Caribbean Economies in the Era of COVID-19.
Pandemics, natural disasters exacerbated by climate change, have
dramatically altered the way, that Caribbean economies conduct business and interact
with international actors, in the trade, commerce, and tourism fields. A recent
World Bank report, April 12, 2020, highlighted some of the pros and cons of
doing business in this ‘crisis’ environment. What follows is a Caribbean
centric perspective, which considers the unique position, of Sint Martin as a
so-called ‘hub’, in a Caribbean context. This analysis also examines the
post-colonial relationship of the Netherlands vis a vis Sint Martin, which
relationship taints every aspect of Sint Martin’s foreign policy efforts, to
the detriment of the island and its people.
The World Bank report noted that because of global travel restrictions,
in light of COVID 19: ‘Air traffic has fallen to a trickle. The resulting
collapse in tourism will severely affect countries in the Caribbean basin’.
The report further stated that the financial
crisis, on a regional scale is a distinct possibility. Domestically and here on
Sint Martin, most debtors are unable to service their debts and are calling for
debt relief. The question of liquidity support, for the government of
Sint Martin from the Dutch, the government is fraught with a multiplicity of
issues.
1. The government of The Netherlands insists to attach, draconian demands on the local government as a
prerequisite for liquidity support.
2. The differences in
culture temperament, mores, and values are key and ongoing factors, for the
loggerheads experienced by the two governments.
The so-called Dutch Caribbean, namely Curacao, Sint Martin, Aruba,
Bonaire, Saba, and St Eustacia, traditionally have been stable islands. In
contemporary times, however, a confluence of factors have increasingly brought
to the fore, our unique vulnerabilities and resiliency in the face of natural
disasters, pandemics, and climate change. These factors have caused and
exacerbated social unrest, as on Sint Martin North and South, when we witnessed
massive looting and wanton destruction of property, perpetrated by persons from
a broad stratum, of society.
In the economic explanation, years of slow economic growth and the need
for fiscal adjustments are straining the capacity of the population to cope. In
the social explanation Latin America and the Caribbean is the region with the
highest levels of inequality, with wide gaps in living standards breeding
frustration. Regional governments response should be better economic opportunities
for the worse- off, with a determined focus on service delivery and social
protection. The exact opposite is taking place. On Sint Martin, the poorest are
being taxed into perpetual penury, while millionaires have offshore accounts
whose sole purpose is to avoid paying taxes locally.
The COVID-19 Outbreak.
The first Covid-19 case was diagnosed in China on December 10, 2019, and
the first death and the first death was recorded one month later, on January 9th,
2020. Thereafter the amount of registered cases has surpassed one million. Since
then there have been over nine million confirmed cases and nearly half a
million deaths. Some governments in the Caribbean have opened back their
airports, including the government of Sint Martin. Florida now one of the
epicenters of the Covid-19 virus is not on the list of nations whose citizens
are banned from entering Sint Martin. The Sint Martin government is risking the
lives of 1000’s of people on the island with this move. Again, as a result of
its dependency on tourism, the government is willing to gamble with the lives
of people, in order to earn a dollar. More to come soon on this topic.
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