Bold and innovative action will be needed to overcome the development challenges that have been amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic, Caribbean Development Bank president Dr Hyginus ‘Gene’ Leon has urged regional leaders.
Stating that the aim was not to merely “recover lost ground and close the distance to achieving the sustainable goals”, he insisted that several key actions should be persistently pursued to “shift us to a new development trajectory”.
Adding that it will require a multi-dimension approach, he said: “We need a bold and transformative approach to rebalance and reposition our societies, to ensure an enduring legacy for future generations.
“This innovation must be founded on evidence-based decision creation and facilitated by strong governance processes.”
The CDB president said that short-term recovery policies should be in keeping with long-term policies for sustainable transformation.
Dr Leon was addressing the opening of the Sir Arthur Lewis Institute of Social and Economic Studies (SALISES) 22nd annual conference on Tuesday, which was held under the theme, Re-imagining Development for Small Island Developing States (SIDs): Post-Pandemic Transformations.
Outlining his vision for change, Dr Leon explained that the urgent steps needed included the strengthening of social resilience through the education system; creation of an active knowledge hub to promote innovation, production resilience and economic diversification; leveraging of the benefits of digital transformation, and marshalling financial resources to build resilience.
He said: “I see a post-COVID Caribbean region that is driven by knowledge and innovation. That which leverages diagnostics obtain from knowledge accumulation, and transforms knowledge diagnostics into strategies for economic diversification of products and markets.
“The region needs to refocus its education systems away from pure certification to one that embraces and rewards enquiry based innovative thinking, discovery and problem solving.
“Besides mastery of a professional skill, the reform of our education system must emphasise critical competencies such as adaptive thinking, emotional intelligence, networking and collaboration, cross-cultural communication and greater facility with the use of information technology and pivoting to life-long learning.”
To create a knowledge hub, Dr Leon said there was need for a “common platform” across the region to accumulate, analyse, transform and share knowledge in the economic, social and environmental dimensions through cooperative arrangements between regional multilateral organizations and central banks.
“We should also be looking at opportunities for collaboration and information sharing with non-regional multilateral development banks and other multilateral and international institutions that mine data,” he added.
He said digital transformation should take place through a “deliberate and joint responsibility action plan” at the national and regional levels across both private and public sectors geared towards the elimination of all digital divide by 2035.
Pointing out that it will require significant financial investments to achieve sustainable development across the region, Dr Leon said affordable financing options were also needed.
He said while some progress has been made in several countries across the region in this area, consideration “may also have to be given to the use of resilience bonds, climate for debt swaps and regional bond issues”.
Dr Leon said the private sector also had an important role to play in financing the region’s development needs, adding that there was need for more partnering with governments to provide finance for resilient infrastructure, climate action and renewable energy.
“CDB estimates indicate that halving poverty alone by 2030 will take more than a 100 per cent increase in investment expenditure, while achieving the other 16 Sustainable Development Goals will likely require similar significant increases in expenditure,” he said.
“Using options such as a combination of resources from government, donor partners and private capital markets – a holistic approach will be needed that encompasses traditional forms of development finance as well as a range of alternative and innovative financing instruments.” (marlonmadden@barbadostoday.bb)
