ALBA - Alternativa Bolivariana par alas Americas

The calls for Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit to make public the agreement he signed making Dominica a member of the ALBA group of nations continues to be heard around Dominica. We have heard a number of government ministers and other government officials echoing the glorious benefits which will result as a consequence of Dominica joining ALBA. However, what the ministers are not saying is much more interesting than what they are actually saying.

The ministers of PM Skerrit’s cabinet are just as you and I. The ministers, like us, all got their information about ALBA from the Internet. Government ministers are mute on anything about the actual ALBA agreement which was signed by PM Skerrit, and their silence on the matter is interestingly deafening. What is however shocking is that all indications are that the actual documented agreement which was sign by the PM was not even discussed at cabinet level. Can you imagine a government or in the case of Dominica a Prime Minister signing treaties and agreements for and on behalf of a sovereign state without the benefit of legal counsel? The more which is said about the magnificence of ALBA the greater the need to make public the actual agreement which was signed by PM Skerrit. We have heard quite a lot from the advocates as well as the opponents of the ALBA without the benefit of the actual signed agreement, which means that only the privileged few who are not ignorant of the contents of actual signed ALBA agreement are in a position to have an informed opinion about ALBA.

It is said that ALBA is more than a trade agreement which takes into serious consideration the sustainable social transformation of the under developed and poor member states. It involves development programs and collaboration in the areas of education, health, agriculture, trade, marketing, energy production and infrastructural development among other areas. Venezuela’s Answer to “Free Trade”: The Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas (ALBA), by David Harris and Diego Azzi, provides a detailed account, and a critical assessment, of the ALBA project to date. David Harris and Diego Azzi notes that the projected scope of ALBA is huge, covering 19 issue areas: 1. Oil and Energy; 2. Communication and Transportation; 3. Military; 4. External Debt; 5. Economy and Finance; 6. Light and Basic Industries; 7. Natural Resources; 8. Land, Food Sovereignty and Land Reform; 9. Education; 10. University; 11. Scientific and Technological Development; 12. Mass Media; 13. Health; 14. Gender; 15. Migrations-Identity; 16. Habitation; 17. Protagonist and Participatory Democracy; 18; Indigenous Movement; 19. Workers Movement.

To date ALBA patron Hugo Chavez have established the ALBA bank with initial capitalization to the tune of one billion US dollars. It is expected that this bank will play a leading role in the financing of major ALBA projects on very generous terms throughout ALBA member states.

ALBA has been established against the background of wide scale poverty in Venezuela despite its vast amount of oil wealth. Reports indicate that as much as two-thirds of Venezuela’s population lives in poverty. Poverty is also wide-spread in a number of South American countries such as Brazil, Peru, Chile and Uruguay among others. There are also a number of existing trade and regional agreements with similar objectives to ALBA at present in South America many of which Venezuela is signatory to. There is CAFTA – Central American Free Trade Agreement, CLOC – Latin American Coordinator of Rural Organization, CSN – South American Community of Nations, FTA – Free Trade Agreement, FTAA – Free Trade Area of the Americas and MERCOSUR – Southern Common Market.

When one hears of the extensive poverty in Venezuela while at the same time hearing of Chavez’s intention to pour millions of Venezuela’s dollars into the economies of under developed countries, there is definitely cause for concern. Would a man take his money and feed another man’s family while he leaves his family hungry and starving? All of the above listed agreements have sought to address the challenges of reducing poverty and improving the standard of living through science & technology and trade & industry. To date we have seen no comprehensive review of these agreements in relation to their impact on poverty, improvement of trade as well as improvement in the general standard of living in member territories. We are therefore in no position to intelligently discuss the short comings or even make an accurate comparative analysis of the various agreements.

What has gone wrong with all these South American trade agreements? How effective have these South American agreements been? What guarantee do we have that ALBA will not suffer a similar fate like the preceding agreements? Further more, ALBA is the brain child of President Chavez, and supported by the majority of the current Venezuelan Government. At the end of President Chavez’s term in 2012, what guarantees are there to ensure that a new regime in Venezuela will continue the funding of ALBA to the extent that it is currently being funded by Chavez? In the event that PM Skerrit’s Administration is deposed in 2010 or before, will a new Dominican Government other than the DLP administration continue to receive the benefits of ALBA? I for one would really like to know if ALBA is a signed agreement between the government of Venezuela and the government of Dominica or is it an agreement between the government of Venezuela and Roosevelt Skerrit and the DLP administration.

In Dominica we have seen and read ALBA related documents indicating that the group will seek to broaden and develop programs and relations as far as military activity are concerned. Again one must stress the frustration of not having access to the actual ALBA agreement which PM Skerrit signed. This would clearly settle the matter as it relates to the denial by government officials that ALBA has nothing to do with the formation of any military alliance.

Many of us are still of the opinion that Dominica is in no position to form a military alliance with any other nation. We small island states are in a unique position to be the friends of all and enemies of none. Since our existence as a nation we have enjoyed a significant amount of peace and stability in the Caribbean region. This is one of the reasons why the tourist industry has done so well in the region. It would therefore be disadvantageous for Caribbean nations to enter into agreements which would in any way jeopardize the growth and development of the tourist industry which continues to play a major role in the transformation of the Caribbean economy.

Based on the information in the media it is clear that the Caricom Secretariat is not aware of the signed document making Dominica a member of ALBA. As previously indicated, to date not one government official can say that they have seen the signed Document. We must therefore note that when regional and local government officials and other experts comment on the benefits or short-comings of ALBA for Dominica they are speaking from the basis of statements made about ALBA without the benefit of the signed agreement for verification or confirmation of the statements made for or against ALBA.

Dominica may very well benefit significantly from ALBA; who knows the content of the actual agreement? How prepared is the country to take advantage of ALBA? Are all plans, policies, systems and procedures in place to access the ALBA millions to assist in the financing of the national economic development plan? Time may very well be on our side, in that we may be able to draw down or access significant millions before a change of regime in Venezuela or Dominica, hoping that a new Venezuelan regime will not immediately call our outstanding financial commitment to the ALBA Bank, or a new Dominican government may be highly regarded by Chavez as the Skerrit DLP administration.

Is anyone out there listening to the reckless and disgraceful rhetoric of Hugo Chavez in the international arena? I heard some Dominicans on a local radio station recently trying to justify the indecent and undignified behavior of President Chavez which has become characteristic of his presentations. Is it ALBA’s official position that the chief spokesman and main financier Hugo Chavez should adopt a hostile position towards the USA? For anyone out there not to be of the opinion that Chavez hates America with a passion, that person must be living on another planet. Chavez’s disdain for America can only be compared to the professed hatred which the Iranian President as well as Osama Bin Laden both have for the USA. One gets the impression that Chavez is actually picking a fight with the US. Chavez will use all means available to have his way with the USA. I humbly submit that ALBA is most definitely a means available to Hugo Chavez. We must be friends of all and enemies of none. Chavez has on many occasions expressed his willingness to lead a military alliance against the USA.

ALBA’s offering to Dominica is so good that one is led to ask if it is for real. What price does Dominica really have to pay? Is it really for free? Will our children and their children be paying higher taxes decades down the road? Will Dominica become a training ground for anti-US terrorist, or storage grounds for ALBA military stock piles? Will our sons and daughters be trained to take part in ALBA military and industrial espionage in US territory on behalf of the ALBA Alliance? Making public the signed agreement would answer so many unanswered questions which are the causes for the endless speculation currently taking place as a result of the absence of information.

In light of the fore going it is best to take an undecided position on the ALBA issue. I have heard and understand the volumes of information speaking of the tremendous benefits of ALBA for Dominica, but it is still most troubling that the absence of the actual signed agreement renders it impossible to calculate the cost to Dominica for ALBA. Maybe ALBA is free for real or it’s simply priceless.