact Belize
#7 Disaster Planning, Preparation & Response
Mother Nature, and the reality of hurricanes, has been a source of contention in Belize’s history. The CU will better plan-prepare-respond with a professional Emergency Management Agency and recover with elite financial products (i.e. reinsurance sidecars) powered by capital markets so as to restore economic engines in Belize.		 Page 243
Advocacy – 10 Ways to Impact US Territories
Advocacy – 10 Ways to Impact British Territories
Advocacy – 10 Ways to Impact Dutch Territories
Advocacy – 10 Ways to Impact French Territories
#4 Disaster Preparation & Response
Mother Nature, and the reality of hurricanes, plays no favorites for one island versus another due to political alliance. The CU will better plan-prepare-respond, with a professional Emergency Management Agency and recover with elite financial products (i.e. reinsurance sidecars) powered by regional capital markets to quickly restore economic engines in the islands.		 Page 244
Page 245
Page 246
Page 247 

As an individual or community, to devote a lot of time, talent and treasury to the practice of saving for a rainy-day fund is a positive ethos. To only get a measly payoff – after all that effort – is a negative. The manifestation of this measly scenario calls into question the whole viability of the Caribbean “pooled” risk strategy.

We must do better! Solutions abound!

Engaging a bigger-better regional risk pool, makes our quest realistic: a better homeland to live, work and play.  We urge all Caribbean stakeholders – governments and citizens alike – to lean-in for the empowerments described here in the book Go Lean…Caribbean. 🙂

Download the free e-Book of Go Lean … Caribbean – now!

Sign the petition to lean-in for this roadmap for the Caribbean Union Trade Federation.

———

Appendix A – Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility Segregated Portfolio Company (CCRIF SPC)

[This CCRIF SPC] is an insurance company headquartered in the Cayman Islands.[1] The sixteen original member-countries of CCRIF included participants in CARICOM, and the membership of the Board of Directors is selected by CARICOM and by the Caribbean Development Bank.[2]

Founded in 2007,[3] CCRIF is the first multi-country risk pool in the world, and was the first insurance instrument to successfully develop parametric policies backed by both traditional and capital markets.[4] These parametric polices release funds based upon factors of a calamity such as rainfall or wind speed, which can speed up the payout of policies rather than after damages are assessed. Unused funds are kept as reserves for the CCRIF. The fund can also draw upon $140 million in funds underwritten by reinsurance.[5]

Other regions have since setup similar government disaster instance including in the African Union and the Pacific Islands Forum.[5]

Source: Retrieved October 13, 2017 from:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caribbean_Catastrophe_Risk_Insurance_Facility_Segregated_Portfolio_Company

———

Appendix B – Reinsurance sidecars

Reinsurance sidecars, conventionally referred to as “sidecars”, are financial structures that are created to allow investors to take on the risk and return of a group of insurance policies (a “book of business”) written by an insurer or reinsurer (henceforth re/insurer) and earn the risk and return that arises from that business. A re/insurer will only pay (“cede”) the premiums associated with a book of business to such an entity if the investors place sufficient funds in the vehicle to ensure that it can meet claims if they arise. Typically, the liability of investors is limited to these funds. These structures have become quite prominent in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina as a vehicle for re/insurers to add risk-bearing capacity, and for investors to participate in the potential profits resulting from sharp price increases in re/insurance over the four quarters following Katrina. An earlier and smaller generation of sidecars were created after 9/11 for the same purpose. …

Market growth following 9-11 and Hurricane Katrina
In the years following 9-11, the idea of raising funds from capital markets investors in addition to re/insurers to support quota-shares arose and a handful of such ventures were consummated (Olympus, DaVinci, Rockridge). These were the first true sidecars, and were a natural outgrowth of the development of re/insurance as an asset class in the form of catastrophe bonds.

Following Hurricane Katrina, the sidecar idea became very prominent among investors because it was seen as a way to participate in the risk/return of the higher-priced (“hard”) reinsurance market without investing in either existing reinsurers (who might have liabilities from the past that would undermine returns) or new reinsurers (“newcos” that would have a lengthy and expensive “ramp up” period).

Source: Retrieved October 13, 2017 from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reinsurance_sidecar

 

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Caribbean proposes new US-Caribbean trade initiative

Posted on October 12, 2017 in Ethos, Government, Strategy

Go Lean Commentary

The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other peoples’ money. – Margaret Thatcher CU Blog - Caribbean Island proposes new US-Caribbean trade initiative - Photo 1

Many Caribbean member-states feature a governmental structure of democratic socialism; (see Appendix below).

In some places, socialism is a bad word – think Venezuela – but other states feature an advanced prosperous country despite the socialism tag – think Canada. In general, socialism can be depicted as a scale with leftist communism on one end and right-wing capitalism on the other end. The observation and analysis of these varying states during good times and bad times is that the left-leaning socialism countries tend to suffer from a lot of societal abandonment, especially when things go bad, for the reason as described by Margaret Thatcher above. (Consider for example, the Caribbean island of Barbuda, before their recent disaster, there was no private land-ownership).

So many Caribbean member-states have “run out of other people’s money”, thus ensuring a crisis. Alas, this …

… crisis is a terrible thing  to waste – American Economist Paul Romer

The crisis in the Caribbean region right now is in response to Hurricanes Irma and Maria in September 2017 that have devastated many islands – think Puerto Rico, Barbuda and Dominica. It is a good time to re-think the affinity for democratic socialism. These natural disasters are forcing our region to re-think one of the hallmarks of capitalism; our policies on …

… Trade; American Trade to be exact.

Yet still, it becomes obvious what the problem is for so many Caribbean member-states, they seem to “just” want to spend other people’s money rather than do the heavy-lifting – Big Deal – of growing their own economy/wealth. Notice this theme in the news article here from the St. Lucia Times daily newspaper regarding the urgings of their Prime Minister Allen Chastanet:

Title: Prime Minister Chastanet proposes new US-Caribbean trade initiative

CU Blog - Caribbean Island proposes new US-Caribbean trade initiative - Photo 2On the side-lines of the UN General Assembly in New York, Prime Minister Allen Chastanet has been speaking to the American business network CNBC.

Prime Minister Chastanet discussed the recent hurricanes that have devastated parts of the Caribbean, rebuilding the Caribbean and Caribbean – US relations.

He said recent events have showed that the Caribbean needs to diversify in terms of its sources of food, pointing to a shutdown of the American hub for several days.

“The support has had to come from the south because while we were going through this, you had two hurricanes heading up north. And literally Miami was on a shutdown. So unfortunately the American hub got shutdown almost for ten days out of Miami.  And so it really has shown us that we need to diversify ourselves a bit and maybe look a bit more to Panama in terms of supplies of food,” Chastanet.

Chastanet said the resilience of the Caribbean is very strong and the region will band together to recover from the disasters.

Chastanet proposed the establishment of a new private sector led initiative what would allow US companies to invest in St Lucia tax free and have their resources sent back home without facing heavy US government taxes.

He said there are great investment opportunities in the Caribbean for American companies.

“Can we not get an incentive, and that’s what we’re in discussions with the US about, that if US companies invest into the Caribbean, that those investments in our books are always tax free that the US allow those funds to be repatriated back into the US tax-free, only on those investments. So 1, it accomplishes getting the funds back into the United States of America. It creates an avenue for the private sector to participate in this growth and brings a lot of money to the table, Chastanet said.

Prime Minister Chastanet is expected to address the UN General Assembly today.

Source: Posted September 21, 2017; retrieved October 11, 2017 from: https://stluciatimes.com/2017/09/21/prime-minister-chastanet-proposes-new-us-caribbean-trade-initiative

As related, the Prime Minister of St. Lucia – also Chairman of the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States and a governing stakeholder of CariCom – wants to “count America’s money”! He is lobbying for a law – in the US – in which American investors will have tax concessions on their tax obligations to the US Treasury. (There would be no benefit to the US in this scheme).

He is the Chief Executive of a Caribbean member-state urging the US government to skip on their revenue collections so as to benefit the Caribbean; in effect he is “counting” America’s government revenues. See the full interview in the Appendix VIDEO below.

It should be noted that there is no such bill in the US Congress proposing these measures; so this is not lobbying. Rather the imagery of this whole appeal is just that of a foreign Head of Government begging for money with a sign that reads:

“Will NOT work for food”.

CU Blog - OECS diplomat has dire warning for Caribbean countries - Photo 3

No, this is not the branding or image we should want to project to the watching world. But rather, the Honorable Prime Minister’s earlier words reflect the ethos we really need to portray:

Chastanet said the resilience of the Caribbean is very strong and the region will band together to recover from the disasters.

Rather than looking to the US to solve our problems, we want to band together – an interdependence – and work for our own remediation. This is the theme of the book Go Lean…Caribbean and the accompanying blog-commentaries. “Band together” should have been the only appeal at the United Nations. These words should have been echoed in public forums and private discussions with other Caribbean leaders. The Go Lean movement describes this “banding” as a confederation of the 30 Caribbean member-states, including the 2 US Territories of Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. This formation of a Single Market and accompanying Security Pact would usher in the economic empowerments and security/emergency optimization that the region needs.

The book Go Lean…Caribbean – available to download for free – serves as a roadmap for the introduction and implementation of this confederation, the technocratic Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU). This complex organization structure is designed for the elevation of Caribbean society – for all member-states. This CU/Go Lean roadmap has these 3 prime directives:

  • Optimization of the economic engines in order to grow the regional economy to $800 Billion and create 2.2 million new jobs.
  • Establishment of a security apparatus to ensure public safety and protect the resultant economic engines.
  • Improve Caribbean governance to support these engines, including a separation-of-powers between the member-states and CU federal agencies. This includes Self-Governing Entities, bordered campuses that practice pure capitalism.

The book stresses that reforming and transforming the Caribbean societal engines can be successful, but only if it is a regional pursuit – all the member-states band together. This was an early motivation for the roadmap, as pronounced in the opening Declaration of Interdependence (Pages 12 – 13):

i.   Whereas the earth’s climate has undeniably changed resulting in more severe tropical weather storms, it is necessary to prepare to insure the safety and security of life, property and systems of commerce in our geographical region. As nature recognizes no borders in the target of its destruction, we also must set aside border considerations in the preparation and response to these weather challenges.

xi. Whereas all men are entitled to the benefits of good governance in a free society, “new guards” must be enacted to dissuade the emergence of incompetence, corruption, nepotism and cronyism at the peril of the people’s best interest. The Federation must guarantee the executions of a social contract between government and the governed.

xvi. Whereas security of our homeland is inextricably linked to prosperity of the homeland, the economic and security interest of the region needs to be aligned under the same governance. Since economic crimes … can imperil the functioning of the wheels of commerce for all the citizenry, the accedence of this Federation must equip the security apparatus with the tools and techniques for predictive and proactive interdictions.

xxiv. Whereas a free market economy can be induced and spurred for continuous progress, the Federation must install the controls to better manage aspects of the economy: jobs, inflation, savings rate, investments and other economic principles. Thereby attracting direct foreign investment because of the stability and vibrancy of our economy.

Our appeal to the PM of St. Lucia and to the leaders of all the other member-states:

This is not our first hurricane nor will it be our last. We must recover from these ones and be prepared for others, a lot more of them. “Begging” should not be our recovery plan!

On the other hand, the Go Lean book provides 370-pages of turn-by-turn instructions on “how” to adopt new community ethos, plus the strategies, tactics, implementations and advocacies to execute so as to reboot, reform and transform the societal engines of Caribbean society.

The branding of the CU is a Trade federation, so there is emphasis for optimizing trade for the Caribbean region. Yes, there is tactical plan to establish trade routes beyond Miami-to-the-Caribbean. The Go Lean roadmap posits that with the close proximity of Trinidad to the South American country of Venezuela (7 miles), there could be an elaborate network of transportation options to facilitate the shipment of goods (and passengers) into the Singe Market.

This roadmap is a Big Deal / Big Idea for the Caribbean region; in many ways, the community commitment for the Caribbean may be similar to the American commitment in the 1960’s to Go to the Moon. The Go Lean book relates this on Page 127:

The Bottom Line on Kennedy’s Quest for the MoonOn 25 May 1961, US President John F. Kennedy announced his support for the American Space program’s “Apollo” missions and redefined the ultimate goal of the Space Race in an address to a special joint session of Congress:

  • “I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth”.

His justification for the Moon Race was both that it was vital to national security and that it would focus the nation’s energies in other scientific and social fields.

This quest was succeeded. At 10:56 pm EDT, on 20 July 1969, the first human (American Astronaut Neil Armstrong) ventured out of the Apollo 11 landing craft and set foot on the Moon declaring: “one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind“.

Other countries have had subsequent moon landings.

Can we get the support of the Prime Minister of St. Lucia and the other Heads of Government throughout the whole region for our “Moon Shot” equivalent, our Big Deal / Big Idea? This is the actual title of one advocacy in the Go Lean book. Consider the specific plans, excerpts and headlines here from Page 127, entitled:

10 Big Ideas … in the Caribbean Region

1

 Lean-in for the Caribbean Single Market
The CU is a big idea for the Caribbean, our parallel of the American “moon quest”, allowing for the unification of theregion into one market of 42 million people. This creates the world’s 29th largest economy, based on 2010 figures.The pre-ascension GDP figures are actually less that $800 Billion, but the aggregation into a Single Market willmanifest the economic “catch-up” principle, in 5 years. Further, after 10 years the CU’s GDP should double andrank among the Top 20 or G20 nations.

2

 Currency Union / Single Currency

3

 Defense / Homeland Security Pact

4

 Confederation Without Sovereignty

5

 Four Languages in Unison

6

 Self-Governing Entities (SGE)

7

 Virtual “Union Atlantic Turnpike” Operations
Ferries, Causeways/Bridges, Pipelines, Tunnels, Railways and limited access highways will function as “blood vessels to connect all the organs” within the region, thus allowing easier transport of goods and people among the islands and the mainland states (Belize, Guyana or Suriname) – See Appendix IC Alaska Marine Highway [on Page 280].

8

 Cyber Caribbean
Forge electronic commerce industries so that the Internet Communications Technology (ICT) can be a great equalizer in economic battles of global trade. This includes e-Government (outsourcing and in-sourcing for member-states systems) and e-Delivery, Postal Electronic Last Leg mail, e-Learning and wireline/wireless/satellite initiatives.

9

 e-Learning – Versus – Studying Abroad

10

 Cuba & Haiti

There have been a number of blog-commentaries by the Go Lean movement that highlighted the art and science of optimizing our eco-system for “Trade and Transport”. See a sample list here:

https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=13140 Region-wide Industrial Reboot of Caribbean Pipelines
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=12322 Ferries 101 – Launch of a Region-wide Inter-Island Ferry System
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=9179 The Vision of Ferries for Snowbirds to Head South
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=4897 Plan for Natural Gas Distribution for Caribbean Consumption
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=3225 Caribbean is Less Competitive Due to Increasing Aviation Taxes
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=829 Facilitating Trade with Trucks and Trains
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=673 Future Model: Ghost Ships – Autonomous Cargo Vessels

In summary, it is only logical to expect any stewards of society to “corral” the resources, assets and people of the community to effect change, to elevate. On the other hand, it is not logical to expect others to do it for us. This is a child’s expectation for his/her parents. This is inappropriate for independent Caribbean member-states. The aforementioned Economist, Paul Romer, asserted the appropriate strategic plan:

“Economic growth occurs whenever people take resources and re-arrange them in ways that are more valuable”.

Obviously, this economist was advocating a capitalist agenda, in contrast to the democratic socialism practice in the region.

There is only a 7-mile strait between the Caribbean island Trinidad of and its southern neighbor. It is only logical to consider that trade route when the northern route – Miami – is impeded. Such a tactical plan will allow for resiliency for post-disaster scenarios. A potpourri of transportation options – Union Atlantic Turnpike – to facilitate interstate commerce among the islands and coastal states is a better plan than begging for other people’s money.

To all you Caribbean leaders: Do not be surprised when a hurricane hits. Count on it! There will be more … such scenario’s. Climate Change is undeniable! Destructive storms will manifest! Bad actors will emerge. There is a need for security empowerments along with economic empowerments. The economic solution for the Caribbean cannot be: Counting other people’s money.

Now is the time for all of the Caribbean – the leaders and the people – to lean-in for the empowerments described here in the book Go Lean…Caribbean. It is conceivable, believable and achievable to prosper ourselves where planted here in the region; to reform and transform and make our own homeland a better place to live, work and play. 🙂

Download the free e-Book of Go Lean … Caribbean – now!

Sign the petition to lean-in for this roadmap for the Caribbean Union Trade Federation.

———–

Appendix VIDEO – Saint Lucia PM Allen Chastanet: Caribbean Needs To Diversify Search For Relief | CNBC – https://youtu.be/asg87s29c4E

Published on Sep 20, 2017 – Allen Chastanet, Prime Minister of Saint Lucia, talks about rebuilding the hard-hit Caribbean after recent storms left the islands devastated. Also Prime Minister Chastanet addresses insurance coverage.

———–

Appendix – Democratic Socialism

Democratic socialism is a political ideology that advocates political democracy alongside social ownership of the means of production, often with an emphasis on democratic management of enterprises within a socialist economic system.

Democratic socialists see capitalism as inherently incompatible with the democratic values of liberty, equality and solidarity; and believe that the issues inherent to capitalism can only be solved by superseding private ownership with some form of social ownership. Ultimately, democratic socialists believe that reforms aimed at addressing the economic contradictions of capitalism will only cause more problems to emerge elsewhere in the economy, that capitalism can never be sufficiently “humanized” and that it must therefore ultimately be replaced with socialism.[1][2]

Democratic socialism is distinguished from both the Soviet model of centralized socialism and from social democracy, where “social democracy” refers to support for political democracy; the nationalization and public ownership of key industries but otherwise preserving and strongly regulating, private ownership of the means of production; regulated markets in a mixed economy; and a robust welfare state.[3] The distinction with the former is made on the basis of the authoritarian form of government and centralized economic system that emerged in the Soviet Union during the 20th century,[4] while the distinction with the latter is made on the basis that democratic socialism is committed to systemic transformation of the economy while social democracy is not.[5]

The term “democratic socialism” is sometimes used synonymously with “socialism” and the adjective “democratic” is often added to distinguish it from the Leninist, Stalinist and Maoist types of socialism, which are widely viewed as being non-democratic in practice.[6]

Democratic socialism is not specifically revolutionary or reformist, as many types of democratic socialism can fall into either category, with some forms overlapping with social democracy, supporting reforms within capitalism as a prelude to the establishment of socialism.[7] Some forms of democratic socialism accept social democratic reformism to gradually convert the capitalist economy to a socialist one using pre-existing democratic institutions, while other forms are revolutionary in their political orientation and advocate for the overthrow of the bourgeoisie and the transformation of the capitalist economy to a socialist economy.[8]

…

Relation to economics

Democratic socialists have espoused a variety of different socialist economic models. Some democratic socialists advocate forms of market socialism where socially-owned enterprises operate in competitive markets and in some cases are self-managed by their workforce. On the other hand, other democratic socialists advocate for a non-market participatory economy based on decentralized economic planning.[38]

Democratic socialism has historically been committed to a decentralized form of economic planning opposed to Stalinist-style command planning, where productive units are integrated into a single organization and organized on the basis of self-management.[39]

Contemporary proponents of market socialism have argued that the major reasons for the failure (economic shortcomings) of Soviet-type planned economies was the totalitarian nature of the political systems they were combined with, lack of democracy and their failure to create rules for the efficient operation of state enterprises.[40]

Source: Retrieved October 11, 2017 from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democratic_socialism

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Accede the Caribbean Arrest Treaty

Posted on July 7, 2017 in Government, Social, Strategy

Go Lean Commentary

CU Blog - Accede the Caribbean Arrest Treaty - Photo 1

The major problems in the Caribbean are not all due to external factors out of our control – i.e. global economy, international travel and tourism. No, we have some internal issues as well; for example, Crime.

Every Caribbean member-state has an atrocious crime problem that needs to be mitigated and remediated.

“We cannot control what other people do; but we can control how we react” – standard Common Sense wisdom.

“You can’t control other people’s behaviour, but you can control your responses to it.” ― Roberta Cava, Dealing with Difficult People – How to deal with nasty customers, demanding bosses and uncooperative colleagues – See Photo in the Appendix.

This assessment was paramount in the motivation for the 2013 book Go Lean…Caribbean. There was/is a need to consider strategies, tactics and implementations to address the region’s crime problems. This goal is detailed in the book as it serves as a roadmap for the introduction of the technocratic Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU). While the CU is set to optimize Caribbean society through economic empowerment, we must accept the established truth that the security dynamics of the region are inextricably linked to economic endeavors. Therefore the Go Lean roadmap has these 3 prime directives:

All in all, the book recognizes that the quest of these prime directives involves heavy-lifting; they are not easy.

The Go Lean roadmap details a goal to confederate a unified security apparatus for the region’s crime-fighting stakeholders; this will empower a regional Homeland Security technocracy. But Homeland Security for the Caribbean has a different meaning than for our North American or European counterparts. As disclosed in a recent blog-commentary, while the security apparatus must be on defense against military intrusions like terrorism & piracy, it must mostly contend with “bad actors” and threats that may imperil the region’s economic engines. This includes concerns like narco-terrorism and enterprise corruption, plus natural and man-made disasters like hurricanes, earthquakes, oil/chemical spills, etc..

So the Go Lean security goal is mostly for public safety!

If/when a “bad actor” is arrested, there needs to be the full force of the law in enforcing the tenants of the arrest across member-states; (many Caribbean islands are short distances apart, island hopping is a viable option for suspects to avoid justice institutions). This is the point of the Caribbean Arrest Treaty. See more information in this news article here:

News Title: Saint Lucia signs Caribbean arrest treaty
ST. GEORGE’S, Grenada, July 7 – Saint Lucia is among five Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries to have signed the Caribbean Arrest Treaty, one of the regional security instruments that was formulated to enhance cooperation between member states in the fight against crime.

Guyana, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, St. Kitts-Nevis, and St. Lucia signed the accord at the 38th Heads of Government summit that ended here on Thursday night.

The objective of the treaty is to establish within the Caribbean Community a system of arrest and surrender of requested persons for the purposes of conducting a criminal prosecution for an applicable offence; or executing a custodial sentence where the requested persons have fled from justice after being sentenced for an applicable offence.

It was first presented in draft form in Guyana earlier this year when that country hosted the CARICOM Inter-Sessional summit in February.

The treaty is one of the regional security instruments that was formulated to enhance cooperation between member states in the fight against crime and to reduce the complexity, cost and delays in the existing extradition arrangements inherent in the region.

…

Source: Retrieved July 7, 2017 from The St. Lucia Times Daily Newspaper: https://stluciatimes.com/2017/07/07/saint-lucia-signs-caribbean-arrest-treaty

——-

VIDEO – CARICOM TO SET UP ARREST TREATY – https://youtu.be/O32MYfCVy7Q

Published on Jul 8, 2016 – Member-states have agreed to work much closer in the area of security, as part of that effort by CARICOM to introduce a regional arrest treaty. Dominica’s Prime Minister, Roosevelt Skeritt, when asked how this treaty would work; explained the process.

Mr. Roosevelt Skeritt told a media briefing on Wednesday evening that the treaty would enhance cooperation between and among law enforcement authorities in the community. Suriname has serious problems constitutionally, where this arrest treaty is concerned. Dominica’s Prime Minister Roosevelt Skeritt explains.

Know that the arrest warrant treaty when it is set up would enhance law enforcement ability to address matters of cross – border crimes. The issue of security held much interest during the life of the Conference because of the important role it played in protecting the society from danger. Mr. Skeritt said…

This foregoing article and VIDEO describes a treaty that will take more than just words to accede regionally; there will also have to be action, heavy-lifting action that would require a full measure of devotion and commitment; it will require time, talent and treasuries of the member-states.

The book Go Lean…Caribbean – available to download for free – details this commitment. It stresses that reforming and transforming the Caribbean societal engines must be a regional pursuit. This was an early motivation for the roadmap, as pronounced in the opening Declaration of Interdependence (Pages 12 – 13):

x.   Whereas we are surrounded and allied to nations of larger proportions in land mass, populations, and treasuries, elements in their societies may have ill-intent in their pursuits, at the expense of the safety and security of our citizens. We must therefore appoint “new guards” to ensure our public safety and threats against our society, both domestic and foreign. The Federation must employ the latest advances and best practices … to assuage continuous threats against public safety.

xi. Whereas all men are entitled to the benefits of good governance in a free society, “new guards” must be enacted to dissuade the emergence of incompetence, corruption, nepotism and cronyism at the peril of the people’s best interest. The Federation must guarantee the executions of a social contract between government and the governed.

xvi. Whereas security of our homeland is inextricably linked to prosperity of the homeland, the economic and security interest of the region needs to be aligned under the same governance. Since economic crimes … can imperil the functioning of the wheels of commerce for all the citizenry, the accedence of this Federation must equip the security apparatus with the tools and techniques for predictive and proactive interdictions.

The Go Lean book provides 370-pages of turn-by-turn instructions on “how” to adopt new community ethos, plus the strategies, tactics, implementations and advocacies to execute so as to reboot, reform and transform the societal engines of Caribbean society.

In addition to this regional treaty in the foregoing, there are these other treaties that are urged for promotion and accedence:

The Go Lean movement has previously described (in a commentary) the motivations for crime: 1. Need, 2. Greed and 3. Justice. That commentary related, as follows:

So the CU/Go Lean roadmap addresses the issue of more jobs; this will lower the “need” factor for crime; (there is no expectation that these efforts would fully eliminate violent crime; but this start will mitigate the risks). The book relates that with the emergence of new economic drivers, that “bad actors” will also emerge thereafter to exploit the opportunities, with good, bad and evil intent. The second factor, “greed” is tied to opportunities. The executions of the Go Lean roadmap (Page 23) are specifically designed to minimize opportunities for crime with these security mandates:

  • Adapt the Ethos: Public Protection over Privacy
  • Embrace Electronic Payment Systems – Carry less cash
  • Whistleblower Protection – Consider all allegation, anonymous and overt
  • Witness Security & Protection – Ensure Justice Process
  • Youth Crime Awareness & Prevention; Anti-Bullying and Mitigation – “Nip it in the bud”
  • Intelligence Gathering – Universal Video Surveillance
  • Light Up the Dark Places – Eliminate the figurative and literal “shadows”
  • Prison Industrial Complex – Engage to reduce recidivism

The third contributor, justice, is tied to street riots, civil unrest and other outbursts against perceived injustices. The marching call of many of these movements is “No Justice; No Peace”.

There is therefore the need to do heavy-lifting to mitigate and remediate the Caribbean’s high crime rate. This has been a consistent theme for the Go Lean movement; consider these previous blogs-commentaries:

Want Better Security? ’Must Love Dogs’
Boston Bombing Anniversary – Learning Lessons
Managing the ‘Strong versus the Weak’ Series – Model of Hammurabi
Funding the Caribbean Security Pact
Security Intelligence Series – On the Ground, Sea and Air
Interpersonal Violence Series – Domestic and Honor Issues
Interpersonal Violence Series – Street Crimes
Ten Puerto Rico Police Accused of Criminal Network
Violent Crime Warnings to Tourists in the Bahamas
Justice Strategy: Special Prosecutors … et al
Role Model for Law, Order and Justice – The Pinkertons
Economic Crime Enforcement – The Criminalization of American Business
Jamaica to receive World Bank funds to help in crime fight
10 Things We Don’t Want from the US: #5 – Organized Crime

A regional treaty to enforce and apprehend suspects – those who evade arrest – among a few Eastern Caribbean member-states is a good start …

… the next step must be expanding this to a comprehensive treaty for a regional security apparatus for all 30 member-states; (including the plan to pay for it). This has been identified as a:

Bingo! There it is! This is how it is done! This is the comprehensive plan for the Go Lean roadmap, integrating and consolidating the stewardship for economics, security and governance.

Yes, we can make our homeland a better, safer, place to live, work and play. 🙂

Download the free e-book of Go Lean … Caribbean – now!

Sign the petition to lean-in for this roadmap for the Caribbean Union Trade Federation. 

——–

Appendix – Book Cover: Dealing with Difficult People – How to deal with nasty customers, demanding bosses and uncooperative colleagues

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Caribbean Festival of the Arts – Past, Present and Future

Posted on June 27, 2017 in Ethos, Government, Industries, Planning, Social

Go Lean Commentary

CU Blog - Caribbean Festival of Arts - Past, Present, Future - Photo 1Picture this: A Multi-disciplinary Arts Festival promoting the best of the best of Caribbean art and artists – musicians, authors, visual artists, dancers, actors, and craftsmen. This is the Caribbean Festival of the Arts or CARIFESTA, an ongoing concern since 1972 with its 13th rendition this summer – see Appendix A below.

With this being the 13th, considering the previous 12 renditions; surely CARIFESTA events are deemed successful.

Surely … but first, there is the need to define success …

  • Return on Investment? Then the answer is No.
  • Patron-Visitor-Tourist Traffic? No!
  • Continuation and growth of the event? No!
  • Acknowledgement that art is important for the promotion of Caribbean culture? Yes.

Why such a duplicitous gauge of success?

In the 45 years since the inaugural event in 1972, CARIFESTA has only been held sporadically and periodically. This year’s event (August 17 – 27, 2017 in Barbados) is only the 13th one in the 45 year history. See the full list of events here:

Carifesta

Date

Host
Carifesta I August 25 – September 15, 1972 Guyana
Carifesta II July 23 – August 2, 1976 Jamaica
Carifesta III 1979 Cuba
Carifesta IV July 19 – August 3, 1981 Barbados
Carifesta V August 22 – 28, 1992 Trinidad & Tobago
Carifesta VI August, 1995 Trinidad & Tobago
Carifesta VII August 17 – 26, 2000 Saint Kitts & Nevis
Carifesta VIII August 25 – 30, 2003 Suriname
Carifesta IX September, 2006 Trinidad & Tobago
Carifesta X Cancelled The Bahamas
Carifesta X August 22–31, 2008 Guyana
Carifesta XI Cancelled The Bahamas
Carifesta XI August 16–26, 2013 Suriname
Carifesta XII August 21–30, 2015 Haiti
Carifesta XIII August 17 – 27, 2017 Barbados

CARIFESTA is a microcosm of what is wrong in the Caribbean: greatest address on the planet in terms of terrain, culture and talent, but deficient in economics, security and governance.

Enough already! Here comes change!

The book Go Lean…Caribbean – available to download for free – asserts that the sponsors of the CARIFESTA event, CARICOM or Caribbean Community, is the problem. This regional body, though possessing good intentions, is a failure in its execution of any plan to elevate Caribbean society. The book declares that it is past time to retire CARICOM and replace it with a new, better expression for regional integration. CARICOM has been successful in only one area: getting the region to accept the merits of regional integration and collaboration.

The Go Lean book on the other hand, serves as a roadmap for the introduction and implementation of the technocratic Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU), ; this is the alternative regional plan for the elevation of Caribbean society – this time for all 30 member-states and the 4 language groups (Dutch, English, French and Spanish).

Within the Go Lean roadmap, there is a mission to apply technocratic efficiencies to better promote and manage events.

Addressing all that is wrong with CARIFESTA, this CU/Go Lean roadmap has these 3 prime directives:

  • Optimization of the economic engines in order to grow the regional economy to $800 Billion and create 2.2 million new jobs.
  • Establishment of a security apparatus to ensure public safety and protect the resultant economic engines.
  • Improve Caribbean governance to support these engines, including a separation-of-powers between the member-states and CU federal agencies.

The book stresses that reforming and transforming the Caribbean societal engines must be a regional pursuit. This was an early motivation for the roadmap, as pronounced in the opening Declaration of Interdependence (Pages 12 – 14):

xi. Whereas all men are entitled to the benefits of good governance in a free society, “new guards” must be enacted to dissuade the emergence of incompetence, corruption, nepotism and cronyism at the peril of the people’s best interest. The Federation must guarantee the executions of a social contract between government and the governed.

xxi. Whereas the preparation of our labor force can foster opportunities and dictate economic progress for current and future generations, the Federation must ensure that educational and job training opportunities are fully optimized for all residents of all member-states, with no partiality towards any gender or ethnic group. The Federation must recognize and facilitate excellence in many different fields of endeavor, including sciences, languages, arts, music and sports. This responsibility should be executed without incurring the risks of further human flight, as has been the past history.

xxiv.  Whereas a free market economy can be induced and spurred for continuous progress, the Federation must install the controls to better manage aspects of the economy: jobs, inflation, savings rate, investments and other economic principles. Thereby attracting direct foreign investment because of the stability and vibrancy of our economy.

xxxii. Whereas the cultural arts and music of the region are germane to the quality of Caribbean life, and the international appreciation of Caribbean life, the Federation must implement the support systems to teach, encourage, incentivize, monetize and promote the related industries for arts and music in domestic and foreign markets. These endeavors will make the Caribbean a better place to live, work and play.

The Go Lean book provides 370-pages of turn-by-turn instructions on “how” to adopt new community ethos, plus the strategies, tactics, implementations and advocacies to execute so as to reboot, reform and transform the societal engines of Caribbean society. One mission of the Go Lean/CU roadmap is the plan to remediate the eco-system for the arts and artists in the Caribbean. The book considers best-practices from around the world in formulating an economic model for funding…

… there are many multi-disciplinary arts festivals around the world that have a consistent (annual) successful event. How do they fund their operations? Consider one example … in the White Paper highlighted in Appendix B below.

The Go Lean roadmap seeks to foster best-practices for the business eco-system for the arts. This quest has been addressed in many previous Go Lean commentaries; see sample here:

https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=10910 Day of Happiness – Music-style
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=9897 Art Walk – It’s a ‘Real Thing’ in Wynwood
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=9883 Art Basel 2016 – A Testament to the Business of the Arts
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=9860 Forging Change: Arts & Artists
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=9151 The New Smithsonian African-American Museum
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=6310 Media Arts Case Study: Farewell to ‘Sábado Gigante’
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=5251 Post-Mortem of Inaugural Bahamas Junkanoo Carnival
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=4145 The African Renaissance Monument in Dakar, Senegal, Africa
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2726 Caribbean Artist Role Model – Oscar De La Renta – RIP
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2415 How ‘The Lion King’ roared into Show-Business history

While this commentary is a rebuke of previous governing oversight for the last 12 events over the 45 years, the movement behind this Go Lean roadmap wishes nothing but the greatest success for this 13th rendition of CARIFESTA later this summer. According to the Related Articles in Appendix C, good progress is being made in preparation for this year’s event.

CU Blog - Caribbean Festival of Arts - Past, Present, Future - Photo 2

CU Blog - Caribbean Festival of Arts - Past, Present, Future - Photo 3

Hopefully CARIFESTA organizers have learned lessons and applied best-practices for the execution of this year’s event. Caribbean artists deserve every opportunity to foster their talents. They deserve an optimized business eco-system both locally and regionally. Then there are the patrons (visitors, attendees and spectators), these ones too deserve every opportunity to fully explore the best of the best of Caribbean arts and artists.

The Go Lean roadmap demands a better future for regional artists and artistic events; here is a sample list – from the book – of the many community ethos, strategies, tactics, implementation and advocacies for better events:

Community Ethos – People Respond to Incentives Page 23
Community Ethos – Return on Investments Page 24
Community Ethos – Cooperatives Page 25
Community Ethos – Ways to Impact the Future Page 26
Community Ethos – Ways to Foster Genius – Performance Excellence Page 27
Community Ethos – Ways to Improve Sharing Page 35
Community Ethos – Ways to Promote Happiness Page 36
Community Ethos – Ways to Impact the Greater Good Page 37
Strategy – Customers – Business Community Page 47
Strategy – Customers – Visitors / Tourists Page 47
Strategy – Competitors – Event Patrons Page 55
Separation of Powers – Emergency Mgmt. Page 76
Separation of Powers – Tourism Promotion Page 78
Separation of Powers – Sports & Culture Administration Page 81
Separation of Powers – Fairgrounds Administration Page 83
Separation of Powers – Turnpike Operations Page 84
Steps to Implement Self-Governing Entities Page 105
Ways to Foster Cooperatives Page 176
Ways to Improve Intelligence Gathering Page 182
Ways to Improve [Service] Animal Husbandry Page 185
Ways to Enhance Tourism Page 190
Ways to Impact Events Page 191
Ways to Promote Fairgrounds Page 192
Ways to Impact Hollywood [& Media Industry] Page 203
Ways to Improve Transportation – Elaborate Ferry Network Page 205
Ways to Preserve Caribbean Heritage Page 218
Ways to Improve the Arts Page 230
Ways to Promote Music Page 231

Now is the time to lean-in for this roadmap to reform and transform the Caribbean; we can make our homeland a better place to live, work and play for all stakeholders, artists and art lovers alike. 🙂

Download the free e-Book of Go Lean … Caribbean – now!

Sign the petition to lean-in for this roadmap for the Caribbean Union Trade Federation.

———–

Appendix A – Caribbean Festival of Arts Wiki Page

Caribbean Festival of Arts, commonly known as CARIFESTA, is an international multicultural event organized on a periodic basis by the countries of the Caribbean. The main purpose is to gather artists, musicians, authors, and to exhibit the folkloric and artistic manifestations of the Caribbean and Latin American region.

History

The first Caribbean Festival of Arts took place in 1972. This event was organized by Guyana’s then President Forbes Burnham, based on a similar event that took place in Puerto Rico in 1952. He held a number of conferences with Caribbean artists and writers that eventually led to the first Carifesta.

CARIFESTA was conceived out of an appeal from a regional gathering of artists who were at the time participating in a Writers and Artists Convention in Georgetown, Guyana, in 1970 and which coincided with Guyana’s move to Republican status.

The three main considerations with regard to the

  • The Festival should be inspirational and should provide artists with the opportunity to discuss among themselves techniques and motivations
  • It should be educational in that the people of the Caribbean would be exposed to the values emerging from the various art forms and it should relate to people and be entertaining on a scale and in a fashion that would commend itself to the Caribbean people
  • The regional creative festival was first held in Georgetown, Guyana in 1972, attracting creative artistes from over 30 Caribbean and Latin American countries.

It is a celebration of the ethnic and racial diversity which separately and collectively created cultural expressions that are wonderfully unique to the Caribbean.

The cultural village life of CARIFESTA is intended to be a mixture of the States of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM); the wider Caribbean, Latin America; and a representation of Africa, Asia, Europe and North America It is a vision of the peoples with roots deep in Asia, Europe and Africa, coming together to perform their art forms and embracing literature inspired by the Caribbean’s own peculiar temperament; paintings drawn from the awe inspiring tropical ecology; and the visionary inheritance of our forefathers

Aims

According to the CARICOM Organisation, CARIFESTA aims[1] to:

  • depict the life of the people of the region – their heroes, morale, myth, traditions, beliefs, creativeness, ways of expression.
  • show the similarities and the differences of the people of the Caribbean and Latin America
  • create a climate in which art can flourish so that artists would be encouraged to return to their homeland.
  • awaken a regional identity in Literature.
  • stimulate and unite the cultural movement throughout the region.

Described as something of an artistic and cultural “Olympics” observed by both regional and international states, the festival includes both a cultural opening and closing ceremony with many diverse events in between, including:

  • Drama – ranging from elaborate musical productions to comedy, fantasy, ritual, history, folk plays and legend.
  • Music – concerts, recitals and musical shows provide tantalising folk rhythms, soul-searching jazz, as well as pop, classics and ballet. There are Indian tablas, African drums, Caribbean steel pan, piano, violin, flute and guitar – in other words, music for every taste.
  • Visual Art – exhibitions of sculpture, graphics, paintings, drawings, and photographs are a visual testimony of each country’s art forms.
  • Literature – an anthology of new writing from the Caribbean region is produced for CARIFESTA, and authors often launch their works at the festivals. There are also poetry recitals and lecture discussions at universities and Conference centres.
  • Folklore – groups from over a dozen countries reveal the colour and the mystery of Caribbean and Latin American folklore and legend, among them the Conjunto Folklorico Nacionale of Cuba, the Ol’Higue and Baccos of Guyana, Shango dancers from Trinidad, Shac Shac musicians from Dominica.
  • Crafts – among the unusual events at CARIFESTA will be live demonstrations of ceramics, wood carving, painting and drawing.
  • Dance – this part of the programme is all-embracing and covers courtly Javanese dancing, intricate ballet, earthy folk plays, dramatic modern choreography, classical Indian movements, spontaneous improvisations and pop.
  • Heritage Exhibitions – host countries such as Guyana and Suriname that boast diverse heritage showcase cultural exhibits and anthropological studies of the indigenous people.
  • Family Life – CARIFESTA usually includes “Kid Zones” and family workshops to educate and entertain families.

…

Source: Wikipedia Online Encyclopedia – Retrieved June 26, 2017 from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caribbean_Festival_of_Arts

———–

Appendix B – Report Snippets: Multidisciplinary Arts: Approaches to Funding

A. INTRODUCTION

This report summarizes the findings of the International Federation of Arts Councils and Culture Agencies’ (IFACCA) 38th D’Art question on approaches to funding multidisciplinary arts, which was developed and conducted jointly by the Canada Council for the Arts (CC) and the Australia Council for the Arts(AC).1

The survey was distributed via IFACCA to approximately 75 international arts councils and related bodies in early March 2009. Twelve funding bodies responded fully to the survey, including 10 national funding bodies and two municipal funders for a response rate of 16%. Therefore this survey should only be considered as a sample or snapshot of approaches to funding multidisciplinary arts.

…

B. APPROACH AND METHODOLOGY

The consultants have based their analysis on the complete sample of responses to D’Art question 38. A total of 13 responses were received from public funders in 10 countries. …

The countries included in the analysis of this report therefore include: Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, England, Finland, Sweden, Cuba, Colombia. (A list of survey respondents is included in Annex 1).

…

C. ANALYSIS OF SURVEY RESPONSES

Summary

Overall, definitions of multidisciplinary arts are broad and inclusive, with an emphasis on the presence of more than one discipline, which may extend beyond the arts, in a single artistic process, product or a larger event. Some funders make a distinction between multidisciplinary arts activity that combines multiple disciplines in one activity, and interdisciplinary arts, typically describing an emergent practice, exploratory or integrative process.

Some funders are interested in developing sustainable communities, and encourage indigenous and community arts practices, such as Maori or Malay arts or circus arts.

Some funders internationally provide support to new media through separate programs, though most acknowledge that interdisciplinary artists may also use new media. In some countries, support for multidisciplinary arts extends as well to new critical practices, and to Aboriginal or other culturally diverse art forms.

Most funders responding to the survey indicated that they use peers to assess funding applications. Assessment criteria can be either specially tailored to multidisciplinary arts, or be more general, and may include artistic merit, viability, impact, artistic development and strategic considerations.

Among responders who reported on their resource allocations, resources earmarked for multidisciplinary arts range from 3% of total granting budgets to 11%.

…

Source: Posted by the  International Federation of Arts Councils and Culture Agencies in November 2009; retrieved June 26, 2017 from: http://media.ifacca.org/files/D’Art38Multidisciplinary.pdf

———–

Appendix C – Related Articles

1. http://today.caricom.org/tag/carifesta-2017/

May 11, 2017 – Programme Manager for Culture and Community Development at the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat, Dr. Hilary Brown, said that Barbados was “on a good track so far”, as it prepared to host the Region’s largest arts festival from August 17 to 27.

 

2. http://www.carifesta.net/

Bridgetown, Barbados, May 30, 2017 – Musicians from around the region will have the unique opportunity to display their talent for International buyers and promoters when the CARIFESTA XIII Music Showcase comes off at the Grand Market and Buyers Shopping Mall at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre (LESC) from August 19th to 26th 2017.

Another innovation for CARIFESTA XIII, this showcase offers the opportunity for Caribbean original works of music to be performed before a number of international music buyers who have been especially invited to the Festival to expose them to the vast array of talented musicians we have among us in this region.

3. https://www.facebook.com/carifestabarbados/photos/a.368801826824493.1073741828.367559130282096/438103509894324/?type=3&theater

June 13,2017 – 21 National Delegations are confirmed for Carifesta 2017; 17 Caricom, 1 Dutch Caribbean, 1 French Caribbean, 1 Central Latin American, 1 South American. We welcome Venezuela as the newest addition!

Anguilla
Antigua & Barbuda
Bahamas
Barbados
Belize
Bermuda
Cayman Islands
Curacao -Dutch Caribbean
Dominica
Grenada
Guadeloupe- French Caribbean
Guyana
Haiti
Jamaica
Montserrat
Nicaragua- Central American
St. Lucia
St. Vincent & the Grenadines
Trinidad & Tobago
Turks & Caicos
Venezuela

INDEPENDENT GROUPS from Antigua, St.Lucia, Trinidad & Tobago, USVI, and the Diaspora in Canada have also registered. See you from August 17-27! #CarifestaXIII #Barbados #summer2017 #thesummerofculture

See the promotional VIDEO here:

————-

VIDEO – CARIFESTA XIII Barbados Presentation & Welcome – https://youtu.be/xhiYLdsdM7g

Published on June 27, 2017 – CARIFESTA XIII Barbados Presentation and welcome from Caribbean Soca Queen Alison Hinds.

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Inaction: A Recipe for ‘Failed-State’ Status

Posted on June 7, 2017 in Government, Social, Strategy

Go Lean Commentary

Do you remember when …?

Why not? It was such an important event that you should never forget. And yet!

CU Blog - Inaction - A Recipe for 'Failed-State' Status - Photo 2This is the current situation today for a country that is a Caribbean neighbor: Venezuela. Atrocities are happening there and we, as observing-reporting neighbors have done nothing and now propose more of the same: 

Inaction.

This is the formula, the recipe, for creating a Failed-State:

 “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing” – Edmund Burke; 1729 – 1797; an Irish statesman and member of British Parliament.

How can we forget?!?!

The recipe of good people … doing nothing to prevent atrocities is what was prevalent in Nazi Germany, Rwanda, Bosnia and many other troubled spots – Failed-States – in modern times; (see Appendix D below). Despite all of our pledges of “Never Again“, we now see it happening again; this time in Venezuela; see VIDEO in Appendix C below.

In a previous blog-commentary by the movement behind the book Go Lean…Caribbean – available to download for free – it was related that …

… unless mitigated, Venezuela will become a Failed-State. We hope that the country, and their South American neighbors, can secure their society to assure peace and the protection of human rights.

In fact, the Go Lean commentary had observed-and-reported on a number of negative developments regarding Venezuela; see this sample list of previous blogs here:

Link Date Title
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=8132 05-31-2016 Venezuela: Watching a ‘Train Wreck in Slow Motion’
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=6800 10-26-2015 Venezuela sues black market currency website in US
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1076 05-29-2014 Trinidad Muslims travel to Venezuela for jihadist training

The situation in Venezuela is dire –  see VIDEO in Appendix C below – action must be taken to abate the downward spiral of the societal engines there. There is something the Caribbean community can do to help mitigate the threats.

There are new Caribbean-Venezuela developments … happening now (last week actually):

Proposals for more of the same … inaction.

CU Blog - Inaction - A Recipe for 'Failed-State' Status - Photo 1See the news articles in the Appendices (A & B) below. The overall theme from the articles is that government leaders in the formal Caribbean Community (CariCom) want to not disturb Venezuela’s sovereignty and further these leaders oppose any entity – i.e. the Organization of American States or OAS – that may want to condemn the status quo and ruling class in Venezuela.

Say it ain’t so CariCom!

Venezuela is near-Failed-State status; lives are being lost; economic systems are dysfunctional and people are taking flight, seeking refuge in foreign countries; see VIDEO below. Despite these conditions, CariCom – who weld some power and influence through peer pressure – wants Inaction.

We object!

Down with CariCom …
Time for a change …
Time to reboot the Caribbean …

This is the declaration of the book Go Lean…Caribbean; this book serves as a roadmap for the introduction and implementation of the technocratic Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU), for the elevation of Caribbean society – for all member-states. The book posits that CariCom is a failure (Page 3) and that the quest for regional integration in the Caribbean needs a new – and better – expression. The book therefore presents the Go Lean/CU roadmap with these 3 prime directives:

The book stresses that reforming and transforming the Caribbean societal engines must be a regional pursuit. This was an early motivation for the roadmap, as pronounced in the opening Declaration of Interdependence (Pages 12 – 13):

xi. Whereas all men are entitled to the benefits of good governance in a free society, “new guards” must be enacted to dissuade the emergence of incompetence, corruption, nepotism and cronyism at the peril of the people’s best interest. The Federation must guarantee the executions of a social contract between government and the governed.

xvi. Whereas security of our homeland is inextricably linked to prosperity of the homeland, the economic and security interest of the region needs to be aligned under the same governance. Since economic crimes … can imperil the functioning of the wheels of commerce for all the citizenry, the accedence of this Federation must equip the security apparatus with the tools and techniques for predictive and proactive interdictions.

xxiv. Whereas a free market economy can be induced and spurred for continuous progress, the Federation must install the controls to better manage aspects of the economy: jobs, inflation, savings rate, investments and other economic principles. Thereby attracting direct foreign investment because of the stability and vibrancy of our economy.

The Go Lean book provides 370-pages of turn-by-turn instructions and actions to adopt new community ethos, plus the strategies, tactics, implementations and advocacies to execute so as to reboot, reform and transform the societal engines of Caribbean society. To prevent atrocities, there must be actions, positive engagements, before and after; see Appendix D below.

To political leaders like Ralph Gonsalves, Prime Minister of St Vincent and the Grenadines, the Go Lean movement gives this salutation (Page 252):

[Step aside]. Thank you for your service. Change has come.

We must do this: change from the inaction of the current political leadership and lean-in to this roadmap to re-boot, reform and transform the Caribbean region.

Yes, we can act and help prevent atrocities in our region and make our own homeland better places to live, work and play. 🙂

Download the free e-Book of Go Lean … Caribbean – now!

Sign the petition to lean-in for this roadmap for the Caribbean Union Trade Federation. 

————-

Appendix A – Gonsalves warns CariCom of plot against Venezuela

KINGSTOWN, St. Vincent – Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves of St Vincent and the Grenadines has cautioned the Caribbean Community (CariCom) to refrain from allowing a small group of powerful nations to dilute the collective strength of the 15-member regional grouping.

Gonsalves, in a three page letter to CariCom leaders, that was circulated to the media, warned that a wedge is being driven through CariCom over a plan for regime change in Venezuela and the group of powerful nations with the Organisation of America States (OAS) has an agenda of naked self-interest.

He said the group has strategically invited select CariCom countries to their meetings and ignored the others. In the result, they have succeeded in disuniting and weakening CariCom countries whose only strength lies in our solidarity. This worrying development has been particularly manifest in matters relating to Venezuela, said Gonsalves in a letter dated May 10.

There is clearly a calculated strategy in place by a group of nations to achieve regime change in Venezuela by using the OAS as a weapon of destruction, he added.

Gonsalves said while CARICOM countries may have concerns about the political, economic and social conditions in Venezuela, we are all sufficiently seasoned political leaders to know that toppling a government will not end those conditions, particularly when there is no viable, electable single alternative to replace it.

Resolving the conflict
He acknowledged that CariCom member states could have a role in promoting dialogue to help resolve the conflict in Venezuela he warned fellow regional leaders against allowing themselves to be ambushed into breaking our solidarity and aligning ourselves with fair-weather friends.

Meanwhile, representatives from 18 OAS member states have approved a meeting of foreign ministers scheduled for May 31 in Washington to discuss the Venezuelan crisis.

In recent weeks, there has been growing unrest across Venezuela, with several killed and others injured as they have called for elections, freedom for jailed activists, foreign humanitarian aid to offset the economic crisis, and autonomy for the opposition-controlled legislature.

Source: Posted May 17, 2017; retrieved June 7, 2017 from: https://www.iwnsvg.com/2017/05/17/gonsalves-warns-caricom-of-plot-against-venezuela/

————-

Appendix B – St Vincent PM praises CariCom on position taken on Venezuela
By: Peter Richards

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (CMC) St. Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister, Ralph Gonsalves has praised Caribbean Community (CariCom) countries for acting “with independence, courage and concerted action” during the Permanent Council meeting of the Organisation of American States (OAS) called to discuss the situation in Venezuela earlier this week.

In a two-page letter sent to the Irwin La Rocque, secretary general of CariCom, Gonsalves said that the “CariCom stance is a tribute to our region’s commitment to the highest ideals of our Caribbean civilisation and of its institutional expression, politically, the independent and sovereign nation-state”.

He said that through its position at the OAS, CariCom countries have honoured the names of “our revered leaders of yesteryear” including Errol Barrow of Barbados, Forbes Burnham of Guyana, Michael Manley of Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago’s Dr. Eric Williams “whose respective countries defied the edict of a hegemonic neighbour in their formal diplomatic recognition of revolutionary Cuba in 1972”.

In his letter, which was copied to heads of state and governments in CariCom and obtained by the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC), Gonsalves said he was “humbled and proud of the majesty of CARICOM’s united stance in defence of the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of states; the bedrock ideas of sovereignty and independence (and) the nobility of the fundamental precepts of representative democracy”.

During the OAS meeting, Jamaica, for example, called for dialogue among all parties in Venezuela, where opposition-led street demonstrations to force the Nicolas Maduro government out of office have resulted in more than 40 deaths and a split among members of the OAS.

Jamaica’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Kamina Johnson-Smith, addressing the 29th Meeting of Consultation of Ministers of Foreign Affairs at the OAS in Washington earlier this week, said the Andrew Holness government is “gravely concerned by the continued deterioration of the situation in Venezuela”.

She cited increased violence, loss of life, damage to infrastructure, severe economic hardships for the people, and “a hardening of deeply entrenched positions by both Government and opposition groups…

“Jamaica continues to highly favour meaningful dialogue and discourages the isolation of Venezuela. We, therefore, invite the Government of Venezuela to reconsider that decision,” Johnson Smith added.

On Wednesday, Trinidad and Tobago called for the removal of the OAS Secretary General Luis Almagro, over his non-neutral position on the political situation in Venezuela and warned the 15-member CariCom grouping of the possibility of destroying “itself as an honest broker with respect to any involvement in assistance to Venezuela and its internal problems…

“Trinidad and Tobago registered a strong objection to the behaviour of the OAS leadership. The public servants from the OAS took it upon themselves to engage the Government of Venezuela, the president in fact, in a very derogatory manner,” Prime Minister Keith Rowley told a news conference on his return from an official two-day visit to Chile.

Last month, CariCom foreign ministers called for non-interference in the internal affairs of Venezuela.

Gonsalves, who had last month had cautioned CARICOM to refrain from allowing a small group of powerful nations to dilute the “collective strength” of the 15 member regional grouping on the Venezuela issue, said in his letter to La Rocque that he was “heartened that CariCom member-states are alive to the maneuverings of those who would wish to deliver Venezuela and its oil on a platter to a handful of global enterprises, who are focused on their own greed, duplicity, and narrow self interest….

“We know the road very well. But CariCom has taken the road less travelled by, and that has made all the difference,” Gonsalves wrote, adding, “I do not underestimate the current travails of Venezuela and I am pleased that CariCom is prepared to play a facilitating role, along with other countries and leading personalities in fostering peace, dialogue and constitutionalism in Venezuela”.

But he acknowledged that “at the end of the day, this is a matter for Venezuelans themselves”.

Gonsalves said that he is “sure that the overwhelming majority of nation-states, globally, are pleased with CariCom’s stance at the OAS.

“We must now allow our unity and good sense to be put asunder. Now more than ever we must remain firm. The enemies at the gates of non-interference, sovereignty, and independence will not rest; indeed, they will redouble their efforts. They will raise aloft, hypocritically, any number of high-sounding phrases but beneath them are base motives. History has taught us all this, and more.

“I am confident of CariCom’s continuing embrace of independence, courage, and concerted action, remembering always that, of all time, only the future is ours to desecrate. Our Caribbean civilisation must never be engaged in the desecration of our future,” the St. Vincent and the Grenadines prime minister wrote.

Source: Posted June 3, 2017; retrieved June 7, 2017 from: https://www.iwnsvg.com/2017/06/03/st-vincent-pm-praises-caricom-on-position-taken-on-venezuela/

————-

Appendix C VIDEO – Exclusive Interview on Venezeula: “We’re Being Ruthlessly Killed by the Venezuelan Gov’t” – https://youtu.be/qwPZ75_rj0k

Published on Jun 7, 2017 – Venezuelan citizen Aura Garrillo joined MRCTV’s Nick Kangadis to talk about the atrocities happening in the “dictatorial” nation of Venezuela.

Garrillo speaks out about the hyper-inflation, crime-ridden neighborhoods, lack of affordable goods and bloodshed, courtesy of the Nicolas Maduro-led government.

Subscribe: www.youtube.com/mrctvdotorg

About: MRCTV is an online media platform designed to broadcast conservative values, culture, politics, liberal media bias, and entertainment to a new and diverse audience on a social media optimized site. Our goal is to break down the boundaries between traditional conservative media and mainstream culture.

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MRCTV is brought to you by the Media Research Center. The mission of the MRC is to create a media culture in America where truth and liberty flourish. The MRC is a research and education organization operating under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.

————-

Appendix D – Preventing mass atrocities – An agenda for policymakers and citizens

    Introduction ………………………………………………………. 1
    Early warning ……….. ………………………………………….. 3
    Detecting risk and promoting action
    Diplomacy …………………………………………………………. 5
    The first line of prevention
    Development aid ………………………………………………… 7
    Building resilient societies to prevent atrocities
    Security assistance ……………………………………………… 9
    Helping countries protect their people
    International action ………………………………………………11
    Working together to prevent atrocities

CU Blog - Inaction - A Recipe for 'Failed-State' Status - Photo 3

See the full report here; retrieved June 7, 2017 from:

http://responsibilitytoprotect.org/Cit%20for%20glob%20sol-Preventing_mass_atrocities-highres-singlepages.pdf

 

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Two Pies: Economic Plan for a New Caribbean

Posted on February 23, 2017 in Economics, Government, Strategy

Go Lean Commentary

“Get your hands out of my pocket!” – Term used by another man in the room to cause a disturbance and distraction during the killing of Malcolm X in New York on February 21, 1965 – 52 years ago this week. See VIDEO in the Appendix below.
CU Blog - Two Pies - Economic Plan for a New Caribbean - Photo 4

The words above that were shouted to cause a disturbance are riot-inducing and can cause alarm for many communities. No one wants to think that someone unauthorized and unworthy may be pilfering hard-earned funds from innocent victims.

No one wants to be that victim!

CU Blog - Two Pies - Economic Plan for a New Caribbean - Photo 2This was a point of consideration in the conception of the book Go Lean…Caribbean. There was the inspiration to conceive an economic empowerment plan for all the Caribbean that would NOT take money out of one person’s pockets and give to another … unauthorized and unworthy. The solution?

Two pockets … or two pies.

… pie as in a pie-chart; this is the graphical representation of the distribution of a budget. Pie-charts are very effective in expressing one amount in comparison to another amount. So when there are two pie-charts, it undoubtedly expresses that there are two different funds, no intermingling. That is the economic plan for the new Caribbean:

Two Pies.

CU Blog - Two Pies - Economic Plan for a New Caribbean - Photo 3b

This means that there are two different funds. The Go Lean book serves as a roadmap for the introduction and implementation of the technocratic Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU). This is a regional integration effort to benefit the 30 member-states of the Caribbean. There are a lot of money issues to contend with – but no one person’s hands are in another person’s pockets. So all the money issues for CU are exclusive to the CU. This is true of money-economics and other facets of Caribbean life: security and governance. In total, these 3 prime directives explore the full dimensions of the roadmap:

  • Optimization of the economic engines in order to grow the regional economy to $800 Billion & create 2.2 million new jobs.
  • Establishment of a security apparatus to ensure justice institutions and protect the resultant economic engines.
  • Improve Caribbean governance including a separation-of-powers between the member-states and CU federal agencies to support the economic and security engines.

In order to reboot the societal engines there must be these Two Pies. The CU Trade Federation is designed to lead, fund and facilitate regional empowerment plans. But the plan is NOT for the individual member-states to write checks to the CU so as to share one state’s treasuries with another state. Rather, the CU Trade Federation creates its own funding – from regionalized services – and then encumbers the funds for each member-state to deliver the economic, security and governing  mandates. This is analogized as Two Pies:

  • One ‘pie‘ to represent the existing budgets of the member-states and how they distribute their government funding between government services (education, healthcare, etc.), security measures (Police, Coast Guards)
  • One ‘pie‘ to represent the CU funding from exclusive activities (Spectrum Auctions, Lottery, Exploration Rights, Licenses, Foreign-Aid, etc.).

All in all, the book, and accompanying blogs, declare that the proposed CU Trade Federation is a new governmental layer, and thusly creates a new government budget. This is a confederation; designed to enhance the governmental deliveries for the 30 member-states. This necessity is expressed as a pronouncement in the opening Declaration of Interdependence, (Pages 10 – 11) with the following statement:

Preamble: While our rights to exercise good governance and promote a more perfect society are the natural assumptions among the powers of the earth, no one other than ourselves can be held accountable for our failure to succeed if we do not try to promote the opportunities that a democratic society fosters.

xi. Whereas all men are entitled to the benefits of good governance in a free society, “new guards” must be enacted to dissuade the emergence of incompetence, corruption, nepotism and cronyism at the peril of the people’s best interest. The Federation must guarantee the executions of a social contract between government and the governed.

CU Blog - Two Pies - Economic Plan for a New Caribbean - Photo 1The vision of a confederation is an integrated Single Market for the 30 member-states of the Caribbean; this means the Dutch, English, French and Spanish speaking territories. This also includes the US territories of Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. Tactically, the CU allows for a separation-of-powers between the member-state governments and the new federal agencies.

Currently the Caribbean member-states pockets are bare – these are all Third World destinations – even the US Territories of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Consider this First World comparison; consider Apple Corporation – the firm behind the iPhone, iPad, iTunes, etc. – due to their success in technology and business, they have a lot of money (cash on hand); a lot more than many Caribbean member-states … combined.

We need this CU roadmap to impact a turn-around for this region; we need the new “Pie” of the CU Single Market. The member-state’s economic engines – their “Pies” – are in crisis, but since a crisis would be a terrible thing to waste, we need to transform these economic engines for a new Caribbean by introducing the CU “Pie”, as follows:

  • Regional Capital Markets with a regional currency – Caribbean Dollar – would increase liquidity and lower the cost of capital. Rather than international debt, member-state governments and corporate institutions can avail themselves of lower financing costs, sometimes as low as 2% interest rates.
    Notice a glimpse of this vision in this previous blog-commentary:
    https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=372 |  Dominica raises EC$20 million on regional securities market
  • Municipal financing – Debt by any governmental entity does not only reflect on the past, but impacts the future as well. Excessive debt can be so bad that at times the providers … and collectors of debt may be derisively called “vultures”. The CU pledges to re-purchase existing municipal debt and convert them to Caribbean Dollar instruments.
    Notice this portrayal in this previous blog-commentary:
    https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=7601 |  Beware of Vulture Capitalists Commercial banking enhancements
  • Individual finance: Student Loans – Many Caribbean students obtained loans from their home countries, matriculated abroad and then never returned home. There was no return on investment and many times, no loan repayment. The CU pledges to buy outstanding loans (new, active and default) and enforce cross-border collections.
    Notice the details of this student loan crisis in this previous blog-commentary:
    https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=8373 |  A Lesson in Economic Fallacies – Student Loans As Investments
  • Individual finance: Mortgages – Housing can be a great stimuli on the economy, but it is difficult for banks to recycle the capital that is tied up for 30 years without a Secondary Market. The CU pledges to deploy a Mortgage Secondary Market across the entire region (Go Lean book Page 83 and 199). This strategy will re-enforce banking within the region.
    Notice the issues associated with a dysfunctional mortgage eco-system in this previous blog-commentary:
    https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=10187 |  Day of Reckoning for NINJA Loans
  • Individual finance: Retirement – Growing old in the Caribbean has become strained due to the high abandonment rate. National Pension plans depend on a macro structure where young people pay into the fund while the elderly withdraws from the fund. With so much emigration, the actuarial tables are distorted.
    Consider this previous blog-commentary that depicts a failing pension system in one member-state:
    https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2830 |  Jamaica’s Public Pension Under-funded
    … and one blog-commentary that describes how best to prosper:
    https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=4222 |  Getting Rich Slowly in the Caribbean
  • Self-Governing Entities (SGE) – The Go Lean/CU roadmap features the installation of SGE’s as job-creating engines in many communities; these sites are ideal for technology laboratories, medical campuses, corporate parks, industrial sites, educational facilities and other forms of establishments situated inside bordered facilitates. They allow for an efficient process to launch and manage industrial efforts in the region. These types of installations will thrive under the strategies and tactics of the Go Lean roadmap. SGE’s do require governmental concurrence and maybe even public approvals – referendums – but only at the initiation. Beyond that, they are not a concern, or an expense, for local governments – they bring their own economic “Pie“.
    Consider this previous blog-commentary that details the dynamics of SGE’s:
    https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=5921 |  Socio-Economic Change: Impact Analysis of SGE’s
  • Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ) – The Go Lean/CU roadmap calls for the strategy of petitioning the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) for expanded territory in the Caribbean Sea for the CU to develop, explore, protect and exploit for the benefit to the Caribbean en-masse only. This means the CU “Pie” for revenues-and-expenses and not individual member-states.
    Consider this previous blog-commentary that details the dynamics of the EEZ:
    https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=8819 |  Lessons from China – South China Seas: Exclusive Economic Zones

The Go Lean book details the series of community ethos, strategies, tactics, implementations and advocacies designed to create a federal “Pie” in the Caribbean region; see here:

Anecdote – Caribbean Single Market & Economy Page 15
Community Ethos – Money Multiplier Page 22
Community Ethos – Job Multiplier Page 22
Community Ethos – Lean Operations Page 24
Community Ethos – Ways to Impact the Future Page 26
Community Ethos – Ways to Impact the Greater Good Page 37
Strategic – Vision – Integrated Region in a Single Market Page 45
Strategic – Vision – Agents of Change Page 57
Tactical – Confederating a Non-sovereign Union Page 63
Tactical – Fostering a Technocracy Page 64
Tactical – Growing to $800 Billion Regional Economy Page 67
Tactical – Separation-of-Powers Page 71
Anecdote – “Lean” in Government – Optimizing Societal Engines Page 93
Implementation – Ways to Pay for Change Page 101
Implementation – Start-up Benefits from the Exclusive Economic Zone Page 104
Implementation – Steps to Implement Self-Governing Entities Page 105
Implementation – Ways to Better Manage Debt Page 114
Planning – Big Ideas for the Caribbean Region Page 127
Planning – Ways to Model the EU Page 130
Advocacy – Ways to Grow the Economy Page 151
Advocacy – Ways to Improve Governance Page 168
Advocacy – Ways to Better Manage the Social Contract Page 170
Advocacy – Reforms for Banking Regulations Page 199
Advocacy – Ways to Impact Wall Street Page 199

While the Caribbean needs its people, these people need a better Caribbean society – more prosperous. The region status quo is that “they got it bad”! Due to the many failures in the region, many people have fled to find refuge in foreign countries, resulting in a debilitating brain drain in the Caribbean, and thusly less people-less potential-less profits; so even more failure on top of failure.

The Go Lean roadmap for the CU stresses the need for this new “Pie“, the economics of a Caribbean Single Market. This theme was previously blogged on in so many previous Go Lean blog-commentaries; see sample here:

https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=10043 Integration Plan for Greater Caribbean Prosperity
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=9595 Vision and Values for a ‘New’ Caribbean
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=8813 Lessons from China – Size Does Matter
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=841 Having Less Babies is Bad for the Economy
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=833 European Integration Currency Model: One Currency
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=599 Ailing Puerto Rico open to radical economic fixes
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=364 Time Value of Money
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=360 How to Create Money from Thin Air

Now is the time for all of the Caribbean – the people and governing institutions – to lean-in for the Caribbean integration re-boot, this Caribbean Union Trade Federation. We need the “Two Pies“. We need better engines to make our region more prosperous, to make it a better homeland to live, work and play. 🙂

Download the book Go Lean … Caribbean – now!

———

Appendix VIDEO – Malcolm X: Get your hand out my pocket – https://youtu.be/zHM8lAIFoU4

Uploaded on Jan 26, 2011 – Classic scene from a classic movie.

 

 

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Welcoming the French

Posted on February 20, 2017 in Ethos, Locations, Strategy

Go Lean Commentary

CU Blog - Art and Science of Collaboration - Photo 3Truth be told, the French-speaking Caribbean wants to do more with their tropical neighbors; they want to confederate, collaborate and convene on different issues related to community development and nation-building.

On behalf of planners for a new Caribbean, we welcome them, and their INTERREG efforts.

What is INTERREG?

Literally, Inter–Regional. See the VIDEO in the Appendix below.

This is not so new a commitment. In a previous blog-commentary, the movement behind the book Go Lean … Caribbean heralded the addition of Martinique, Guadeloupe and Saint Martin to the Association of Caribbean States. More so, in the prior year to this effort, the same countries urged more economic integration with their territorial neighbors, the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States:

www.caribjournal.com/2013/04/08/report-urges-oecs-economic-integration-for-martinique-guadeloupe/

This is the similar siren call from the movement behind the Go Lean … Caribbean book. The book serves as a roadmap to navigate the integration and consolidation of all 30 member-states into a technocratic Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU). Those 30 member-states include:

  • Martinique
  • Guadeloupe
  • Saint Martin
  • Saint Barthélemy (Subordinate of St. Martin)

The INTERREG targets European territories, so the Dutch Caribbean can also solicit grants. In addition, French Guiana is included. Yippee! This territory was always on the CU‘s radar screen, but because of it’s lack of autonomous administration, the perception was that French Guiana would have to be confederated in regional governance at a later time.

We will take any integration with French Guiana now, especially with funding attached.

The CU will equally incorporate participation from other Caribbean member-states, including the Dutch, English and Spanish-speaking counterparts. Our quest is simple, as envisioned by the demonstrative expression: to “raise the tide for all boats in the harbor”. The Go Lean roadmap posits that the region is failing, ill-prepared to compete on the world’s stage, but the solution is too big for any one Caribbean member-state alone; we need “all hands on deck”, to engage the full participation of the whole neighborhood. Just look at the map here depicting the neighborhood of islands:

French Caribbean Map

The Go Lean/CU roadmap seeks to integrate the entire region’s economic, security and governing engines; to employ best practices to impact our prime directives; identified with the following 3 statements:

  • Optimization of the economic engines in order to grow the regional economy to $800 Billion & create 2.2 million new jobs.
  • Establishment of a security apparatus to protect the resultant economic engines.
  • Improvement of Caribbean governance to support these engines.

The Go Lean book always anticipated the French territories INTERREG efforts. Page 96 describes the initial assembling of all the existing regional organizations into the new umbrella, the Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU). These initial organizations include, among others:

  • CariCom Secretariat – 22 Agencies
  • CariCom Office of Trade Negotiations
  • British Commonwealth / Overseas Territory
  • French Overseas Territory
  • US Overseas Territory
  • Kingdom of the Netherlands – Overseas Territory
  • Association of Caribbean States (ACS)
  • Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS)

INTERREG is key for this integration effort of the European-dependent territories (French & Dutch) here in the Caribbean. The actual definition follows:

European Territorial Cooperation (ETC), better known as INTERREG,  is one of the two goals of cohesion policy and provides a framework for the implementation of joint actions and policy exchanges between national, regional and local actors from different Member States. The overarching objective of European Territorial Cooperation (ETC) is to promote a harmonious economic, social and territorial development of the Union as a whole. Interreg is built around three strands of cooperation: cross-border (Interreg A), transnational (Interreg B) and interregional (Interreg C).

Five programming periods of INTERREG have succeeded each other:

  • INTERREG I (1990-1993)
  • INTERREG II (1994-1999)
  • INTERREG III (2000-2006)
  • INTERREG IV (2007-2013)
  • INTERREG V (2014-2020)

(Source: Retrieved February 20, 2017 from: http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/en/policy/cooperation/european-territorial/)

From another source:

INTERREG is a series of five programmes to stimulate cooperation between regions in the European Union, funded by the European Regional Development Fund. The first Interreg started in 1989. Interreg IV covered the period 2007–2013. Interreg V (2014-2020) covers all 28 EU Member States, 3 participating EFTA countries (Norway, Switzerland, Lichtenstein), 6 accession countries and 18 neighbouring countries. It has a budget of EUR 10.1 billion, which represents 2.8% of the total of the European Cohesion Policy budget.[1] Since the non EU countries don’t pay EU membership fee, they contribute directly to Interreg, not through ERDF. – Source: Wikipedia.

CU Blog - Welcoming the French - Photo 1

According to the foregoing “prime directives“, the Go Lean/CU effort leads first with an emphasis on regional economics. Follow the money! This INTERREG V has a budget of of €10.1 billion (Euros); this is money that we cannot afford to ignore in our Caribbean region, especially since the purpose is cross-border development activity of the island-nations. See this portrayed in this article/Press Release:

Title: New INTERREG Caribbean programme launched
Press Release: December 22, 2016 – The new INTERREG Caribbean programme was officially launched last Wednesday, 14th December 2016, in St. Lucia by representatives and officials of the French Overseas Departments and Collectivities of Guadeloupe, Martinique, French Guyana & Saint Martin, the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), and the European Union (EU), with support from the Honourable Mr. Allen Chastanet, Prime Minister of St. Lucia.

By launching the INTERREG V Caribbean programme in St. Lucia, the organizers made a statement of their commitment to consolidate regional partnerships (between the French Caribbean and the English-, Spanish- and Dutch- speaking countries and territories of the region), by strengthening the involvement of regional organisations, and to achieve a better co-ordination and distribution of the European Regional Development Funds to the benefit of the greater Caribbean.

The work carried out in consultation with all partners focused on the evaluation and selection of a large number of projects that have been submitted, which testifies to the growing success of the INTERREG Caribbean programme, opening up real prospects for strengthening Caribbean partnerships, and allowing all regional stakeholders to be a part of the effort to put transnational co-operation at the heart of the sustainable development of the region.

The preparation and realisation of the three-day conference constituted important moments of sharing, exchanging and building a true policy of regional co-operation and on Wednesday, 14th December, the new INTERREG Caribbean program was officially launched in the presence of many regional partners and stakeholders.

At the public meeting, Mrs. Marie-Luce Penchard, 2nd Vice-President of the Guadeloupe Region, in charge of regional co-operation, European affairs & Universities, took the opportunity to urge “project developers, who play a most vital role in the programme development, to get even more involved in order to build together a real partnership for the benefit of our [Caribbean countries and] territories”. She also expressed the strong will of the Region of Guadeloupe to support the development of their activities in the greater Caribbean, in a genuine sustainable and co-operative way.

“While the previous programmes have brought closer together project developers and regional stakeholders [to our territories]”, she continued, “the new INTERREG Caribbean programme intends to go even further by supporting projects in terms of economic competitiveness, natural risks and joint natural and cultural heritage.”

The programme also seeks to provide concrete answers to common issues and challenges shared by Caribbean countries and territories, which pertain to public health, renewable energy development and skills development.
Source: St Lucia Times – Daily Newspaper – Retrieved February 20, 2017 from:  https://stluciatimes.com/2016/12/22/new-interreg-cbean-programme-launched

There was a previous effort to integrate the region’s economic apparatus, the Caribbean Single Market Economy (CSME). It faltered! It was limited to the CariCom (Caribbean Community) countries – mostly English-speaking Caribbean sovereign territories (15 member-states).

The Go Lean/CU is a second – better – attempt of those same hopes and dreams behind CSME. For starters, this CU effort engages all 30 Caribbean member-states. So we can truly say: “Last time, we knocked on the door; this time we kick it in”.

Why will we succeed this time?

The Go Lean book addresses this exact issue; Page 132 of the book details the following reasons; (notice #7 specifically; this applies to INTERREG):

10 Reason Why the CU Will Succeed

  1. Emergence of a Giant Market
  2. Modeled after the European Union
  3. Declaration of Interdependence
  4. Economic Engine
  5. Alternative to North America, and European Colonial Legacies
  6. More American Support
  7. International Cooperation and Support
    Many other economic blocs and some countries (i.e. Canada) will only deal with developing nations in a regionalized effort, rather than individual foreign aid. We are still Third World, and we want/need international grants – free money.
  8. Direct Foreign Investment: Risk and Reward
  9. Diversity – 4 languages; 5 colonial legacies – is the Spice of Life
  10. Reverse Migration / Repatriation

There are so many benefits that stem from a larger “economies of scale”, a Caribbean Single Market unites 42 million people for the potential of an $800 Billion GDP market. This end-result furnishes an improved environment for commerce, security and governance. This is how the Go Lean book explains that we can make our homeland a better place to live, work and play.

The Go Lean/CU roadmap is also a better plan than the previous CSME because it encompasses more aspects of Caribbean life, not just economics; it includes security mitigations and government empowerments. This total focus allows CU stakeholders to impact the existing societal defects and to incentivize the adoption of new community ethos.

Community ethos refers to the underlying attitude/spirit/sentiment that informs the beliefs, customs, or practices of society. One ethos recommended in the Go Lean book – Page 35 – for the region to adopt is “Sharing”; see this quotation:

“Sharing is promoted as a community ethos; not in the form of a re-distribution of existing wealth, but rather the sharing of the tools to create new wealth for all to benefit from. The treaty also enables a collective security pact to assuage against systemic threats, including emergency management and responses to natural disasters.”

The Go Lean book details a full series of community ethos, strategies, tactics, implementations and advocacies designed to facilitate regional integration; see a sample here:

Anecdote – Caribbean Single Market & Economy Page 15
Anecdote – French Caribbean: Organization & Discord Page 17
Community Ethos – Money Multiplier Page 22
Community Ethos – Job Multiplier Page 22
Community Ethos – Lean Operations Page 24
Community Ethos – Cooperatives Page 25
Community Ethos – Ways to Improve Sharing Page 35
Community Ethos – Ways to Impact the Greater Good Page 37
Strategic – Vision – Integrated Region in a Single Market Page 45
Strategic – Vision – Agents of Change Page 57
Tactical – Confederating a Non-sovereign Union Page 63
Tactical – Fostering a Technocracy Page 64
Tactical – Growing to $800 Billion Regional Economy Page 67
Tactical – Separation of Powers Page 71
Anecdote – Turning Around CariCom – The Single Market Page 92
Anecdote – “Lean” in Government Page 93
Implementation – Ways to Pay for Change Page 101
Implementation – Foreign Policy Initiatives at Start-up Page 102
Implementation – Security Initiatives at Start-up Page 103
Implementation – Ways to Deliver Page 109
Planning – Big Ideas for the Caribbean Region Page 127
Planning – Ways to Model the EU Page 130
Planning – Reason Why the CU Will Succeed Page 132
Advocacy – Ways to Grow the Economy Page 151
Anecdote – Governmental Integration: CariCom Parliament Page 167
Advocacy – Ways to Improve Governance Page 168
Advocacy – Ways to Foster Cooperatives Page 176
Advocacy – Ways to Improve Homeland Security Page 180

All of the Caribbean, despite the languages, have had societal failures. Large swaths of the population has fled to foreign shores for refuge. In the French (and Dutch) Caribbean, it is not uncommon for high school graduates to leave soon after graduation. No society can thrive with this disposition. Communities need its people, young and old. But the people need opportunities for prosperity.

The Go Lean roadmap stresses the need for a fully integrated Caribbean Single Market with the French, Dutch, English and Spanish territories, all 30 member-states.  The foregoing “News Release” urges the Eastern Caribbean states specifically and the whole Caribbean generally to “double-down” on the integration movement. There are benefits galore … and money too.

This is the consistent theme – to dive deeper in the waters of an integrated Single Market – in so many previous Go Lean blog-commentaries; see sample here:

https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=10043 Caribbean Integration Plan for Greater Prosperity
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=9487 Things We Want from Europe: Model of an Integrated Economy
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=8351 A Lesson in Economic Fallacies – Independence: Hype or Hope
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=7929 Chambers’ Strategy: A Great Role Model for Caribbean Integration
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=7989 Caribbean Integration Benefits: Free Money
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=7896 Caribbean Integration Model for Disaster Relief
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=7789 Caribbean Integration Model for Global Trade
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=7749 Caribbean Integration Model for Regional Elections
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=7601 Caribbean Integration Model for Caribbean Sovereign Debt
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=7586 Caribbean Integration Model to Cure High Drug Prices
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=7327 Caribbean Integration Model for Disease Control
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=7103 Caribbean Integration Model for Mitigating Climate Change
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=6399 Caribbean Integration Model for Mitigating Income Inequality
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=6341 Caribbean Integration Model for Tourism Stewardship
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=6103 Caribbean Integration Model to Mitigate Deadly Threats
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1193 EU Willing to Fund Study on Discontinuing Caribbean Integration
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=833 European Integration Currency Model: One Currency

Now is the time for all of the Caribbean – the people and governing institutions – to lean-in for Caribbean integration. We can get it right, this time. This Go Lean roadmap is conceivable, believable and achievable.

So we welcome all stakeholders; we welcome the French.

Download the book Go Lean … Caribbean – now!

————-

Appendix VIDEO – What is Interreg? – https://youtu.be/MDvfwsiDLew

Published on May 25, 2016 – An introduction to the Interreg funding instrument in the framework of EU cohesion policy – recorded live at the Interreg CENTRAL EUROPE lead applicant training in Zagreb on 10 May 2016. For more information on Interreg, our transnational cooperation programme and the funding we provide, please take a look at www.interreg-central.eu

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Integration Plan for Greater Caribbean Prosperity

Posted on December 18, 2016 in Economics, Government, Planning

Go Lean Commentary

cu-blog-integration-plan-for-greater-caribbean-prosperity-photo-2

“Muddling Through” …

… this is the assessment from the below news article, assessing what the Caribbean’s economic prospects would be if the current administrative processes and current economic roadmap were to continue.

Yet, this commentary asserts that the Caribbean’s economic engines are in crisis… but that this crisis would be a terrible thing to waste. Therefore there is the urgent need to reform and transform the societal engines so as to obtain greater Caribbean prosperity.

This subject – how to get greater Caribbean prosperity – is the theme of this commentary and this news article (and VIDEO) here:

Title: Report outlines scenarios for greater Caribbean prosperity
WASHINGTON, United States (CMC) — A new report has underscored how more integration and better governance “hold the key” to greater prosperity in Latin America and the Caribbean.

cu-blog-integration-plan-for-greater-caribbean-prosperity-photo-1The report commissioned by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) non-profit Atlantic Council describes a baseline “business as usual” scenario that would see 57 million more Latin Americans and Caribbean citizens joining the middle class over the coming 14 years, assuming that the governments continue largely on their current course.

Titled “Latin America and the Caribbean 2030: Future Scenarios” the report was discussed by IDB  President Luis Alberto Moreno and the Atlantic Council’s Jason Marczak with representatives of the business, academic and diplomatic communities.

The IDB said annual gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate in this scenario would be 2.4 percent, slightly outperforming the US growth rate of 2.2 percent.

The region would face growing challenges in the areas of income distribution, demographic changes and climate change impacts, the IDB said.

However, the report indicates that global and regional trends, combined with ambitious domestic reforms, could put Latin America and the Caribbean on a path toward faster growth and prosperity.

It offers positive scenarios in which the region embraces better governance and more integration, leading to a doubling of infrastructure investments, big reductions in homicides and less tax evasion, among other pluses.

On the other hand, less optimistic scenarios based on a more fragmented region forecast continued high crime, more political instability, low productivity, dependence on commodity exports, and difficulties in attracting foreign investments, the IDB said.

“Latin America and the Caribbean 2030: Future Scenarios,” written by Marczak, and Peter Engelke, of its Strategic Foresight Initiative, outlines several alternative scenarios as to how the region could unfold.

“Muddling Through” the base-case scenario, shows what current trends point to modest economic fortunes and relatively stable democracies.

Among its findings, the middle class increases to 345 million people by 2030.

“Governance on the Rise or an Illicit World Afloat” looks at the potential for qualitative jumps in governance on the heels of active citizen engagement and digital revolutions or, alternatively, the potential for corruption scandals, transnational crime and weakened rule of law.

With better governance, the IDB said regional economy grows by an additional seven to 10 per cent. But foreign direct investment shrinks by more than 50 per cent in a scenario of growing crime and impunity.

“Toward Integration or Fragmentation Prevails” foresees what could happen if countries cooperate in making investments and joint policies in finance, labour markets, energy, infrastructure and education.

In a contrasting scenario, the IDB said some countries may be “pulled toward different economic poles, making the region less coherent than ever”.

“The future holds great promise but also the risk of great uncertainty. Looking to 2030, middle-class growth, stronger economies, healthier people, and greater security will come only through a call to action today,” Marczak said.
Source: Jamaica Gleaner – Daily Newspaper; posted 12/02/2016; retrieved 12/13/2016 from: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/Report-outlines-scenarios-for-greater-Caribbean-prosperity

————

VIDEO – Latin America and the Caribbean 2030: Future Scenarios – https://youtu.be/tgfc_QDhd-4

Published on Dec 6, 2016 – Inter-American Development Bank – Strategic foresight is critical to moving a country or region in the right direction. Leaders nearly everywhere in the world are overwhelmed by the crush of events, focusing their attention on the present rather than the long term. Latin America and the Caribbean is no different, and a new report by the Atlantic Council and commissioned by the IDB explores the future scenarios that will shape the public policy debate in the region in the next 15 years.

The foregoing article summarizes that greater prosperity can be had by embracing regional integration; as sampled here:

… more integration and better governance “hold the key” to greater prosperity.

So what will be the embraced choice of Caribbean stakeholders? Do you want to “muddle through” or do you want greater prosperity?

Duh!!!

(See the full report in the link in the Appendix below).

This has been the assertion all along – that interdependence and regional integration is better than the status quo – by the movement behind the book Go Lean…Caribbean, and all of its many aligning blog-commentaries. This aligns with the African proverb:

If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.

This book Go Lean… Caribbean serves as a roadmap for the introduction and implementation of the technocratic Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU), a graduated iteration of previous regional integration efforts for the democracies and territories in and around the Caribbean Sea. The following 3 prime directives are explored in full details in the roadmap:

  • Optimization of the economic engines in order to grow the regional economy to $800 Billion & create 2.2 million new jobs.
  • Establishment of a security apparatus to protect the resultant economic engines.
  • Improve Caribbean governance to support these engines.

This roadmap seeks to reboot the regional engines so as to reform and transform Caribbean society.

All in all, the book and accompanying blogs declare that the proposed CU Trade Federation is an expression successful integration. It calls for all of the Caribbean, all 30 member-states need to confederate, collaborate, and convene for solutions to the dysfunctional societal eco-systems. This is expressed as a pronouncement in the opening Declaration of Interdependence, (Page 11) with the following statement:

While our rights to exercise good governance and promote a more perfect society are the natural assumptions among the powers of the earth, no one other than ourselves can be held accountable for our failure to succeed if we do not try to promote the opportunities that a democratic society fosters.

The vision is for a confederation of the 30 member-states of the Caribbean into an integrated Single Market ; this means the Dutch, English, French and Spanish speaking territories. This also includes the US territories of Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. Tactically, the CU allows for a separation-of-powers between the member-state governments and the new federal agencies.

The Caribbean member-states have a lot of the same problems as other regions around the world – think income distribution, demographic changes and climate change impacts – the best practice for mitigating these problems is to integrate regional neighbors. These problems tend to be too big for any one member-state to contend with alone.

According to the foregoing, in addition to assuaging the negatives, there is the positive result of growing the economy by numbers like “seven to 10 per cent” annually. This point also aligns with the Go Lean book (Page 67), which asserted that the Caribbean Single Market can enjoy hyper-growth, with compounded figures like:

Year 1

Year 2

Year 3

Year 4

Year 5

Total

20%

20%

15%

15%

12%

113%

The Go Lean book details these series of community ethos, strategies, tactics, implementations and advocacies designed to facilitate the delivery of the regional solutions; see here:

Anecdote – Caribbean Single Market & Economy Page 15
Community Ethos – Money Multiplier Page 22
Community Ethos – Job Multiplier Page 22
Community Ethos – Lean Operations Page 24
Community Ethos – Cooperatives Page 25
Community Ethos – Ways to Impact the Future Page 26
Community Ethos – Ways to Impact the Greater Good Page 37
Strategic – Vision – Integrated Region in a Single Market Page 45
Strategic – Vision – Agents of Change Page 57
Tactical – Confederating a Non-sovereign Union Page 63
Tactical – Fostering a Technocracy Page 64
Tactical – Growing to $800 Billion Regional Economy Page 67
Tactical – Separation of Powers Page 71
Anecdote – Turning Around CariCom – the Single Market Page 92
Anecdote – “Lean” in Government Page 93
Implementation – Ways to Pay for Change Page 101
Implementation – Foreign Policy Initiatives at Start-up Page 102
Implementation – Security Initiatives at Start-up Page 103
Implementation – Ways to Deliver Page 109
Planning – Big Ideas for the Caribbean Region Page 127
Planning – Ways to Model the EU Page 130
Advocacy – Ways to Grow the Economy Page 151
Anecdote – Governmental Integration: CariCom Parliament Page 167
Advocacy – Ways to Improve Governance Page 168
Advocacy – Ways to Foster Cooperatives Page 176
Advocacy – Ways to Improve Homeland Security Page 180

Due to the many failures in the Caribbean region, many people have fled to find refuge in foreign countries, resulting in a debilitating brain drain. While the Caribbean needs its people, these people need a better Caribbean society – more prosperous.

The Go Lean roadmap for the CU stresses the need for a fully integrated Caribbean Single Market. The foregoing article recommends accelerating the implementation of the CU so as to bring forth the benefits of the regional integration effort. The people needs the Single Market and the Single Market needs the people.

This is the consistent theme – to dive deeper in the waters of an integrated Single Market – in so many previous Go Lean blog-commentaries; see sample here:

https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=9487 Things We Want from Europe: Model of an Integrated Economy
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=8351 A Lesson in Economic Fallacies – Independence: Hype or Hope
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=7929 Chambers’ Strategy: A Great Role Model for Caribbean Integration
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=7896 Caribbean Integration Model for Disaster Relief
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=7789 Caribbean Integration Model for Global Trade
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=7749 Caribbean Integration Model for Regional Elections
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=7601 Caribbean Integration Model for Caribbean Sovereign Debt
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=7586 Caribbean Integration Model to Cure High Drug Prices
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=7327 Caribbean Integration Model for Disease Control
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=7103 Caribbean Integration Model for Mitigating Climate Change
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=6399 Caribbean Integration Model for Mitigating Income Inequality
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=6341 Caribbean Integration Model for Tourism Stewardship
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=6103 Caribbean Integration Model to Mitigate Deadly Threats
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1193 EU Willing to Fund Study on Discontinuing Caribbean Integration
https://goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=833 European Integration Currency Model: One Currency

Now is the time for all of the Caribbean – the people and governing institutions – to lean-in for the Caribbean integration re-boot, this Caribbean Union Trade Federation. We no longer want to just “muddle through”; now is the time to make this region more prosperous, a better place to live, work and play. 🙂

Download the book Go Lean … Caribbean – now!

———-

Appendix Reference

Download the full report – Latin America and the Caribbean 2030: Future Scenarios here:

http://www.atlanticcouncil.org/images/publications/Final_LAC2030-Report.pdf

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