CHARLESTOWN, Nevis – POWERFUL empires of the past did not come to an end when their economies failed or their armies were defeated, but when their society became decadent and the strong forgot to look after the weak.
These were the words of Minister of Social Care, Constituency Empowerment, Urban and Rural Development in the Barbados government Christopher Sinckler, who was the guest speaker at the Nevis Reformation Party Convention at Occasions on Sunday (May 17).
According to Sinckler, great countries are not built on great economies but on strong social systems of which a good economy is only one.
“When we lose focus of this historical fact is when we lose the battle to overcome our underdevelopment and structural weakness as a society. History has shown that there is no empire or kingdom that has made a successful reign other on the platform of a strong social and cultural system.”
Sinckler said the most recent examples of societies succumbing to social decay were the great eastern empires of the Soviet Bloc when communism collapsed like a deck of cards.
He said the internal decay in those societies, precipitated by years of social neglect, was responsible for the emergence of systemic movements that galvanised ordinary citizens to shake the foundations of those societies. He also opined that internal social decay is causing the weakening of the USA society as a world power, although the Americans see it as a failure of economics.
The Barbados Minister said St. Kitts and Nevis, like so many other Caribbean countries, has done well in the last 50 years, especially when compared to most developing countries in parts of Africa, Asia and Latin America.
He however said that in the last decade or so there have been slippages in the way the social systems, “the systems that look after ordinary people”, are maintained and enhanced.
According to Sinckler, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank, the Eastern Caribbean Bank and the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) have all produced statistics which point to a growing number of persons across the region falling below or living entirely below the poverty line.
“In some OECS countries, for example, rates of poverty has climbed as high as 35 percent of the population and can climb higher, depending on what measuring tool you use.”
Sinckler said that home ownership, while increasing among the middle class, is declining rapidly among the working class, crowded out by high land prices – caused by foreign investor speculation.
“High food prices are transforming once wholesome diets into a mirage of junk foods, even as we grow less of what we eat. Meanwhile, our food import bill continues to rise as we hunger and thirst for foreign produced foods.”
The Minister continued: “It all looks well to us in business and politics because people are working, profits are being made but the underlying threat of social decay is ever present in this region in every one of our countries, if only we look closely enough.”
Sinckler said that the NRP is however on the right track, since it is his understanding that the party has signalled its intention to focus attention on social development and transformation.
“The efforts at providing quality education and healthcare, social welfare, in building small business enterprises is a step in the right direction. It is here that you will see the redemption of your economy, through building your society.”
He said persons who are allowed to wallow in poverty and destitution would lose spirit and confidence, and would rebel eventually against the society which created them and then abandoned them.
“Your job therefore, as a party and a government, is to ensure that in social development no one is left behind.”
