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#BTSpeakingOut – We’re selling ourselves short

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The views and opinions expressed by the author(s) do not represent the official position of Barbados TODAY.

by Michael Ray

There seems to be a belief that Barbadians cannot do or achieve certain things. Months ago, someone suggested that there were no Barbadians capable of dealing with foreign debt.

The implication was that only foreigners can deal with foreign debt. Foreigners were brought in to deal with money Barbados borrowed on the international market.   The “foreign currency experts” were paid with millions of US Dollars.

Barbados has had difficulty earning sufficient  foreign currency in the past and spends foreign currency for approximately 80 per cent of what is consumed.

Barbados has been indebted to the IMF and other international financial institutions from as far back as the 1970’s era. Did we have to pay out scarce foreign currency to liquidate our foreign debt during those earlier periods?

More recently, hundreds of houses to be partially constructed with steel were imported from China. The cost of these houses involved millions of foreign currency in the form of United States dollars.

The Barbadian public was informed that there were no Barbadians capable of constructing houses using steel. This was also publicly refuted by local building contractors.

One noted building developer even suggested that authorities needed not import steel-framed houses from China, he could construct low-income concrete houses within a stipulated 42-day period.

We need to stop assuming that Barbadians cannot rise to the occasion and even higher heights. We need to stop believing that Barbadians are incapable of conquering the challenges.

Barbadians must be allowed to prove their worth and their mettle. mWith available resources and the necessary will-power Barbadians can climb the highest mountains.

But opportunities must be made available to Barbadians in order for them to succeed. Barbadians should neither be fenced in nor fenced out from opportunities otherwise made available to others. Foreigners, foreign currency and foreign direct investment must not be the only things we see and on which we focus.  There must be  balance and equity.

An adequate amount of local space should be made available for Barbadians wishing to contribute meaningfully, crafting and shaping a Barbados for our present generation and generations to come.

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