The the UK based Commonwealth Secretariat is warning the Caribbean that on it’s current path the region is set to record unsustainable levels of debt by 2050.
That was the Secretariats’ conclusion in a recent report titled Achieving a Resilient Future for Small States.
The report is based on an analysis of the debt to GDP ratios of six countries in the region including Jamaica.
It finds that countries in the region have suffered from long standing socio-economic problems which have led to low growth and declining productivity.
This includes high crime, high unemployment particularly among youth, failure to innovate and climate change adaptation.
The report says the region also continues to suffer from economic shocks due to dependencies on fuel and food imports.
It says that if this business as usual continues, 5 of the 6 countries studied, will have growing debt to GDP ratios exceeding one-hundred percent by 2050.
With Jamaica and Barbados predicted to reach a debt to GDP ratio in excess of 2-hundred percent over the same period.
The Commonwealth Secretariat is therefore calling on the region to develop strategies to create enterprising economies where innovation is the driver of productivity.
They are also calling for the proper integration of youth into national development and strategies for tackling crime and environmental sustainability.
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