Manning predicts economic growth for Caribbean nation

Serghino René

“I felt a little cold today,” began Patrick Manning, prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago.

Sighs of familiarity and laughter followed as Manning began his speech last Saturday at the first annual Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Caribbean Students’ Conference: Technology and Society in the Caribbean.

“Boston is a bit colder than I expected,” he said. “But I’m afraid I must be careful not to complain because the city of Everett is the most profitable terminal for energy exports from Trinidad.”

Manning’s comments drew rounds of applause and proud cheers from the mostly Caribbean crowd jammed into MIT’s Stratton Student Center.

The purpose of the conference was to engage emerging Caribbean leaders to recognize the potential of technology in economic development and generate new ideas for socioeconomic issues that affect the Caribbean.

“The conference is a significant event and a turning point because it is a first step for emergent Caribbean leaders to start an active thinking process, thus empowering them at the college level to act with a sense of stewardship and personal responsibility for the fate of the region,” said Christopher Chapman, president of the MIT Caribbean Club. “We will engage young, politically unprejudiced minds in generating creative, instrumental ideas for approaching old socioeconomic issues, tangibly studying the effectiveness of using technology in development.”

As the conference’s keynote speaker, Manning presented a promising vision of an answer to the island’s political and economic woes. His plan is to make the island a developed and active participant in the “technological revolution” by the year 2020. He said that at the end of the day, there is only one reason for government, and that is to give citizens the highest standard of living in the shortest amount of time.

“An understanding of technology is very critical in developing a new direction for Trinidad and Tobago,” Manning explained. “The government of Trinidad and Tobago understands the technology and accepts the decision that in a world in which a technological revolution is taking place, we must use technology to reach our developmental aspirations.”

Development is already underway. He mentioned a number of production plants that will be in construction within the next year, the development of an industrial park devoted to science and the plan for universal Internet and wireless service throughout the island by 2008.

As Manning reminded the audience, however, Trinidad and Tobago has already achieved word-class status in some areas. “We are the world’s largest exporter and producer of methanol, the largest exporter of ammonia, the largest exporter of LNG [liquefied natural gas] in the Western Hemisphere and sixth largest exporter of directly reduced iron worldwide,” he said.

A series of workshops followed Manning’s speech, highlighting a number of issues facing the Caribbean today. Among workshop presenters were Dr. Claire Nelson of the Washington, D.C.-based Institute of Caribbean Studies; Dr. George Irish, executive director of the Caribbean research center and the office of international programs at Medgar Evers College of the City University of New York; and Ronald H. Lammy, founder of the eCaroh Caribbean Emporium.

“The workshops were geared towards a think tank format, creatively using facts, parallel thinking and critical thought to generate, like a breath of fresh air, new ideas in approaching on old issues,” said Chapman. “Important in creating this effect is making the conference open not only to Caribbean students, but people from all walks interested in the issues being approached.”

The workshops covered a number of key issues, including The Caribbean ‘Euro?’ Drinking Water in Haiti, Aerospace Technology in the Caribbean, Solar Power in the Caribbean, The Caribbean in the World, AIDS, Crime, The Legacy of Race, “Brain Drain” or “Brain Gain?,” Diversifying Entrepreneurship in the Caribbean, Caribbean Examples of Good Leadership and The Music Industry in the Caribbean. In Manning’s view, the wide scope of topics up for discussion bodes well for the future of his nation and of the region.

“If there is one thing I’ve learned as a politician, it is that if your vision is limited, then your achievement is limited,” said Manning. “But if your vision is tempered only by reality, then you will be surprised at what you’ll be able to achieve.”