HTML last revised 11 February, 2003.Proverbs, Chapter 29 v 18:
"Where there is no vision the people perish."
Factoid, Montserrat, 2002:
Where there is no hope, the people migrate and the country dies.
Montserrat's economy today is on the brink of collapse.
Economic indicators seem to be saying that Montserrat, as an economic and financial entity, is neither viable nor sustainable.
Nationals sense few messages of hope and persons who withstood the ravages of volcanic activity at its peak are now opting to migrate, as the economy trudges towards a standstill and the future seems increasingly bleak.
Being part of the wider CARICOM region, some of Montserrat's economic woes are attributable to recent developments that have and will continue to affect regional economies in the foreseeable future.
The main developments have been:1
Substantial borrowings from private financial institutions to close fiscal gaps created or widened by the economic downturn, which were not always fully consistent with development priorities, but have the potential to create undesirable consequences for future management of fiscal operations;
The push towards trade liberalization resulting in shrinkage in traditional export areas with a consequential loss of incomes and jobs;
A steady and noticeable downward trend in the flow of official development assistance even as private investment flows are volatile, not compensatory and concentrated in two or three of the larger islands;
An unraveling of the social fabric as manifested by male marginalization, increasing crime and violence, and an increasing desire for instant gratification;
The introduction of additional obstacles to entry in some areas of economic activity and the further restrictions on the already limited capacity diversification opportunities as the developed countries and their agencies force agreements and compliance as global commercial and regulatory systems move to a more rules based approach.
But in addition to these developments, there are other country-specific factors which directly and significantly contribute to the economic malaise in which Montserrat finds itself.
The ongoing volcanic activity and related uncertainty continues to impact the development and retention of human and financial resources. Our incapacity to control the quantity and accuracy of the content of international news releases continue to handicap our attempts to market our selves as an alternative small island tourist destination as well as a very real potential investment option. Even our own local news content sometimes seems to mimic the kind of sensationalism and half-truths for which we condemn the international press. These factors all result in shrinking investment flows and economic opportunities as the uncertainty of a volcanic environment redirects investments away from Montserrat and deny potential investors the opportunity to review the investment potential of Montserrat. In addition the declining population limits the scope of new investment and so retards the economic re-development of the island.
In his 1999-2000 Budget presentation, entitled "Renewing the trust with the people", the Prime Minister of Jamaica, the Hon. P.J. Patterson said, "We must change our approach to governance, or we will become part of the problem to be swept away by the emerging new social order."2 National leaders must embrace the concept of participatory governance if the needs and aspirations of citizens are to be met. World wide national leadership have become the most debated issue as there is an exponential growth in the number of citizens benefiting from increased knowledge and exposure to information. Even while giving critical support to their political leaders it is clear that "followers are active agents in the leadership relationship, not passive recipients of the leaders influence."3 This has made it quite clear that not only is the leader dominated form of government incompatible with the requirements of twenty-first century leadership but that the role of the centre led leader dominated type of government is irrelevant and will never lead to a harmonious leader and follower relationship.
Presently, our political system does not encourage government; or political, business and civic leaders to seek broad national consensus or support on development issues, or, to jointly articulate or to pursue objectives that are centreed on people. Montserrat is yet to develop the well-touted social partnership formula, and the absence of this level of national dialogue denies citizens the ability to participate in the formulation of national policies and programs that directly impact their lives. Indeed, there have been instances where politicians have from time to time voiced their concern over not being involved in or not having knowledge of the plans and policies of the Executive Branch of Government.
"Aid without some sort of conditionality is politically impossible"4 as donor governments and institutions must account to and carry out the agendas of their voting, tax paying and pledging public. But it is always possible that these agendas may, either not be in the interest of, or, of interest to the recipient country. In addition aid conditionalities are normally rooted in macro-economic solutions and outcomes, and not in people-centreed solutions. As a result, aid tied to conditionalities cannot purchase sustainable change, and even if it does force or induce recipient governments to introduce specific policy reforms, these reforms could result in significant harm to the environment or the livelihoods of the recipient country's peoples. "In 1996, for example, Mozambique was forced under a HIPC conditionality to lower tariffs on processed cashews nuts from 20% to 14%. As a result local factories had to face competition from Indian companies. They closed down and 10,000 people lost their jobs."5
Even though aid conditionality represents an attempt by donors to use aid as an incentive for reforming policies and institutions in developing countries, the way it is applied could never succeed in leveraging good policies or have its ultimate or intended effectiveness.
The failure of conditionalities to attain their desired objectives, that is bring about sustained policy reform and economic growth, lies in its perverse effect of undermining the domestic democratic process by supplanting local sovereignty with donor driven public policy making.
Indeed, the concept of aid highlights the dichotomy between conditionalites, governance and ownership. Conditionalities deny the local government and citizens the opportunity to participate fully in their own self development. And it is this participation that is the linchpin of good governance. And where there is no participation by the aid recipient and the conditionalities attached to the aid is tailored to meet the need of the donor, then there can be no ownership of the programs being implemented.
Conditionalities also raise the questions of who is really being aided. Elin Enge, Chair of Reality of Aid, is of the opinion that "Billions of dollars counted by aid donors as aid is actually spent within the donor country, on things like cost of hosting refugees and paying the ... expatriate experts who deliver technical assistance. Billions more might as well never be sent as it is tied to trade or consultancy deals that result in a huge net return for the donor."6
It is clear that donors and recipients have their own priorities in the aid relationship and so aid recipient's ownership is often nominal and civil society participation is largely ignored or not even considered. The "rhetoric of partnership" and the "veneer of ownership" therefore results in country strategies being written by donor agencies while domestic politics are ignored. When this happens, the countries' ownership of projected reforms is undermined and their implementation delayed.
Unfortunately, while it is widely acknowledged that ownership is critical to development and aid effectiveness, fostering a sense of partnership has remained largely illusive.
How then do we resolve these issues and find a way forward for Montserrat that could ensure sustainable human development for our people in the face of the mountains of challenges that we are facing?
Kofi Annan, Secretary General of the United Nations, said "Good governance is perhaps the most important factor in eradicating poverty and promoting development".7
The concept of good governance as a prescription for development is not a new one. It first surfaced in 1989 in a World Bank report and the "main thrust behind its introduction in the Bank's corporate policies resides in the continuing lack of effectiveness of aid, the feeble commitment to reform of recipient governments..."8
Governance, even as it encompasses the state, transcends it to include in its concept the private sector and civil society.9 Governance is the process by which a country's economic and social resources for development are managed and the capacity of the government to design, formulate and implement policies and discharge functions.
But Good Governance puts further requirements on the process of decision-making and policy formulation. It implies managing public affairs in a transparent, accountable, participatory, equitable and effective manner. It promotes the rule of law and ensures that political, social and economic priorities are based on broad consensus in society and that the voices of the most vulnerable are heard in the decision making over the allocation of developmental resources.
And Good Governance systems ensure the creation of capacities to realize development that gives priority to the vulnerable, sustain the environment and create expanding choices and equitable opportunities for all in society. It is this approach to governance, therefore, that puts people at the centre of development as it seeks to strengthen the enabling environment that will allow for the needs of this generation to be met without compromising the rights and opportunities of future generations. And it is this understanding of the "protection of life opportunities of future generations...and... the natural systems on which all life depends"10 that is the very essence of sustainable people-centreed human development.
It is this understanding that makes human development and good governance indivisible. Human development cannot be sustained without good governance and governance cannot be sound unless it sustains human development.
How then can Montserrat implement Good Governance initiatives to facilitate sustainable people centreed human development and ensure that there is a real future for the citizens of Montserrat wherever they currently reside?
Montserrat's present situation is that the volcanic crisis fallout and the response of the British Government have reduced what was once the "sovereign" state of Montserrat into a micro project within a major funding agency.
Re-development and rehabilitation of the island never seems to be viewed within the context of the development of a national sustainable economy that equitably meets the human needs of its citizens, or the development of national sustainable institutions that assure both security and opportunity for social, intellectual and spiritual growth. Instead, the political entities to which the society has yielded the power to set economic, social and even political priorities are making decisions that seem to place private financial interests ahead of the larger interests of people. And more specifically, the economic crisis has caused the power to govern by the democratically elected government to be shifted into the hands of a donor agency.
But the restructuring of the economy must be returned to the domain of the citizens. Adherence to good governance initiatives will and can remedy this situation.
Broad citizen participation in the envisioning and advancing of policy agendas to facilitate state, private sector and civil society dialogue is what is required to guide the re-development process on Montserrat.
And because the peoples of Montserrat are so widely dispersed but still have a stake in and a desire to ensure and contribute to the re-development of Montserrat, the participation of the non-resident communities of Montserratians is mandatory and must be assured.
Good governance refers to the effectiveness of governance. Governance is effective when the focus is on qualitative development rather than quantitative growth.
Unfortunately, Montserrat is focused on economic growth rather than sustainable human development because of its dependence and concentration on the implementation of externally funded and externally driven projects.
The concentration on projects, to the detriment of human development, is predicated on a misguided notion and understanding of economic growth and development. But economic growth cannot be used as an indicator for human progress in a Montserrat context because the successful implementation of projects over the past five years or so has put economics over people.
Indeed, the dehumanizing deprivation of shelter lie, the on-going impoverishment of the middle class and the clearly unsustainable nature of the Volcanic Monetary Assistance Program is symptomatic of the failure of a system of governance that is based on project implementation. All the evidence suggests that the "solutions" anticipated by the successful implementation of approved projects did not bring sustainable development. For example, an approach based on empowerment and consultation may have concluded in housing solutions that ensured ownership, affordable financing, community home building, and ongoing housing starts rather than a government owned housing estate that drains the government coffers.
Economic growth, therefore, is clearly not a means to Sustainable Human Development, nor is it an end in itself. Economic growth does not lead to sustainable human development as little of the growth of the past five years can be said to have improved the quality of human life on Montserrat.
The hope for sustainable human development on Montserrat is dependent on the political directorate making a radical shift away from a complete reliance on the implementation of projects whose origin and conceptualization is more representative of unilateral technician decision-making and aid conditionality than local consensus and aspirations.
To set Montserrat along a development path towards becoming a sustainable community requires the transformation of societal ethics and culture which will guarantee not just people-centric development but the kind of human development that ensures a future on Montserrat for our selves and future generations.
A development model that is appropriate for Montserrat at this time must encompass features that focus on economic security, ecological integrity, social equity, cultural vitality, civic responsibility and institutional effectiveness in a way that will result in sustainable livelihoods and a marked improvement in the quality of life on Montserrat. It is clear, therefore, that making Montserrat into a sustainable community requires a concentration on qualitative development rather than quantitative growth.
Economic Security for Montserrat must be translated as the building up of a sustainable community that is based on a healthy and diverse economy that can respond to change; and to some extent adapt to internal or external shocks and can provide long term security to residents.
Continued prosperity, then, would be dependant on the preservation and or maintenance of the assets and natural resource wealth of Montserrat that yields benefits and are key to productivity and income generation. It is also dependent on businesses, industries and institutions which are environmentally sound and financially viable and can contribute to the retaining resident's money within the country.
This means that the political directorate, in conjunction with the private sector and civil society must ensure the development of the kind of enabling environment that not only has enforceable laws to prevent the natural degradation of beaches and reserves, but also encourages community and political will, and a commitment to environmental preservation.
Development of social programs and job opportunities that would stimulate, engage and retain the youth must be assured and the business sector must be allowed to perform in its role as "engine of economic growth". And whatever their focus, institutions must be adequately supported, staffed and financed so that they can develop the capacity and the resources required to in turn provide human, managerial and financial resources to government, the private sector and NGOs.
The private sector must to be rewarded for innovative job creation programs, the embrace of technology, the protection of the environment, and the generation of sustainable streams of income. Penalizing and stifling tax regimes and bureaucratic red tape processes must be removed and every effort must be made to support and facilitate a financially viable private sector.
Ecological Integrity must be interpreted to mean the maintenance of Montserrat's environmental and ecosystems for their own essential natural functioning, their beauty and their ability to provide sustainable supplies of natural resources. Indeed, the future success or failure of Montserrat's Tourism Industry will be impacted by the soundness of our environmental programs and policies which must ensure that residents live in harmony with all natural systems and embrace the reduction and conversion of waste into non harmful and beneficial purposes.
Social equity as a feature in a development strategy for Montserrat recognizes the need to put in place structures and social frameworks that allow residents to have a sense of belonging and self worth, a sense of place and safety and the assurance of the provision of goods and services. In this regard social equity implies that diverse social and cultural systems are preserved and cultural diversity respected. It must also include in its concept, programs and policies for the elimination of poverty, viable safety nets, provision of public health and education as well as the protection of future generations' rights to the opportunities of present generations. Tensions, too, must be resolved by the equitable distribution of costs and benefits.
Cultural Vitality is an important feature in any development strategy as it focuses on the institutions and means that a community uses and implements to ensure the retention of cultural values, heritage, history and identity for future generations. And because of the wide dispersion of Montserratians, it may be necessary to develop a concept of Montserrat as a culture and not just a place. Ideas of interdependence, celebration of unique skills and cultural attributes that have developed though time will determine the longevity of not only Montserrat's culture but of Montserrat as a country.
Civic Responsibility as one of the main features of a development strategy for Montserrat is critical to public and political engagement. Such a strategy must encourage and include the development of the kind of educational programs that aspire to foster moral and civic maturity so as to allow citizens to recognize themselves as members of the larger social fabric and therefore consider social problems to be at least partially their own. This outlook allows citizens to be aware of the moral and civic dimensions of national issues, make informed moral and civic judgements and take action where appropriate. Civic Responsibility blends the concepts of good governance, participation and consensus building and implies cooperative problem solving and joint responsibility and ownership of actions and outcomes. But more importantly, in a present day Montserrat context Civic Responsibility enhances "national ownership which means that policies" must "be domestically formulated and implemented rather than driven by donors or imposed" so that Government will develop policies through the participatory process which will involve national stake holders and more generally civil society.11
Institutional Effectiveness is one of Montserrat's biggest challenges in its attempts to build a sustainable community. The underpinning of good governance and sustainable human development is the understanding and acceptance that decision makers must be equipped with a set of guiding principles and practices (game rules) upon which to rely when making decisions and policies and seeing that those policies are implemented in a way that encourages community sustainability. The institutions which must institute and manage the implementation of these decisions must therefore be fully equipped to do so. Unfortunately, Montserrat's public and private institutions suffered severe loss of human, physical and financial resources due to migration and relocation.
Any re-development model for Montserrat therefore must of necessity be focused on the strengthening of the institutions that must carry or give support to the sustainable human development process. This means that there must be a deliberate effort to provide all the human, physical and financial resources required to develop the capacity and the delivery mechanisms of these institutions as well as the enhancement and provision of the environment in which they must exist and thrive.
A development model that seeks transformation of the economy of Montserrat must adopt a three pronged approach:12
To ensure the success of this three pronged approach national dialogue must be facilitated and to this end National Advisory Committees must be developed with formal links established between state and society and a methodology developed for the full participation by business, political and social partners within the country. A realization sustainable development will require a full break with the policies of the past and an acceptance of "Emergent alternative wisdom" where "sustainable development is about creating: 1) sustainable economies that equitably meet human needs without extracting resource inputs or expelling wastes in excess of the environments regenerative capacity and 2) sustainable human institutions that assure both security and opportunity for social, intellectual and spiritual growth."13
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© Roselyn Cassell-Sealy, 2003.
HTML last revised 11 February, 2003.
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