Minister of Planning and Development Dr William Duguid believes the Caribbean’s survival now depends on the design, financing and construction of the best infrastructure.
He was speaking yesterday evening at Hilton Barbados Resort during the closing ceremony of the inaugural Caribbean Sustainable Infrastructure Conference.
“The coming together of such a wide range of local, regional and international practitioners to deliberate on themes such as tackling climate risks, promoting equity and gender inclusion, advancing innovation led economic development and strong governance through collaboration is both timely and critical,” the Senior Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office with responsibility for coordinating infrastructural projects and development commissions stated.
“The confluence of this conference as Jamaica commences the long road to recovery after the devastation of Hurricane Melissa could not be more poignant.”
Duguid said the region’s future “lies in science-led design, inclusive governance, transparent accountability and an uncompromising commitment to high standards”.
He urged conference participants to “view infrastructure as a tool for equity, not only for efficiency”.
Human experience
“Equity and accessibility are not optional add ons, but essential components of resilience. Human experience remains the defining metric of success. To bring this to a reality, a collaborative approach is required from governments, the private sector and the financing partners,” the minister suggested.
He noted that in the case of Government’s office of infrastructure and planning, the objective
was to “facilitate the delivery of major infrastructure projects to the benefit of Barbados”.
“Every day we work toward breaking down silos to avoid fragmented development and to achieve coherency and smooth project implementation, deconstructing and reconstructing systems and operations so that Government’s strategic policies can be delivered,” Duguid said.
Appropriate financing was an important part of this effort, he reminded, mentioning the Barbados-led Bridgetown Initiative, “which is a call for urgent and decisive action to reform the international financial architecture”.
He said the global financial system “has become increasingly at odds with the reality and needs of today’s world, which is characterised by unrelenting climate change”. Duguid urged conference participants to “leave with a shared commitment to build not just for today, but for generations to come”.
“Let us move forward without hesitation, but with conviction. The Caribbean’s survival and its thriving future depends on what we as a people do next,” Duguid said. (SC)
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