Region missing out on ‘bang’ for consolidated social security ‘buck’

Prime Minister of Grenada Dickon Mitchell is lamenting the absence of a regional social security fund.
Speaking to the business community earlier today at The Sands Hotel in Worthing, Christ Church, he said with social security schemes around the Caribbean under strain, it is important discussions are held on creating a regional social security net, with funds that can be utilized to create more employment opportunities for our people.
“I heard that Barbados’ National Insurance Scheme has had significant challenges. It is not just Barbados, it is every single NIS fund within the region.
“In Antigua, if you go sometimes they tell you ‘come back next week’. In Grenada, we are beginning to make significant adjustments to ensure the fund itself isn’t bankrupt in 10 years’ time. It amazes me that we have all these individual funds and we have not consolidated as a region so that we can get more bang for our buck.
“We can have the University of the West Indies, we can have the OECS, a single currency, a single central bank. It blows my mind that after 30-40 years, we do not have a regional social security fund that gives us the advantages and the ability to invest back within the region in industries that create more employment. Essentially, funds are driven exclusively by income from employers and employees,” he said.
Mitchell said he was set to meet with the President of Caribbean Development Bank to have a discussion on the matter, as well as on the US$50 billion in liquidity sitting in regional banks.
“It’s not that there isn’t cash or capital available, the question is how we unlock it and we can only unlock it by taking a regional approach to the challenges we face,” he added.
Mitchell also spoke on the challenges of inter-regional travel, and urged other CARICOM leaders to invest in Inter-Caribbean Airways.
“This is the starting point for CARICOM coming out of COVID. We no doubt, as small islands have challenges, but our success depends on us,” he argued.
Saying the region’s education system is not matching the reality of Caribbean islands since it does not even take into account our ocean space, he stressed that basic skills like swimming and diving should be taught as these can help create employment opportunities.
“A lot of scuba shops for example are not owned by Grenadians or Caribbean people but by people from North America and Europe and these jobs are taken because our education system is not geared to our reality,” the PM asserted.
(JB)