It is time for the young people of Montserrat to take on decision making and senior leadership roles, according to Deputy Premier Samuel Joseph.
Speaking in his latest ‘From the Minister’s Chair’ live streamed episode, he said it is important for the future of the island, that emerging local talent is nurtured.
Joseph, who is also Minister of Communication, Works, Labour and Energy, was addressing the topic of ‘Capacity and capability’ on 4 March.
In his speech, he stressed that everybody in Montserrat has capability and capacity.
“Anybody, any organisation, any structure that tries to say that we, the people of this island, do not have capability, and capacity, as far as I’m concerned, they’re blaspheming,” he said.
“Because all of us have the capability and the capacity and the talent – it’s a matter of how we use it.”
A past strength
The deputy premier reminded viewers that the island’s population is now about 4,500 – reduced from more than 10,500 before the Soufriere Hills volcano erupted in the 1990s.
But the remaining residents “maintained” Montserrat, he said.
“We have maintained this population, we have maintained the running of this island,” he said.
“It is us who did it, it is the people of Montserrat who did it, who stayed, who worked, who strived.
“Who did all the work…to keep the health system running, to keep the education system running, to keep our electricity running, to keep our water supply running.”
He said the remaining residents kept the island functioning “in a time of natural disaster, in a time when people were leaving, in a time of continuous flux and economic collapse”.
Joseph stressed that Montserrat should not compare itself with others.
“We cannot make excuses that other countries have more than us, other times have more than us, other people have more than us,” he said.
Instead, talent must be invested and not buried, he said, to enable the island to not only survive but thrive.
Nurturing young talent
Importantly, young people must be given the space and the education to step into more senior roles, the deputy premier suggested.
In the past Montserrat has brought in ‘technical cooperation officers’ from abroad to fill in talent gaps in the local workforce.
But now the island needs to look to where the stars are within the government “and put the things in place to get them to where we want to go”, Joseph said.
“Because nobody is born naturally knowing everything. We know what we know, because we’ve been taught it,” he said.
“We know what we know, because experience and other things have taught us how to operate in certain places.”
He said the older, more experienced people should pass on their skills to the younger ones who should then step forward and take on more responsibility.
“If anytime, in any meeting, either me or anybody associated with this country, hears the conversation that we are not capable and we don’t have the capacity, we need to put it to an end,” Joseph added.
“And then we need to show that we have it, get in the positions and deliver.
“And if we do that, I am 101% confident that this country will move further, faster and better to that destination where we want to reach, which is a country that is green, connected and thriving.”
