BRICS countries establish alternate funds to rival the IMF

Emerging BRICS powerhouse agrees to establish US$50B bank, US$100B crisis fund

JULY 17, 2014 | BY KNEWS |  Fortaleza, Brazil – The BRICS group of emerging powers met on Wednesday with South American presidents as they justified the creation of a development bank, seen as an alternative to Western-dominated global financial organizations.

The leaders of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) held closed-door talks in Brasilia with counterparts from Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela and other Latin American nations.

President Donald Ramotar (3rd back) with leaders who attended the meetings in Brazil.

Addressing the Caribbean’s “grave economic crisis” – Sir Ronald Sanders

Addressing the Caribbean’s “grave economic crisis”

 One of the suggested actions is to revisit a paper entitled “Re-energising CARICOM” that leaders set aside at a special retreat in May 2011 in Guyana.

By Sir Ronald Sanders

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, Thursday November 14, 2013 - In a commentary on the statement by St Lucia Prime Minister Dr Kenny Anthony that there is a grave economic crisis gnawing away at Caribbean countries and “governments are busy looking inward rather than pursuing a Caribbean solution”, I drew attention to several possible areas of practical action that governments of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) could take immediately.

One of the suggested actions is to revisit a paper entitled “Re-energising CARICOM” that leaders set aside at a special retreat in May 2011 in Guyana.   

US Republicans using weapons of mass financial destruction- Sir Ronald Sanders

US Republicans using weapons of mass financial destruction

The impact of the government shutdown on the US economy, which is still the world’s largest economy, will be felt worldwide says Sir Ronald Sanders.

By Sir Ronald Sanders 

Sir Ronald Sanders

 Caribbean360 News – Barbados, Thursday October 3, 2013 – There will be a lot of rubbish in Washington over the next few days.  And, that rubbish is not only the garbage that is steadily piling up in the nation’s capital because of the government’s shut down.  It is also the quality of the Republican Party’s argument for refusing to pass a Budget that would allow the federal government to provide goods and services to the public.

While the Republicans have obstructed Budgets before – notably in late 1995 and early 1996 when Bill Clinton was President – there is more than a little racism toward this first non-White American President by the right wing Tea Party element even though they have not dared to say so.   

The Commonwealth: the Black and White of It – Sir Ronald Sanders

The Commonwealth: the Black and White of It

By Sir Ronald Sanders 

Thursday, August 29, 2013 –    Huntington News Net

Sir Ronald Sanders

Boris Johnson, the Mayor of the British Capital City, London, has joined in a chorus of voices in the Conservative Party that has been calling for Britain to abandon its membership of the European Union (EU) and to look instead to the Commonwealth of Nations as “countries that offer immense opportunities for British goods, people, services and capital”.

This is a huge reversal from 1971 when the then leader of the Conservative Party and Prime Minister of Britain, Edward Heath, told the House of Commons that the idea that the Commonwealth might become “an effective economic and political let alone military bloc had never been realised”.  On the contrary, he argued, it was generally accepted that that trade with the Commonwealth overseas, unlike that with the European Common Market, held no prospect of dynamic growth. Britain’s subsequent entry to what is now the European Union (EU) in 1973 put an end to any further development of the Commonwealth as preferential trading group.  

Rethinking taxing tourism – Commentary

Commentary: Rethinking taxing tourism

Published on June 21, 2013   by Caribbean News Now
By Sir Ronald Sanders 

Are governments in the Caribbean killing the goose that lays the golden egg? This question relates to the number of taxes that governments are applying to the tourism industry and, particularly, to the cost of airplane tickets for flights originating in their countries.

Sir Ronald Sanders is a Consultant and Visiting Fellow, London University. Reponses to: www.sirronaldsanders.com

In some cases, the cost of government taxes far exceeds the actual fare charged by the airline. Intra-Caribbean travel has been seriously affected. For instance, it is cheaper to travel from some Caribbean countries to New York, Miami and Toronto than it is to journey to nearby Caribbean states.

This, of course, has a harmful effect on tourism, apart from the fact that people to people contact, which should be at the heart of a Caribbean “community”, is also undermined. Caribbean people are also tourists. For some Caribbean countries, Caribbean tourists represent their second largest market.

The taxes applied by governments on tourism-related activity is akin to adding costs to exports making them more expensive and less competitive in the global market. In other words, it is like shooting yourself in the foot, and thereby giving your competitors in a race for tourists an unrestrained opportunity to beat you.

Legacies of Empire: the Good, the bad and the ugly – Sir Ronald Sanders

Legacies of Empire: the Good, the bad and the ugly

Thursday, May 23, 2013 – 17:54 By Sir Ronald Sanders

This commentary is a much shortened version of a paper delivered at a public seminar at London University on May 20th on the Legacy of the British Empire in the Caribbean.

The Legacy of Empire in the Caribbean is a mixed one – some aspects are good, many aspects are bad, and one in particular is ugly. I will start with the good aspects:

THE GOOD:

Language

The first is language. Because English has become the first language of international commerce, the Legacy of the English language in the former British colonies has been beneficial to the English-Speaking Caribbean countries in a range of global transactions.  

Why ignore Cuba’s welcome mat?

By Sir Ronald Sanders 

Havana Cuba

CARICOM businesses could be a real part of a bustling Cuban market of 11 million people in the future says Sir Ronald Sanders

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, Thursday December 13, 2012 - Cuba has long been an economic, trade and investment opportunity that has been neglected by the 15-nation Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries.  This neglect could become a matter of grave regret as Cuba continues to open up its economy to other countries and groups of countries, for by the time businesses in the CARICOM countries wake up to the opportunities Cuba offers, companies from Europe, Canada and Latin America might already have filled the space.   

Oil in Guyana: Optimism is not enough, Sir Ron

Optimism is not enough, Sir Ron

Posted By Stabroek News On March 17, 2012  Political Analysis |

It’s nice of the one-time Guyanese broadcaster – frankly, one of the best in his time amongst a whole bunch of top of the line radio men and women……….sigh – turned high-level diplomat, Sir Ronald Sanders to wish us well in his cross or crutch comment on our hunt for oil and natural gas.

Here’s what Sir Ron had to say about the drilling exercise that is going on right now: “Already, Guyana’s economy is benefitting from millions of dollars being pumped by two companies into their operations. Should the drilling release the expected millions of barrels of oil and trillions of cubic feet of natural gas, the country’s economy will boom.”      

Trayvon Martin and St Vincent’s UN Ambassador: the Racist Similarities

Trayvon Martin and St Vincent’s UN Ambassador: the Racist Similarities

Monday, April 2, 2012 – 17:12 By Sir Ronald Sanders – Commentary

It seems that institutional racial profiling continues to be a massive problem in the United States notwithstanding that the country has an African-American President, several African-American Congressmen and Mayors of Cities, and accomplished African-Americans in the media and in corporate America.

I have not mentioned the entertainment business – either sport or music — because for decades those are the two areas in which black people were expected to be.  They have long been ‘racially profiled’ as acceptable within the confines of these two categories.

Sir Ronald Sanders

Even though there are thousands of African-Americans in the police forces across the states of America, institutional racial profiling is particularly evident amongst the police.  In part, this is because the police force is the institution that most confronts black people every day in the United States, and the reports of abuse are legion.   As a friend, former diplomat and current commentator, Peter Simmons, puts it: “Obama’s election does not mean that the country has moved to post-racial status”.

In reality, although he is the President of the Unites States, Barack Obama himself continues to be a target of racial abuse.  Some of the statements made about him by bigoted and prejudiced Americans – even within the US Congress – would never have been made about any former US President.    

Where are businesses in Caribbean business?

Where are businesses in Caribbean business? By Sir Ronald Sanders
Published in Caribbean News Now
The countries of the Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM), with the exception of Guyana and Suriname, are each experiencing severe decline in their economies. The small Leeward and Windward Islands are worst affected, and so too is Barbados. Sir Ronald Sanders is a  business executive and  former Caribbean diplomat who publishes widely  on small states in the global  community. Reponses to:  www.sirronaldsanders.com Governments are struggling to find ways in which to spur economic activity that could produce growth. Meanwhile, unemployment and poverty are growing. Unemployment is highest amongst the youth, making for an alarming situation. Presenting a lecture to students of the University of the West Indies recently, I received the greatest applause and nods of approval, when I lamented the fact that there were now many graduates of the University who were unable to find jobs that correspond to their level of qualifications, if they could find any jobs at all. In this regard, many Caribbean countries are like pressure cookers, waiting to explode. Only migration and remittances from family abroad are easing the pressure. But, even these valves are not sufficient to relieve discontent completely.