Barbados: The Future Remains Bright

When Henry Powell landed in Barbados near Holetown in February of 1627, Barbados had already been known to the western world for over a century, and to South America for many hundreds of years. However, it is only from the seventeenth century that written information on the structure of the island was popularly presented. In 1647, Richard Ligon published his now iconic True and Exact History of the Island of Barbados, but it complemented works by Sir Henry Colt in 1631 and Thomas Vermey in 1638.  As a cartographers' dream, Barbados was well served with a wide variety of maps during this early period and beyond.

Consistent with its age and ongoing stature has been the country's need to deal with the social conflicts which arise in a settled colonial society; to navigate the vagaries of intermittent hurricanes that generate within a tropical environment; and to withstand the external political and financial fallout that is part and parcel of a well-managed and successful small island economy.

In a recent country report, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) recognised that while Barbados is not as exposed to natural disasters as some other Caribbean countries, climate change vulnerabilities are likely to increase and could have a major impact on the economy.  In an effort to counteract these potential negative impacts and indeed, the costly damage from the dust of the most recent La Soufrière volcano eruption in St Vincent, Barbados had already been provided with an advanced protective framework. In that regard, it had implemented various mitigation strategies to support a ‘green’ recovery, which increased structural and post disaster resilience. Hence, increased spending had been allocated in the infrastructural areas of electricity and transportation, thereby supporting improved electricity transmission and climate friendly transport.  Furthermore, Barbados has continued to actively participate in regional resilience-related institutions such as the Caribbean Catastrophic Risk Insurance Facility and the Inter-American Development Bank with its contingent credit facility. In this regard, it is all part and parcel of Barbados' age-old strategy of smart survival – or in the local parlance “cutting to contrive.”

Managing its affairs with a good level of success, today Barbados faces the ongoing strictures – and sometimes quiet envy – of many international regulatory bodies, some of which may have overreached in their regulatory zeal that for many reasons remains unchallengeable.  Rather than focus its limited energy in meeting these challenges head-to-head, Barbados is also best served if it continues to build fortresses for the future. Such fortresses must come in the form of consolidating industries and sub-industries that may be undertaken within Barbadian direct and indirect structures, while taking advantage of the island’s high level of education, good manners and graces, as well as social sophistication.

The insurance and reinsurance industry represents one such opportunity that is grounded in an old successful local insurance culture, albeit one which was raised and reared in the pre-independence/republic era.  As an international industry, over the years insurance has expanded to levels of sophistication as it takes on all manner of risks – marine, credit, credit guarantee and others.  Many such risks carried by some of the very large global insurance structures are underwritten or placed through Barbadian operations, which when well structured – as they are – remain proof and protection to international regulatory meddling.  With the scope for expanding this type of business, Barbados must use its expertise and experience to foster and develop its global insurance presence. Furthermore, it helps significantly that over the years its own fully home-grown local insurance structures have continued to enjoy high AM Best ratings internationally.

Already, new structures keep emerging, such as banking from a large digital bank with a centuries’ old local origin, to the newer African ExIm Bank that seeks to broaden its wings and soar from Africa over the Caribbean.  As regards internal developments, the Bridgetown Pierhead Project has been accelerated, and on the northeast coast, possibly its largest hotel project is in the planning stages, matching the soon to be completed mega hotel on the southeastern coastline.

To complement the new infrastructural capital works and developments is the recently announced joint venture into which the Barbados Government has entered for the comprehensive redevelopment of its airport. The Grantley Adams International Airport (GAIA) Inc and the Office of H.H. Sheikh Ahmed Dalmook Al Maktoum of Dubai and Agencias Universales S.A. of Chile have announced recently a MOU to finalise contractual arrangements towards a new Public-Private Partnership (PPP) for the investment, development and operation of the airport, a hemispheric cargo hub, expanded airlift and addition luxury hotel capacity.

The Government of Barbados has recognised that in The Office of H.H. Sheikh Ahmed Dalmook Al Maktoum, it has found a partner with the shared interest of protecting and expanding national employment through investment, training, service excellence and certification, employee and customer safety.

The partner group, led by the Office of H.H. Sheikh Ahmed Dalmook Al Maktoum of Dubai and Agencias Universales S.A. of Chile, has substantial experience in airport passenger and cargo operations in over 20 countries across three continents.  In addition to the approximately BDS$300m to be invested in the airport, The Office is committed to coordinating and facilitating investments in new hotels and airlift.

Yet, Barbados also continues to remain committed to its home-grown and tested experiences. The use of Barbados' experience and training in health as home to part of the University of the West Indies medical training architecture, the presence of a very advanced and relatively efficient medical infrastructure, and Barbados’ long standing nexus between nineteenth century charity and its General Hospital, all enure to the efficient development of a substantial external health investment that can also naturally complement the growing number of external medical schools and universities which have developed significantly over the past twenty years.  Various models of multi-million dollar health schemes already exist which can be tailored to comport with the Barbadian condition, and some important ones are also in the planning stages.

In his 1962 essay Science, Literature and Culture, the American literary critic Lionel Trilling reminds us: “The concept of culture affords to those who use it a sense of the liberation of their thought, for they deal less with abstractions … and more with the momentous actualities of human feelings as these shape and condition the human community, as they indicate the quality of man's existence.”

The past, present and future of Barbados is grounded in its unique cultural shaping – one which gives it an important leap to its future that shines as bright as a diamond.

Sir Trevor Carmichael KC
Sir Trevor Carmichael, KA,LVO,KC. was born in Barbados and educated at Harrison College and the University of the West Indies, Mona, Jamaica. After pursuing post graduate studies in the United States, he was called to the United Kingdom Bar as a member of the Middle Temple in London and the Barbados Bar in December of 1977. He is a member of the International Bar Association, the Inter-American Bar Association and a Committee Member of the Inter-American Bar Foundation as well as an associate member of the Canadian Bar Association. He holds membership in the International Tax Planning Association, the International Fiscal Association and was one of the parties responsible for establishing a Barbados Chapter of the International Fiscal Association of which he is Charter President. He is the Barbados Country Chairman of the International Litigation Committee on Business Law of the International Bar Association and a former Deputy Secretary General of the International Bar Association. He is a Life Fellow of the Institute for Advanced Legal Studies in the United Kingdom, a Life Member of the Commonwealth Magistrates and Judges Association and a member of the International Law Association.