were previously afforded access to concessional financing,” the prime minister told the General Assembly. She added that if the impact of natural disasters and the deleterious effect of sea-level rise and climate change were added, “the fallacy of the middle income categorization can be wiped out in an instant”.
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The Chair of the Community posited that the issue had to be considered within the context of Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and the Post-2015 Development Agenda. “Indeed in the preparations for our participation in that upcoming discourse, the recognition of the vulnerabilities of small island developing states is one of the guidelines that CARICOM will apply when considering its commitments to the overall Agenda. The economic vulnerability and ability of the Member States of CARICOM to build resilience are exacerbated by a debilitating debt overhang which continues to bedevil the Region’s growth and development prospects,” the Prime Minister said.
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The Community’s stock of debt stands at about US$19B. The debt to GDP ratio ranges from 60 to 144 per cent for many States. In seeking the support of the international community, Prime Minister Persad-Bissessar said: “It must be acknowledged that the debt overhang did not result from profligate spending by CARICOM Governments, but resulted from the geographical make-up of our countries; our proneness to natural catastrophes; our very small physical size which does not lessen the per capita cost of development expenditures for necessary economic infrastructure and necessary social development projects.”
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BusinessFocus • November/December 2013
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