BRICS challenging status quo

The International Economic Order is seriously shaking up and getting ready for a complete overhaul, the signs of this became apparent this week when the world’s leading emerging markets Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa had what some deem as the audacity to openly challenge the existing status quo by announcing that they were going to form their own versions of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) which they will call the New Development Bank.

                      

What is the purpose of the NDB? Some might ask, well it’s quite simple the New Development Bank is an institution set up to help these nations and other emerging markets pursue their own economic interests in areas such as regional trade, investment and infrastructure development, domestic job creation and poverty reduction. What makes this institution unique is that it has absolutely no ties to any of the major western powers but is built specifically with the concerns of developing countries in mind (or at least that’s what they claim), the BRICS countries have not been  shy to point out that structural adjustment programmes have not always worked given it’s “one size fits all” approach which is impossible to do because every country is inherently different, it’s problems are different and thus the solutions to fixing this problem should be just as varied, hence the need for the NDB.

        

Anyone who has been following the trend of the world economy lately should not at all be surprised that this has come to pass,  truth be told then writing was already on the wall, the emergence of these news players on the economic stage has been long coming, China is predicted to take over from the US as the world’s most powerful economy, while Russia and India don’t seem very far behind, issues that are of importance to the International Political Economy have moved from discussions at G7/G8  to summits for the G20 which includes all the BRICS countries, the US, Japan and Western Europe who’s economic supremacy once went unchecked and unchallenged are now finding themselves stiffly competing with these new players particularly China who will soon no doubt become (if not already) the new manufacturing capital of the world.

The formation of NDB is far more than just an economic statement, more importantly it is a political statement after years of simply undermining the existing political-economic order as established by the Bretton Woods system, they’ve now decided to openly defy the status quo for all the world to see, knowing full well that there’s not a single thing the West can do to push back against this challenge to its supremacy, this is a war of words, a war of ideas,  a battle for control of the world’s economy which the US and company are sorely loosing.  

                         

Of course all this could simply be my speculating, maybe the US and its allies don’t really see it as a threat  to the continuation of its own institutions such as the IMF and the World Bank, maybe they have no ill feelings toward the establishment of this new BRICS owned entity that they cannot control like they have been doing with similar institutions for the last 70 odd years, but one thing is certain though, there was a time when no nation (or alliance of nations) would ever dare to try something like this but times have certainly changed and soon developing countries will be signing up to join, given their disillusion with institutions such as the IMF and the World Bank which they don’t see as acting in their own best interest.

                      

The implications are numerous as far the setting up of the New Development Bank is concerned as is the implications of how it will be received which right now are bordering on cautiously optimistic, very little is certain but one thing that is certain however is that the influence of the traditional powers significantly waning and thus making way for a new world order.  

Special Edition: They Call Me Teacher

This special edition of the Jamaican Tory is written in tribute to one of the most dynamic Jamaican patriots who has ever lived, a man who has truly demonstrated what it means to be a good leader and a good citizen, who’s example every Jamaican can truly take inspiration from, one of the few remaining from an older generation of leaders who saw this country through turbulent times and who passed away last week at the ripe old age of 98, I speak of non-other than The Most Honourable Sir Howard Felix Hanlan Cooke.

                           

The Jamaican Tory was truly saddened to hear of the passing of Sir Howard though to be frank was not entirely shocked given the evitability that it must happen one day notwithstanding, it would have been nice to see the former Governor-General hit the 100 mark, but apparently that was not to be. Being a fan of medieval literature both fictional and historical, the term true knight comes to mind when describing a man like Cooke, he really did represent all the values that knighthood was supposed to espouse, traits such as loyalty, honour patriotism, courage, a man who loved the people and was loved by them in turn, defender of tradition, an advocate of monarchism and a faithful Christian, it’s little wonder he was knighted twice.  The likes of him will hardly be seen again.

                          

Sir Howard is best known for his political career which included being a member of the West Indies Parliament, sitting both houses of the Jamaican Parliament on different occasions, his many years of service as Minister of Education and President of the Jamaican Senate which eventually led to him being given  the highest office of the land as the Queen’s representative, the Governor-General of Jamaica.

Sir Howard’s contribution to this country is a most invaluable one, he started out as a lecturer of Mico College helping to train the next generation of educators before moving on to become one of the founding members of the People’s National Party which would see him serving in the House of Assembly and later in the West Indies Parliament, Sir Howard was even part of the bi partisan committee that drafted our present constitution.

What I find really interesting about Sir Howard is that regardless of his membership within the PNP, he was never subscribed to leftism of his colleagues, indeed during his time as Minister of Education during the 1970s, he was positively alarmed by the socialist direction that Prime Minister Manley was taking the country in. Regardless of his misgiving he was no traitor and stayed loyal to his party serving with pride as Minister of Education helping to make several reforms in the educational system of Jamaica, which he was well in a position to do given his intimate knowledge of the system which acquired over the years during his time in the  teaching profession, thus earning him the nickname, Teacher Cooke.

                               

From 1991 to 2006, Sir Howard Cooke had the distinction of serving as Governor-General of Jamaica. A position he excelled in, in fact Sir Howard was the very epitome of what a Governor-General should be. He and Lady Cooke transformed Kings House into a place where every citizen from all walks of life would feel welcome and made it truly a home fit for a head of state. Sir Howard as Governor-General demonstrated in his conduct that the highest position in the country was available to every citizen and as a representative of the Crown was a powerful unifying symbol in his own right. Regardless of his popularity, the GG never sought to usurp the Queen’s position as some politicians certainly would have done if given the chance, in fact Her Majesty has never had a more loyal man in her service, as the old knight was among the first to go on the attack whenever the idea of a Jamaican republic was bandied about and did everything he could to present the Queen as the “Jamaican sovereign who simply lives in Britain” while making it clear that republicanism has no place whatsoever in Jamaica.

Aside from the political and teaching careers, Teacher Cooke also served as a church elder and lay minister for the United Church in Jamaica and Grand Cayman, thus his Christian beliefs was a great influence on his life and the values that he chose to espouse in his life time. He work tirelessly to defend the preservation all parts of this nation’s culture and everything that made it great, from our varying traditional art forms and folklore to our Christian heritage and  monarchist values.

                          

 Sir Howard Cooke without a doubt was the very demonstration of what it means to be a servant of God, Queen and Country and was well beloved by all, he lived his life selflessly, tirelessly serving the good of this country in his many capacities. His passing is truly a great loss to us all and he will be sadly missed but as the old saying goes, walk good Sir Howard, until we meet again.