Caribbean Currents #007: New Year, Old Problems

South Caribbean Sea link proposal, Jamaica signs Samoa Agreement, hectic flu season ahead

Shem Best

Jan 16, 2024

January 16th, 2024 edition of Caribbean Currents 🌴🌊📊

Commentary on the headlines from across the region

All aboard?

Tri-state ferry in “talking phase”

A ferry service linking Barbados, Guyana, and Trinidad and Tobago could be in the works. After initial reports jumped the gun on the announcement of a company created by all three CARICOM states to manage the service, the foreign minister of Barbados then clarified that an arrangement is still being mulled over.

Minister Symmonds’ cautious comments come on the heels of premature celebratory announcements from Guyana and Trinidad, the latter even declaring that it will assign the first vessel for use on the yet-to-be-determined routes. The service is still a ways off, according to the minister, and under evaluation by the civil service

The “Tri-nation” ferry as it has been unofficially dubbed, seeks to address high travel and food costs across the region. The ferry service is intended to also carry goods and materials between the participating members and thus lower import fees among them. It is not dissimilar from other proposals to link Barbados, Saint Lucia and Saint Vincent that have been floated over the years.

The key takeaway is that none of those proposals have borne any fruit. It is unsurprising, given the parties involved lack the funds and logistical know-how to get such a utility off the ground. Barbados itself is grappling with a woefully underfunded and crumbling public transport system. It is unlikely to be able to offer any significant monetary input for projects of this scale, which could explain Minister Symmonds’ rapid response to quell expectations.

Financially, Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana may end up bearing the brunt of initial costs. Given Guyana’s recent ascension to an energy state and Trinidad’s further development of its joint oil and gas fields, it’s likely that they will hold the purse for equipment and procurement.

By whatever miracle the three are able to materialize the necessary funding, personnel, and infrastructure for this pivotal connector, insularity is bound to rear its head, as is the case with all Caribbean collaboration efforts. Should this ferry succeed in significantly reducing the travel costs between each, how will their societies respond to a new wave of immigration and an influx of cultures? History offers many lessons; warnings of xenophobia for Barbados, cultural invasion for Trinidad, and discrimination for Guyana.

Finally, one has to wonder what this could mean for inter-island aviation. The biggest loser, should a Tri-nation ferry succeed, is Caribbean Airlines. The Trinidadian flag carrier is unlikely to sit idly by and allow this new contender to wistfully erode its hold on one of its most lucrative regional routes, government-owned or not. If the push for this ferry can overcome these hurdles, then one of CARICOM’s founding principles, the free movement of people, could become a reality.

“Respect our questionable laws!”

Jamaica signs onto Samoa Agreement

After weeks of blustering about cultural incursion, Jamaica finally signed onto the new Samoa Agreement. The framework intended to guide and regulate relations between the EU and the Pacific Countries, Caribbean, and Africa, drew skepticism from Jamaican religious groups and coalitions due to language which conflicted with the island’s “way of life.”

The clauses, in particular, were those pertaining to LGBTQ+ rights and sexual education provisions. Jamaica remains one of the six CARICOM states that criminalize homosexuality. These countries inherited so-called “buggery laws” from their colonial era, but unlike the mother country (the United Kingdom) have actively chosen to maintain these laws on the books.

The Anglophone Caribbean nations have recently declared their right to reparations from the UK on the basis of the damage they perceive to have suffered under colonialism. The effects are often cited as deep-rooted and irreconcilable without the intervention of the perpetrator. However, it should be noted that human rights aren’t necessarily fixed with money. The oppressive laws that Jamaica and others cite in their opposition to the Samoa Agreement are just that, laws that can be changed. Several of Jamaica’s CARICOM colleagues have done just that, including Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago.

The Samoa Agreement outlines trade and cooperation between Jamaica and the EU, arguably its largest partner. To scrutinize it through the lens of antiquated laws, claimed to be immutable, which have all been rectified by the EU itself is laughable. The Agreement was not developed in a vacuum either. All parties would have had representatives on the necessary committees leading up to the final draft. Was Jamaica’s representative simply not paying attention?

The crowning jewel in this headdress of madness is the fact that the Samoa Agreement is fundamentally identical to the Cotonou Agreement it replaces. Jamaica was already a signatory to this agreement, since 2000. The entire ordeal provides a window into Jamaican politics, placing its insularity and outdated ideals of tradition on full display. Oppression for the sake of perpetuating your “way of life” is not a good look for any country, especially one vying for an economic handout on the grounds of fairness. The Samoa Agreement represents a continued investment by the EU into Jamaica and provides some legitimacy to the island on the international stage. Jamaica’s antics may someday prompt a re-evaluation of that investment and potentially erode what little relevance it holds onto beyond its cultural contributions.

Infectious Reverie

Trinidad braces for increased COVID activity

The World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the COVID health emergency to be over last May, however, COVID-19 is here to stay. The virus, now globally endemic, remains an ambient strain on health resources, especially as the flu season in the Northern Hemisphere gets underway. The latest report by the Pan-American Health arm of the WHO (PAHO), indicated fairly low to moderate levels of infection across the Caribbean with spikes in Belize and Saint Lucia.

Coupled with an ongoing dengue outbreak, the region's medical infrastructure will be put to the test this summer. Trinidad and Tobago is keen to head off a potential deluge of cases, especially during the upcoming Carnival season. Tens of thousands are expected to descend on the twin-island republic, which, according to official reports, is devoid of any vaccine doses. The last tranche of vaccine doses the country received was destroyed due to expiration. There is simply very little demand at the moment for the shots. Port-of-Spain is already reporting heightened levels of infection and a mounting death toll from COVID.

Vaccination sites for other respiratory illnesses are being assembled across the islands, offering a combination shot for the four most common ones. A government advisory for individuals with non-communicable diseases and other preexisting conditions is in effect, and a plea has been made for all parties to be aware of immuno-compromised individuals and other vulnerable groups. Overall, public regard for COVID-19 is low, attributable to the fatigue from the earlier pandemic and lockdown period.

Like the rest of the region, Trinidad will also be battling an ongoing dengue outbreak. 2023 ended with a record number of dengue cases across the Americas, surpassing 4 million cases and over 4000 deaths. High temperatures have created ideal conditions for mosquitos, the disease’s primary vector, to reproduce and wreak havoc not seen since official records began.

Visualize: Powering the Caribbean

A region plagued by high energy prices

CPSI Visual Data: Price per Kwh across the Caribbean. London, Toronto, and Miami are included for comparison.

You may be wondering why Martinique’s price is so high. This is a key example of how data without some additional context, can deceive. This graph is not as level a playing field as it appears. Martinique’s per/Kwh price includes their taxes and surcharges at a flat rate. The other locales don’t show theirs due to how many various ways these additional charges are applied. For example, Barbados enforces several thresholds, above which a different charge is applied. This complicates things a bit as the final rate is a far cry from the mere 53 cents at which the supplier purports to sell energy.

It’s no secret that the Caribbean boasts some of the highest utility costs in the world. Tiny populations coupled with a lack of natural resources, produce powerful monopolies which in turn result in high and inefficient operational costs that are passed on to consumers.

Islands like Barbados and Martinique, rely on diesel turbine generation plants to meet their citizen’s energy demands. The low scalability and reliance on oil expose these territories to the smallest price shocks and place their industries at the mercy of global fluctuations. Barbados briefly held the claim of 3rd highest fuel price at the pump in the world in 2022.

The lowest price as per the graph above is Trinidad and Tobago, due to its heavily subsidized service and the country’s natural gas and oil reserves. Until Guyana, Trinidad was the region’s only petro-state. Most Caribbean islands source fuel from the mainland through programs like PetroCaribe, led by Venezuela.

The path forward to buck the trend of exorbitant energy pricing in the region is affordable and sustainable renewable energy sources and infrastructure. Some strides in photovoltaics and batteries have been made, however, governments are very slow to adapt and still engage in self-sabotaging policies such as high tariffs on electric vehicles which can depress demand.

As our planet welcomes what could be one of the warmest years on record, the region will be particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate phenomena. To remain economically viable, the region will need to embrace solutions less focused on carbon reduction and more on making life comfortable in a hotter reality.

CPSI Podcast of the Week

The Artistic Welfare State: What the Caribbean Can Learn From Iceland

"1 in 10 Icelanders write books." This curiously repeated statistic, (accuracy notwithstanding) stems from Iceland's proud literary heritage. The North Atlantic island nation is renowned for its contributions to the arts, gender norms, and governance. This episode's guest, Egill Bjarnason (a writer himself) gives us some insight into the origins of this cultural dynamism, the modern policies that foster its continuation, and the resulting influence beyond Iceland across the globe.