Large-scale foreign investment gone haywire

THE POLITICAL SCIENTISTS and economists who reprimanded and derided those of us seeing large-scale foreign investments as unnecessary for Barbados should apologise.

Foreign investment and the selling-off of indigenous assets have the potential to relegate Barbados on the Human Development Index ladder.

Having already sold off the Barbados National Bank, the Insurance Corporation of Barbados Limited and, more recently, Barbados Shipping & Trading, with subsidiaries Banks Holdings Limited, SuperCentre stores and so on, we see a continuing displacement and dislocation of workers with no hope for re-employment.

Within a few months, two businesses taken over by foreign interests have laid off workers. Meanwhile, Canadians, Trinidadians and Brazilians own and control major sectors of our economy.

In the banking sector, the Canadians and Trinidadians dictate to which destination their profits are shipped.

The Canadians, large and in charge of our sole electricity plant, determine to what extent our local economy can grow.

The Trinidadians decide what and how much we eat from the majority of supermarkets across the island.

Presently, Brazilians are determining what we drink, whether it be Coke, Pepsi, Bajan Cherry juice, ultra-high temperature or skimmed milk.

These modern-day phenomena will continue to plague our country until someone or a body of individuals is caring, capable and bold enough to close the stable doors and corral the stampeding horses.

Where is the regulation and balance to foreign investment when there is so much economic and social fallout?

– MICHAEL RAY