Independence Day in Bridgetown was a good-natured, relaxed affair. Everyone who possessed a uniform, it appeared, was entitled to file past: national guard, police, coast guard, scouts and ambulance brigade included.
It wasn’t a celebration of martial pride or posturing so much as a good reason for a bank holiday, and to party late into the early hours. This year, Barbados’ independence will be 40 years old – which is when life begins, some point out; although the small island nation has already come a long way.
They might not be fierce patriots, but Barbadians, or “Bajans”, are fiercely proud of their exemplary education system, of healthcare that rivals the National Health Service in the UK, and a socially minded spirit that sees most parties – political, commercial and social – generally aligned in what they consider to be the national interest.
Contentious subjects
This is not to say that Barbados has no potentially divisive issues to confront, going forward, relating both to its sovereignty and identity, and to the management and definition of the Bajan economy. Within the next two years, the country will have to choose, by way of referendum, whether to sever its final links with the colonial ‘mother country’, to manage its entry into a regional single market and economy, and will have hosted one of the world’s largest sporting events. All will have their impact.
The issue that perhaps concerns Bajans least is the one that is most directly related to the island’s colonial past. By the end of the year, they will have voted on whether they wish to shed their final links to the Crown, replacing the governor general with a president and rejecting the privy council as the final court of appeal.
Despite occasional sentiment toward the ‘mother country’, few islanders are passionate monarchists. There are constitutional issues that go hand in hand with the referendum – but any significant interest in these remains the preserve of politics aficionados.
Cricket, on the other hand, rouses stronger sentiments. In 2007, Barbados will be one of the seven Caribbean nations hosting the ICC Cricket World Cup. It promises to be an enthralling affair, drawing tens of thousands of spectators, and the attention of millions more when the country hosts the final, scheduled for April 28.
Bajans pride themselves as much on the financial prudence as they do their love of the sound of willow on leather, and the World Cup is going to be an expensive party.
Government spending has attracted controversy before. At least twice in the past five years, notably when tourist numbers slumped after September 11, the Barbados government has undertaken “countercyclical spending” that roused concerns both at home and abroad – most notably by the International Monetary Fund, which has accused the government of letting deficits slip and inflation rise.
But even at senior levels within government and finance circles, there’s no great concern for what that esteemed institution thinks is the right or wrong way to run a country: “Look, for example, at those Caribbean countries that, on the IMF’s advice chose a floating exchange rate. They’ve suffered all the problems of economic volatility, and don’t enjoy the Barbadian reputation for economic and political stability,” says one banker.
Bond issue
Previously, government logic was that to pull itself out of a trough, the country had to invest in job creation schemes if it was to remain competitive in the long term. This same far-sightedness, the government argues, is what is driving it to seek $250m from the international markets, through the issue of long-tenor bonds bearing a rate of 6.25%.
But this is not all to fund a one-day World Cup wonder. Since the sugar industry has been virtually killed off by cheap world prices, (once the lifeblood of the Barbadian economy, but also responsible for the most egregious aspects of the island’s history), sun, sea and sand have become Barbados’ most reliable natural resource.
Hence the bond. The World Cup – with its influx of tourists (many of whom will return in subsequent years), international exposure and media coverage – requires investment if it is to be managed well. Some of the $250m the government hopes to generate from the issue is intended to be spent on directly cricket-related projects, including the rebuild of the Kensington Oval cricket ground on the outskirts of Bridgetown (the much-loved original has been to razed to make way for its 21st-century successor).
But spending is also being funnelled into the kinds of infrastructure projects – roads, hotels, and utilities – that Barbados needs if it is to accommodate not only the World Cup visitors, but those it hopes will follow in their wake.
Not that it is courting the madding crowds. Barbados is a small island – 22 miles at its longest point and 14 miles at its widest – and is still formulating its tourism strategy. Part of that process led to the government investing heavily in the Hilton Hotel outside Bridgetown. Observers say that this and similar moves might be necessary to lure in US visitors, many of whom are deterred by the lack of familiar hotel brand names. Some pot-hole jarred critics say they would have preferred the government to have spent the money on better roads.
But while downtown Bridgetown, and the surrounding main attractions appear to have drawn a demographically broad cross section of British, European, Canadian and US society, Barbados has its sights set on the luxury end of the market. This would tick several boxes, establishing Barbados as a prestige location rather than a mass market destination and would help the island retain its charm and Bajans’ noted friendliness, and lessen any negative environmental impacts.
These considerations are not unlinked to what is fast becoming Barbados’ other economic driver: its promotion as a financial services centre. The island is building a name here, but has not acquired – arguably for all the right reasons – the same reputation as some other regional players. A series of bilateral tax treaties is luring oversees companies to establish ‘international business companies’ on the island.
Choice of the wealthy
But Barbados, with its combination of natural charms, low crime rate and political stability, is also becoming a second home of choice for the high net worth individual. “Some of the investors who have trusts administered from Barbados for tax reasons also find it a desirable place to live – at least some of the time,” says one banker. But for those ordinary Bajan tax payers not well-heeled enough to enjoy the sand between their toes day in, day out, another issue is on the picture postcard horizon. The Caricom (Caribbean Community) Single Market and Economy (CSME) starts going “live” as from 2007 and will begin to usher, in phases, the free movement of trade, labour and capital.
For the most part, business welcomes this. It will remove many existing impediments to expansion and increase the size of markets previously restricted to single islands. The man in the street is less than sure: Barbadians are well paid, by Caribbean standards, the employment rate is high and there is little crime. However, there is little to export: the economy is based on the provision of services, not manufacturing. In which, case, critics argue, the single market will threaten Bajan jobs and what little home-grown production exists.
The champions of CSME – most bankers included – say these are either unfounded fears, or challenges that Barbados should confront. It is a storm the island will weather. Set as it is in the middle of a hurricane zone, it has seen its fair share of severe weather after all. And it certainly shouldn’t dampen this year’s – or any successive year’s – Independence Day parades.
