Playing ‘catch up’ with FTAA?

Without a doubt it is about time that we, the citizens of Trinidad and Tobago, and indeed the rest of the Caribbean region, face the reality that the Free Trade Agreement of the Americas (FTAA) is here to stay. Whether in 15 or 18 or 24 months time,  the reality of the situation is that the way we conducted business, the manner in which we think, eat, breathe and live will change shortly.

But once again we have failed miserably in the preparatory phase and if the necessary action steps are not taken at a rapid pace, Trinidad and Tobago and the rest of the Caribbean will not only be left behind or be forced to play “catch up” once more but our very existence in the western hemisphere will be in jeopardy. Thus far the Ministry of Trade and Industry has done an excellent job in disseminating information about the Agreement but the information has been shared within a selective group of people — a group of people often refered to as the “movers and shakers” in the society — the small man in the street has not a clue of what is about to hit him come January 2005. What about a stakeholders’ participatory approach? But there is no time to go down the blame road. This is the opportunity for us as leaders within the corporate, non-governmental organisational network and other communities to instigate change.

First and foremost, it is critical that a public awareness drive be undertaken. History has illustrated that children are often the change agents in the households. Indeed in most developed countries they are the ones insisting that their parents recycle garbage and are more environmentally friendly. Closer at home, we can tell a roadmarch contender when we hear children singing it. So why then have we left them out of the loop? It is critical that the Ministry of Trade and Industry and the various chambers of commerce and even tertiary level providers assist in this drive to not only disseminate the pertinent data but to ensure that the data is user friendly and addresses the underlying issues that will impact on people’s lives and lifestyles. For instance, a two-pager pamphlet in a bulleted point format on what is FTAA, what it means to you (breaking down the various categories of the community), how will it impact on you will suffice and serve the primary purpose which is to stimulate public debate on the Agreement. I will have to draw on one of my experiences to date.
Earlier this year, I attended a seminar on the FTAA organised by the Ministry and

one of the participants at the conference who was sitting next to me indicated that he felt out of place in this “academic” environment and left early because he could not add to the discussion. Firstly, he was overwhelmed because he was unclear about what was to be addressed at the seminar since the invitation letter stated something totally different from the telephone conversation he had with the co-ordinator. In addition, given that it was an area that he had little knowledge on, he felt that the booklets should have been sent to him before the event, giving him  adequate time to digest and thus make a worthy contribution.

Again we cannot assume that every citizen has access to the Internet, statistics indicate that the dial-up customer base is just over 368,000 users and these users are primarily in the 19 to 45 age group. This statistic is interesting since it gives a good idea of the challenges ahe-ad for Trinidad and Tobago. Personal computer and Inter-net penetration rates are too low, and urgent consideration must be given to the question of increasing exposure to computers and the Internet.  This is vital if our citizens are to avoid being unnecessarily insulated from emerging global realities. The e-government initiative is especially important in an FTAA environment, as it acquaints citizens with technology as well as holds the promise to dramatically improve the efficiency and effectiveness of public services. 

It is easy for us to assume that everyone is on the same wave length as we are but if we were to truly become a developed country by 2020 it is critical that we take heed in not only ensuring that every citizen is within the information web but to engage all citizens in public debate and discussion. After all, it is their lives that will be impacted on and more importantly, their input which is critical in undertaking scenario planning on a national scale. Scenario planning simply put is a form of convergent thinking about divergent futures. It ensures that you are not always right about the future but — better — that you are almost never wrong about the future. This is the missing ingredient in Vision 2020 and indeed in everything that we do locally and regionally. This is the mindset that we need to cultivate. It not only begins at the company or country level but at the individual and family level — this is where if propagated it will become habit forming.

Email: vashtig@uwi-iob.org