Even though Guyana and Suriname are expected to receive significant revenues in the coming years, Antigua and Barbuda’s Ambassador to the United States, Sir Ronald Sanders, is of the view that neither country has the absorptive capacity to utilize all the expected annual income. The Ambassador said this is irrespective of how free spending both nations might be in building physical infrastructure, increasing the wages of their workforce, and improving health and education.
In a recent commentary on the growing oil and gas activities in the two countries, he said the authorities may want to consider dedicating a portion of their oil riches to invest in CARICOM projects and member states in ways that would strengthen the region, breaking its dependence on external powers and enhancing its integration
Sanders, who is also Senior Fellow at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies at the University of London, was keen to note that he does not in any way mean that the investment should be implemented or done in a give-away fashion. The Ambassador said it could be targeted investment in projects that provide financial returns for all the parties concerned, while accelerating development in CARICOM.
In addition to food and related transportation, the official posited that Suriname, Guyana, and Trinidad and Tobago could consider, in consultation with other CARICOM states, how they could profitably underpin energy security for the region. The non-resident High Commissioner to Canada said that this profit would be measured not only in financial terms, but also in the benefits of ending reliance on external countries and strengthening the sovereignty of the region in its decision-making.
Sanders said security of regional transportation, food and energy would be three important immediate areas for Guyana and Suriname to “take the lead in demonstrating the efficacy of regional integration” to which President Irfaan Ali has referred to on several occasions.
