PRACTICE LOCALISATION BEFORE GLOBALISATION

DENIS KELLMAN’S COLUMN- THE DEBATE

APRIL 24, 2007

I have openly said that we were not ready for Globalisation and that in order for us to understand Globalisation we need to practice Localisation. This was ignored by one and all which led us to host a World Cup without any unity between the countries. This was clearly demonstrated by the oil deal that was struck by an outside force causing us to renege on our own CARICOM initiative. At the same time, our competitors were able to monitor us and quickly moved to capitalize on our slips.

The Right Excellent Errol Barrow would have been rolling in his grave to see how we gave up the right to earn to seek aid from unfriendly countries. We had a golden opportunity offered to us by Stanford Group of Companies and we sat idly by and allowed WICB to do that for which it is known. The offer by the group allowed us the opportunity to watch our competitors in the Caribbean.

We in the Caribbean have to learn how to earn our keep. This attitude is foreign to us. We have always been known to earn our keep, but now we expect outsiders to do it for us. Outside forces have been permitted to market our tourism thus creating a monopoly on the marketing of the World Cup which has forced our friends to divert customers normally booked for the Caribbean elsewhere.

I am disappointed. It has more to do with the ignoring of good advice offered without a price. From the outset, I said that World Cup 2007 was too big for WICB and that the Caribbean Government should have taken control of the tournament. We have paid a big price for our mistake and it is too costly to be ignored.

We should not be spending large sums on the various Tourism Boards in the Caribbean without understanding the relationship between sports and tourism. It is interesting that we can only see the Tourism Boards promoting certain sports.

As a West Indian, I am disappointed by the dominance of the ICC on our various organizations. I personally made the decision not to attend any of the matches to take up valuable space which could otherwise be used to earn foreign exchange. This position is no different to what occurred when the last English tour was here. I understood the importance of foreign exchange to the Caribbean and was disappointed by some persons who saw a full stadium as political ammunition. An event like World Cup has to be seen as revenue versus foreign exchange. Local revenue cannot be more important that foreign reserves when we have expended large sums of foreign exchange.

Politicians must stop and understand that Governments are not about profit, but about foreign exchange. Whenever a large project is done in a country it must be done with possibilities in mind. When Sherbourne was built it was done to expand our tourism market and to add another feature to our market. When the ABC Highway was built it was done to open up opportunities.

If we had built Kensington attracting matching investment and a poor turnout, we would have been in a better position.

Mr. Prime Minister, I am not happy because you have provided the money for your operatives to deliver for Barbados and they have now shown hoteliers how to make a profit without having to pay certain charges. I have openly criticized the all-inclusive concept because I felt the way some players were operating that the country was not maximizing the benefits from the industry and the hoteliers were spending too much money by keeping the guest on their premises.

It is clear that we as a country has nothing to offer the world that is why we can sell all the tickets for World Cup outside of our territory and then tell the patrons stay home and we will be happy to have the stadia full with locals.

Come Saturday, we will record a large turnout at Kensington. We will have a one night stance and the headaches will then begin. Some section of the press will have their say and will seek to pretend that they had no part to play in the failure of the World Cup. How many will remember when advice was proffered that they took joy in trying to see everything through the eye of a politician? When we in this country learn that all politicians do not use the negative road to success, this country will be a better place in which to live.

Lara has resigned! Some say pushed, but if the latter is true, then we are an ungrateful lot and will never be able to set an example for the wayward ones in our midst. These people treat performers as non-performers and then seek to convert the wrongdoers.

In my opinion, the only wrong Lara has done is how he captained Dwayne Smith. On reflection, he will admit that if he had spent his energies on him, he Lara would have ended his tenure a happier man. It is no doubt that Lara had a lot of time for Samuels and Gale, but while watching cricket on Saturday, I saw Natural Gas at Kensington and it caused Lara to slip and he got ran out for not sharing it. Nobody should blame Samuels for what occurred on Saturday.

I have said before that Dwayne Smith and Dwayne Bravo, the two most positive players should be given the opportunity to mold any future West Indies side. We cannot continue to think short term. Last year, I asked the Barbados selectors to name Dwayne Smith Captain so as to add to his responsibilities and was ignored. A player like Dwayne Smith must always be part of the action. He is exuberant and could easily find himself being bored because of lack of action. It pains him more than the others when things are going wrong and worst, when he is treated badly through to no fault of his own. In order for one to understand him, one would have to experience it.

How can you replace Lara with an experienced player who will be suffering from the same syndrome? We must stop punishing talent and promoting failures in the Caribbean. Success is not based on who you like, but it must be on deliverance.

Bennett King has resigned and he will leave the Caribbean a happy man because he achieved a lot personally and the Board should see its success based on King’s success. The next cricket coach for the West Indies should be Brian Lara and the next for Australia will be Bennett King.

Cricket and sports are big business and our Governments must see them as an industry. Our great players like Lara, etc. must be used in promoting our cricket and tourism to another level. We as a people must stop sending mixed signals. We behaved as if we hated Lara but went to Kensington in large numbers to see your hero. I once said to Dwayne at North Stars that he is a very well liked man in Barbados. I felt then that he was misunderstood and had to represent himself first before he was accepted by others. Caribbean cricket fans are not easy, they mark hard and believe in maximum output. If we in the Caribbean were to only practice what we preach, the Caribbean would have been the most bountiful place.

Good luck Lara, the record is there for all of our critics. You need to take the team to prepare Hendy, to fully take over this troubling period.

Peace, love, unity, harmony, foresight, commonsense, Kellmanitis, wisdom and understanding.

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