Prime Minister Mia Mottley - file photo
Prime Minister Mia Mottley of Barbados on Monday again called for a restructuring of the global financial system and urged the Pan American health organisation (PAHO) to continue its efforts to assist small developing countries like those in the Caribbean deal with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ms Mottley, addressing the PAHO’s virtual 58th Directing Council meeting, said the Caribbean needed the restructuring of the world financial system if it is to meet the future socio-economic demands of its population.
“We welcome the effect of COVID-19 in bringing a growing realisation to the world, the global financial system must be restructured and indeed revolutionised and democratized,” she said.
Only in such circumstances “can vulnerable sub-regions like our own Caribbean Community (CARICOM) escape the prison of the false capital base middle income categorisation which is blocking us from receiving much needed financial aid, while penalising our efforts at creative sustainable national economies,” she argued.
She said, with the Caribbean being among the most dependent regions of the world and whose economies “have come to a screeching halt with zero revenue,” a way must be found to “jump start” their economies.
“But it must be done in such a way so as to ensure the safety of our workers,” she said, adding “it is for this reason that I have been advocating that the workers in the tourism and travel sector be given priority access to vaccinations and therapeutics when they are fully available.
“This will allow thousands of our workers to get back to work safely in this hemisphere and to get our almost dormant economies awake again. I look forward to your cooperation in this institution in helping us to make this call for so many of our countries that are literally affected by the absence of travel and tourism activities”.
She said that one of the few benefits of COVID-19 has been the improvement in the environment as a result of the lockdowns across the world, but “regrettably with the restart we are almost back to where we were before the pandemic struck us.”
SOURCE: Barbados Today
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