Gene Klann in his book Crisis Leadership tells us that effective leadership “can rescue an organisation from chaos and deliver opportunities where before there were only disadvantages”. He posits that those entities that successfully handle crisis situations “can come out of them stronger”.
We completely agree. Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown. In high-stress situations, Klann warns us, normally rational thinkers can move away from their sense and reason.
The leadership of this island, at this moment, requires level-headedness at every juncture and at every state and private entity and this must also translate to individuals and households. We cannot afford to lose hope or move away from our sense and reason, as Klann reminds us.
We have watched and we have applauded the systematic and level-headed approach of our Ministry of Health, related agencies and departments, as well as the tripartite arrangement that has served our country well for the past 30 years.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic made its deadly arrival here in mid-March, the mostly unified stand of Barbadians to apply the directives and protocols has served as a successful protective barrier from the illness, despite the 104 cases recorded and seven deaths. The 90 recoveries also speak to the high level of health care buoyed by the assistance from the Cuban Government.
But with confirmation today from Minister of Tourism and International Transport Kerrie Symmonds that unemployment in Barbados hit the disastrously high level of 40 per cent, one fully appreciates the urgency to get the economic engines moving again.
We cannot sustain a situation where nearly half our country’s workforce is languishing without a paycheque and the probability of landing a job is virtually non-existence because the economy is literally grinding to a halt.
Again, leading in crisis is no easy task. We support the innovation that came with the Barbados Welcome Stamp and the kind of interest it is generating in Barbados from all parts of the world. And just as we predicted, a Caribbean neighbour, Antigua and Barbuda, has jumped on the tailcoat of the Barbados Welcome Stamp by offering its own residency programme that would allow visitors to St John’s to work there for up to two years.
But now that we have reopened bars, restaurants, sporting and other assemblies, and resumed scheduled international flights from Europe, North and South America, and the Caribbean, we have a much more difficult situation on our hands.
The delicate balancing act between reviving the economy and protecting society, we perceive, will be the greatest test to the leadership of this country in the post-COVID-19 environment.
Canada-based Barbadian economist Carlos Forte insists the risks associated with the disease are just too high as they were three months ago when the island first shut down. He called the decision to resume commercial flights to the island as both “premature” and “counterproductive”.
There is much to agree with the economist even as we must also accept that leadership in these circumstances requires a level of risk. Barbados is a virtual hostage to the United States dollar and other tradable currencies. With virtually everything we require to survive arriving on cargo ships, without an effective plan to revive the tourism industry we risk untold damage to the population.
Cometh the crisis, cometh leaders.
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