Black Immigrant Daily News

By Sir Ronald Sanders

Authoritative international bodies – among them, the respected Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA) – have concluded that “democracy is under both literal and figurative assault around the world.” The countries of the Caribbean have not been exempted from this judgement which is based on more than a decade of studies.

In the Americas (Canada and US, Central and South America and the Caribbean), there has been a rise in undemocratic governance as in Haiti and Nicaragua – both of which are teetering on the brink of disaster. In other countries in Latin America, there have been setbacks, particularly in Peru. Established democracies have also experienced decline. These were particularly severe in Brazil and the US, where current administrations are battling to overcome the legacies of the previous administrations.

Against this background, indications, from the governing and opposition representatives in the elected national assembly of Antigua and Barbuda, that the fundamental principles of democracy remain strong and respected, are welcomed.

On January 18, general elections, which were judged to be free and fair by several international observer groups, were held in Antigua and Barbuda. There was a vigorous campaign that resulted in the ruling Antigua and Barbuda Labour Party (ABLP) sliding from a 15-2 majority in the National Assembly to a one-seat majority. The ABLP won 9 of the 17 parliamentary seats; the main opposition party, the United Progressive Party (UPP) won 6 seats; the separatist Barbuda Peoples’ Movement won 1; and for the first time in Antigua’s history, an independent candidate, who was a former member of the ABLP, was elected.

The forceful nature of the election campaign and the resultant one seat majority in the National Assembly, led to the view by commentators, in and out of Antigua and Barbuda, that the stage had been set for a possible disruption of the democratic process, including civil disorder.

However, any such expectation was dispelled when the National Assembly convened from March 9 to 14 to debate the national budget that the Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister, Gaston Browne, presented on March 2. The elected representatives of the UPP, while five of them were new, put forward their arguments firmly, but with respect for parliamentary rules. For their part, the government representatives, especially the young, lone woman elected member, Maria Browne, laid out their detailed plans and responded in a mature manner to the heckling of the opposition representatives.

The result was a pellucid articulation of the differences on how issues should be addressed; proposals on areas that require priority attention; and evidence that the National Assembly will be a forum for forceful debate on the policies and programmes that the governing party intends to pursue.

These circumstances are good for democracy in Antigua and Barbuda at a time when global challenges are impacting every country in the world, calling for an inclusionary approach to governance.

The political campaign, for general elections in Antigua and Barbuda, was held amid global political and economic instability, including the escalation of prices for food and energy, increasing inflation, high interest rates for borrowing, and decreased access to financing.

These phenomena occurred – and are persisting – alongside enduring effects of climate change, attempts to recover from the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, and the continuing global uncertainty caused by the Russian war of aggression on Ukraine.

All this holds consequences for democratic governance. Popular dissatisfaction over high prices, low employment, and non-inclusionary decision-making, in any country, could result in protests and other acts of civil strife.

In Antigua and Barbuda’s case, the country is benefitting from a continuous growth of the economy (8.5 per cent in 2022, and a projected 9.4 percent for 2023); increasing employment; and significant private sector investment in tourism, construction and physical infrastructure, hefty outlays by the government in health and education, and an abiding respect for democracy, including freedom of speech, free and fair elections, and a strict separation of powers between the government, the legislature and the courts.

But while sound economic performance and respect for democratic principles and values have contributed to stability in Antigua and Barbuda, in many countries around the globe, “the ability to provide key public goods to their citizens and to close the gap between social expectations and institutional performance is increasingly at risk”, as IDEA points out in its 2022 report on democracy in the world.

The world is at a critical crossroad. Given the current global uncertainties, which include a possible recession, governments in democratic countries are under pressure to deliver the goods and services their people expect. Unlike authoritarian regimes, which are backed by military might to enforce their will, governments in democratic states have to form a new social contract with their populations, including their representative bodies in every sector.

Any who choose an authoritarian path, have to be conscious that, in countries where authoritarian regimes rule, there has been an exodus of talented and trained persons, economic decline, and a high dependence on the military to repress dissatisfied people. Authoritarianism, therefore, ought not to be an option for any nation that wants peaceful progress.

As part of a social contract to preserve democracy as a platform for progress of the individual, the society and the economy, international bodies strongly suggest that governments, political parties, private sector, civil society, media, expert groups, and academics have a role to play.

The hardest part of all this is how to encourage political parties to regard constructive participation in a national dialogue as an acknowledgment of their roles as representatives of the people, rather than as agencies for discrediting each other.

Yet, it is in constructive and inclusionary dialogue that national plans for peace, progress and prosperity can be best fashioned. Unreasoned division and brinksmanship to promote party political advantage is a certain prescription for national failure and the erosion of democracy.

Hopefully, political parties throughout the Americas, including the Caribbean, can agree to fashion with other partners in civil society, a relevant social contract for national progress that can carry countries successfully through the present global turmoil and beyond.

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Black Immigrant Daily News

Latin America and the Caribbean must urgently make progress on the energy transition, with greater production of renewable energy, universalizing access to energy and increasing energy efficiency, among other measures, according to the authorities and experts gathered yesterday at ECLAC’s headquarters in Santiago, Chile.

The “High-level Expert Workshop for the Special Report on Latin America of the IEA’s World Energy Outlook 2023” is taking place on March 16-17 to gather information on the region’s energy-related needs and opportunities in order to prepare a special report, the WEO-2023 Latin America Energy Outlook, which will be included in the next edition of the annual report prepared by the International Energy Agency (IEA).

The event’s participants include high-level officials from the IEA, ministerial authorities from various countries of the region and experts from international, regional and multilateral organizations such as the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), the Latin American Energy Organization (OLADE) and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).

The workshop was inaugurated by ECLAC’s Executive Secretary, Jos? Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs, as the gathering’s host, who indicated that the energy transition not only constitutes an alternative for supporting access, energy security and environmental sustainability, but also serves as a driver of productive transformation and of the development pattern in the region.

“The current situation of cascading crises and their effects on Latin America – including increased poverty, a new lost decade in terms of economic growth, high inflation and fiscal restrictions – have exposed the fragility and vulnerability of countries’ energy systems, with negative impacts on energy security, equality and sustainability. These crises have especially affected households in the most vulnerable quintiles, worsening the poverty and inequality situation,” the senior United Nations official underscored.

He recalled that despite progress on electricity coverage in the region (which reaches 97% of the population), there are still 16 million people without access to this vital service and 77 million who do not have access to clean cooking systems. This is compounded by the fragility of countries that depend on imports of fossil fuels (natural gas and oil), which reveals the low level of diversification and renewability in their energy matrix. All of this keeps us far from fulfilling Sustainable Development Goal 7 (“Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all”), with progress that is insufficient or very slow for achieving the targets on the share of renewable sources and energy efficiency in the region as a whole, he indicated.

“We must redouble work and efforts for accelerating national energy transition processes based on renewables. Even more so when raw materials and human capabilities are widely available in the region and can be harnessed in a sustained way. I am referring to wind, water, the sun, critical minerals, as well as the engineering capabilities and work that add value along the entire production chain,” Salazar-Xirinachs emphasized.

ECLAC refers to the energy transition as a process of sustainable transformation of the energy system that requires a new ecosystem of governance, targeted investment and modern regulatory frameworks, along with the adaptation of institutions and public policies.

The United Nations regional organization proposes five pillars of simultaneous action: 1) Increase renewable energy in the energy matrix; 2) Universalize access to electricity based on renewables and reduce energy poverty; 3) Increase energy efficiency in all sectors; 4) Strengthen regional complementarity, integration and interconnection; and 5) Boost energy security and resilience in the face of external shocks.

“In this very complex energy context for the region, resulting from the war in Ukraine, it is vital to carry out an exhaustive and detailed analysis that would enable exploring energy-related opportunities and challenges in each country, along with the progress made and actions taken in Latin American and Caribbean countries in terms of energy efficiency, clean transportation, sustainable cities and renewable energy, aimed at achieving a fair, sustainable and inclusive energy transition that would truly contribute to the goals of decarbonizing the economy, in line with Paris 2015,” ECLAC’s Executive Secretary concluded.

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On March 2, the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) met with the Delegation of the European Union to Barbados, the Eastern Caribbean States, the OECS and CARICOM/CARIFORUM, at the OECS Commission to discuss the Caribbean-EU partnerships for 2021-2027, with a focus on its EUROCLIMA programme.

EUROCLIMA is the flagship EU programme on environmental sustainability and climate change with Latin America and the Caribbean Region – a major contribution to the Caribbean-EU Partnership for a Green Deal. Its objective is to reduce the impact of climate change and its effects by promoting mitigation and adaptation to climate change, resilience and investment.

The Delegation also promoted two additional interrelated strategic partnerships, namely: A Partnership for economic resilience and trade; and Partnership for governance, security, and human development.

The Partnership for a green deal will focus on these thematic areas:

Energy
Biodiversity
Climate Adaptation and Mitigation
Circular economy
Disaster Risk Reduction

The EU recognises that the Caribbean is extremely vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, and prone to severe hurricanes and natural hazards. Consequently, there is a need to build climate resilience, but many islands are limited by resource constraints. The Green Deal partnership will help Caribbean countries to scale up their inclusive green transition, while building resilience in various economic sectors.

The Partnership for economic resilience and trade will seek to enhance trade and investment between the Caribbean and the EU through the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA), and sustainable growth of the Caribbean private sector. It will ensure that common challenges in the Caribbean are progressively addressed at the regional level.

The Partnership for governance, security, and human development will seek to ensure that Caribbean societies are safer, more inclusive, and resilient.

The EU delegation affirmed the strong EU-OECS partnership and their commitment to continuing to work with the Commission in areas of alignment between the aforementioned partnerships and the pillars of the OECS Commission’s Strategic Plan for 2021-2027 [1. Accelerating Regional Integration 2. Reinventing the Economy 3. Valuing the Environment 4. Building Resilience 5. Ensuring Equity and Inclusion].

The European Union is currently funding three flagship projects in the area of the Green Deal through the OECS Commission: The BioSPACE Project, the Integrated Landscape Management (ILM) Project – which are aimed at conserving marine and terrestrial biodiversity in the region; and the Recycle OECS Project (through the French Development Agency (AFD), which focuses on the development and implementation of a recyclable plastic waste collection and treatment programme in the OECS.

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The Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Authority is upping its presence in Germany in a drive to reinstate airlift and increase tourism arrivals from the European market.

CEO of the Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Authority, Colin C. James, UK & Europe Director of Tourism Cherrie Osborne travelled to Germany, for ITB Berlin, the first edition of the exhibition since the pandemic. ITB Berlin, is the world’s largest tourism and travel trade fair.

Germany is Europe’s largest travel market. With the Caribbean being Germany’s third most popular long-haul destination after the Indian Ocean and USA, ABTA CEO Colin C. James said, “the Tourism Authority’s is prioritizing increasing lift from this region, in order to benefit from the market’s strong economy, and the high consumer demand.”

“In 2022, 21% of arrivals into Antigua and Barbuda came from Europe with at least 5% from the German speaking markets with a further 56,000 or 15% of our cruise arrivals from Germany alone.”

“There is great consumer interest in Germany for Antigua and Barbuda. We have increased our marketing presence in the market and are confident that with the needed airlift we will be in a better position to grow the market substantially”, the ABTA CEO said.

During the show, the team conducted highly productive meetings with Condor, Eurowings, KLM and NEOS to discuss the future possibilities of flights to the destination for the winter 2023/2024 season. The discussions are ongoing with positive results to be announced.

The team also conducted a series of trade and consumer media interviews and re-engaged major tour operators such as DER Touristik and FTI to continue to raise the awareness of the destination’s commitment to marketing initiatives.

“Antigua and Barbuda is working assiduously to grow its European market post pandemic, which will help to compliment the business coming out of the UK. It’s well known that Europeans travel for a minimum of ten to fourteen nights and prop up the summer business”, said Director of Tourism UK and Europe Cherrie Osborne.

The Antigua and Barbuda Tourism Authority was joined by private sector partners including Cocos, Elite Islands Resorts, HBK Villas, Blue Sea Latin American Traveller as well as Economic Envoy Ralf Hansen and Ambassador-at-Large Bert Kirchner.

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Just days after celebrating Commonwealth Day, sixty young leaders from across the Commonwealth had a chance to speak directly with a group of Foreign Affairs Ministers and High Commissioners from Commonwealth member states at an event in London.

The event, Democracy Today in the Commonwealth: Enhancing Youth Political Participation in Governance, led to an engaging debate about the future of democracy and what initiatives may help to increase youth involvement in politics.

Held at the Commonwealth Secretariat headquarters, Marlborough House in London, the event brought the youth together with the Commonwealth Foreign Ministers and High Commissioners who had been attending the Commonwealth Foreign Affairs Ministers Meeting in London on Wednesday 15 March.

During the event, the youth leaders and the Government representatives reflected on the Commonwealth’s work in promoting democracy and good governance in member states and explored the young leaders’ perspectives on democracy, governance and political participation in the Commonwealth.

They also discussed practical recommendations to encourage young people’s participation in the civil and political life of member states. Some of the recommendations included an expansion of youth parliaments, the development of youth advisory councils, young people forming their own political parties and harnessing their political power to fight for greater gender inclusion. Also discussed was increased inclusion of people with disabilities and the issue of voting rights for the diaspora.

The youth leaders had an opportunity to engage with the Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland KC, who commented on how heartening it was to spend time with the young people of the Commonwealth and she reinforced their importance to the future of the political landscape.

The Secretary-General said: “Young people are the largest demographic group in many countries, and in our Commonwealth as a whole. So it is vital that we work together to help equip young people with the skills and knowledge to participate effectively in the democratic processes, and to ensure their views are embraced.”

She added: “It is not enough to simply provide opportunities for young people to participate in the democratic process. We must also ensure that their voices are heard and their contributions are valued. This requires a genuine and meaningful commitment from governments, civil society, and other stakeholders to really engage with young people and take their concerns seriously.”

This event is just one of a number of initiatives to mark the Year of the Youth, which was agreed to at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in 2022.

Head of Social Policy Development at the Commonwealth Secretariat, Layne Robinson, who coordinated the event, was pleased with the event’s outcome. He said: “Many of the young people here are already involved in the democracies in their countries. As one of the drivers of good governance and electoral in our member countries, it is imperative that the Secretariat play a role in the next generation of change-makers and defenders of good practices.”

The dialogue was part of a two-week Commonwealth Youth Leadership Summit, which aimed to upskill these young leaders, give them a chance to collaborate and build their networks. The leadership summit is one of the landmark activities to mark the Year of the Youth. The Year of the Youth celebrated the 10th anniversary of the Commonwealth Charter and the 50th anniversary of the Commonwealth Youth Programme.

In London, Commonwealth Day was marked on 13 March with a series of events, including a wreath-laying ceremony in memory of fallen Commonwealth servicemen and women, followed by a special service at Westminster Abbey and a reception for visiting dignitaries hosted at Buckingham Palace. Commonwealth Day was also celebrated in member countries with activities including flag-raisings, religious services and other commemorative activities.

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