By Carlos Atwell

Copyright nationnews

New chairman of the Barbados Private Sector Association (BPSA), James “Jimmy” Clarke, says noncommunicable diseases are a major threat to the social fabric of the island.

In his acceptance speech yesterday during a handover ceremony in the Sagicor Cave Hill School of Business and Management, University of the West Indies, Cave Hill, St Michael, he said tackling the nation’s health crisis was one of his major concerns.

“Our country’s social fabric is threatened by the spectre of the high incidence of noncommunicable diseases, or NCDs, such as diabetes and hypertension. The cost of medical care, lost time, and lost family members is shocking and requires not just urgent lifestyle changes, but a sustainable model for children and young people to take into their adult years,” he said.

Clarke added that the association would work hand in hand with the relevant stakeholders to execute relevant, effective programmes to “stem this horrific tide”. He said early education programmes, coupled with the availability of affordable, nutritious foodstuffs and a national focus on promoting healthy activities and lifestyle changes, were critical.

Another concern he highlighted was the cost of living and of doing business. He said statistics often did not tell the whole story.

“Our task is not only to identify problems, but to create pathways that strengthen our competitiveness, improve our resilience and expand opportunities for all Barbadians. I am also aware that whilst Barbados continues to have positive GDP growth, and inflation has fallen significantly since mid-2022, the cost of living looms large over our economy.

“We are generally price takers, so while it may be difficult to significantly influence the first cost of our imports, all members of the Social Partnership can work on improvements to policy, efficiency, productivity, and ease of doing business to keep added costs down while encouraging innovation, entrepreneurship, and sustainable business development,” he said.

In addition, the chairman encouraged businesses to embrace technology and look beyond traditional business models while identifying new markets, products and services, source markets, and served markets, so Barbados did not end up overly reliant on any one business sector.

The event featured tributes to past chairman Trisha Tannis, who handed over the chairmanship to Clarke. She said her tenure was marked by chaos as they faced COVID-19, natural disasters and fracturing in the Social Partnership, but was proud to say the BPSA remained unified and resolute.

“We are the unifying voice of the private sector; that is an indisputable fact. I think that is something that we have to hold true and continue.

“We sit in this Social Partnership and we see what disunity looks like. We see other social partners that were once unified, now splintered, now speaking out of four, five, six voices, and the chaos and confusion that causes, even in getting matters of national development advanced.

“We sit proudly as the units of unified persons in that partnership – not perfect persons, but unified persons,” she said.

Tannis said there were challenges on the horizon as stability was still elusive years after COVID-19 had passed. She said the cost of living remained too high, and the fallout from the International Maritime Organisation’s net zero framework for freight was something Barbados had to be ready for.

The past chairman said she was proud of the work they had done, urging business leaders to be socially conscious. She said her only regret was not being able to help finalise Protocol 7 of the Social Partnership.

“So I’ll still be here in the back seat, looking on at what I think will be a stronger, more resilient leader. Jimmy, God is calling you for such a time as this. You have our full support. It’s been a pleasure,” she said. ( CA)