Barbados Celebrates 3rd Republic Anniversary: Achievements and Progress

Last Saturday – 30th November – we celebrated not only 58 years of Independence, but also the 3rd anniversary of our Republic of Barbados.

Our achievement of substantive independence from Britain on 30th November 1966 was indeed an awesome and outstanding accomplishment. But, as great as that accomplishment was, it was perfected and made even grander by the historic step we took almost exactly three years ago to remove the monarch of Britain from the position of Head of State of our nation and to elevate our very own Dame Sandra Prunella Mason to that exalted office.

Essentially, what we did was to take full control of our sovereignty, thereby bringing completion to our state of national Independence. We therefore finally placed ourselves in a position where we – and we alone – possess the power to do every single thing necessary to govern ourselves.

And, of course, the key questions that were on the minds and lips of many of those who contemplated the brave step that our nation took on 30th November 2021 were: – “What will the people and Government of Barbados make of their new Republic? Will they exhibit an enhanced quality of autonomy and self-confidence and forge into new and unprecedented areas of development?

Well, after three years of Barbados’ republican journey, I am pleased to be able to report that we have indeed racked up some very impressive achievements. Permit me to highlight just a few of these achievements:-

Establishment of the Bridgetown Initiative (BI) – a powerful, cutting- edge campaign of innovative proposals and global advocacy to revamp the existing International Economic System in order to make it more just and supportive of developing countries.

Development of the National Transformation Initiative (NTI) – an extensive and widely accessible programme of training and empowerment for the entire citizenry of the Republic of Barbados.

Ongoing construction of an indigenous Blue-Green Bank to finance projects to protect our Barbadian environment.

Pioneering the inclusion of Debt Pause Clauses in our debt instruments, such that, if the Republic is hit by a natural disaster we can pause our debt payments for a 2-year period.

Launching a Pan-African healthcare collaboration project with Ghana, by virtue of which hundreds of Ghanaian nurses have been employed in our Public Health system.

Development of new reservoirs and new water infrastructure in response to our country’s water scarcity problem.

Creation of the visionary “Debt for Nature Conservation and Debt for Climate Resilience” swaps, by virtue of which a segment of our nation’s debt service has been redirected towards renovating and improving our sewage plant and to achieve marine conservation.

Achieving a successful Presidency of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), inclusive of a successful hosting of UNCTAD’s Global Supply Chain Forum in Barbados.

On-going construction of a new state-of-the-art national Geriatric Hospital.

Achieving fourteen successive quarters of growth in the economy of Barbados, and continuing.

Assuming Chairmanship of the World Health Organisation (WHO) Executive Board.

Establishment of a Non-Contributory pension for Barbadians who suffer from physical or mental disabilities.

Enactment of legislation to protect the rights of wayside vendors and establishment of new and improved market facilities.

Securing the position of vice-president of the 2024 United Nations General Assembly.

Establishment of new embassies in Brazil, Panama, Ireland and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Investment in and establishment of the largest fleet of electric buses in the independent Caribbean.

Ongoing construction of a new Life Sciences Industry and a Health Development Partnership with Africa and the Caribbean.

Establishment of the “KILOMBO: The Emancipation Village” as a permanent feature of our annual “Season of Emancipation” Encouraging, facilitating and securing the establishment of the African Export-Import Bank’s Caribbean Headquarters in Barbados.

Being entrusted with the Chairmanship of the 68 nation Forum of Climate Vulnerable Countries.

Granting of monthly social security payments to Barbadians with such disabilities as cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, autism and down syndrome.

Maintaining a strong and principled foreign policy based on the doctrine of “Friends of All: Satellites of None”.

Recognition of the State of Palestine.

Concrete, principled and meaningful solidarity with Cuba and Venezuela.

Providing critical leadership to the international effort to combat global warming and to secure climate justice.

Leadership – arm in arm with CARICOM – of the global Reparations Movement.

Successful hosting of the Finals of the 2024 Cricket World Cup.

And the list goes on.

But even while we celebrate these admirable achievements, we must also have the maturity, humility and level-headedness to acknowledge that there are several areas of our national life that are crying out for rectification, improvement and higher standards. And, of course there is the very troubling issue of gun violence and associated homicides.

It is not surprising therefore that in the midst of our celebrations our inspirational prime minister challenged the entire nation to embrace and work on achieving the following five self-improvement goals or “Beacons of Renewal for Barbados”: namely, Citizen Accountability; National Cleanliness; Respect and Empathy for our fellow citizens; Cultivation of a Solution-oriented Mind-set; and Commitment to an ideal of becoming outstanding global citizens imbued with deep Bajan roots and a pride- filled Bajan identity.

It is therefore fair to say that the Republic of Barbados has boldly and confidently set sail and has demonstrated that it is determined to both make its way in the world and to make its mark on this world!

DAVID COMISSIONG

Barbados’ Ambassador to the Caribbean Community (CARICOM)