A compelling voice, not only on the global climate crisis, but one that is right for other important global initiatives where a change in mindset and reform are critical.
Writing in Americas Quarterly on January 10th, 2023, Khalea Robertson noted the Honourable Prime Minister of Barbados, Mia Amor Mottley as saying at the 2022 UN Climate Change Conference (COP27) in November 2022, "This world still looks too much like it did when it was part of an imperialistic power,”
Prime Minister Motley has become a global leader in the fight for equitable access to the tools countries need to face climate change. At the COP27 in Egypt in 2022. Her Bridgetown Initiative would make trillions of dollars available to developing countries through a climate mitigation trust financed by the private sector and the International Monetary Fund.
Mottley has the vocal support of key players such as French President Emmanuel Macron, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, and Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, director-general of the World Trade Organization.
There is even talk about Mottley being the first woman to lead the United Nations in 2026. An opinion being touted no doubt buoyed by words such as those of the IMF’s Georgieva who praised Mottley’s “unbelievable leadership and perseverance” in driving global support for small island nations to address with urgency the ongoing climate challenges.
As she concluded her COP 27 remarks, Mottley poignantly stated “We have not been heard sufficiently,”
Prime Minister Mottley is also leading the Caribbean-United States dialogue on moves to address the seemingly intractable De-Risking/Loss of Correspondent Banking Relationships challenges that continue to bedevil the Caribbean and Africa, an issue which in the main arises from the "unintended consequences" of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) International Cooperation Review Group (ICRG) grey listing process.
Flanked by several CARICOM Prime Ministers, as reported by the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC) Mottley, believed the Committee had a “keen eye for fairness and equity” and appealed for a level playing field when she testified before the United States House of Representatives Committee on Financial Services.
“Look at the list of countries who are listed and you will see they are all former colonies and people of colour,” the Prime Minister said. She emphasized that “Our economies cannot function on their own,” she said. “We do not make enough clothes, we do not produce our own food, we do not produce our own equipment, and therefore unless we are able to trade with the rest of the world, we are at risk of becoming financial pariahs.
Mottley's Barbados and Cyril Ramaphosa's South Africa, were part of the twenty-two countries, all of which are developing countries from the FATF Style Regional Bodies (FSRBs), but for FATF Member Türkiye, were discussed and placed on the grey list last week in Paris, as part of the FATF International Cooperation Review Group (ICRG) considerations.
Prime Minister Mottley's concerns about countries being on a list mirror the remarks by Manuel Orozco, a senior director at the Inter-American Dialogue, who noted before the U.S. Congress in October 2018 that: “Many commercial banks in the Caribbean saw longstanding banking relationships terminated due to the perception that financial activity with the Caribbean is by definition high-risk. Rather than manage risk or assess banking partners on an individual basis, a blanket assessment is made, and banking relationships are terminated." This issue is also affecting African countries in similar fashion.
For South Africa the prospects as reported in the media are equally grim. “We would expect grey listing to be negative for the rand, South African bonds and South African banks,” says Brad Preston, chief investment officer at Mergence Investment Managersin Cape Town. Impacts would include “acute reputational damage” and higher costs of doing business and raising international finance, says Jee-A van der Linde, senior economist at Oxford Economics in Cape Town.
All of these dire prospects despite South Africa enacting, the General Laws (Anti-Money Laundering and Combating Terrorism Financing) Amendment Act No.22 of 2022, and The Protection of Constitutional Democracy Against Terrorism and Related Activities Amendment Act No.23 of 2022.
However, President Cyril Ramaphosa is phlegmatic about the outcome, stating as reported in the media that , “The listing of South Africa as a ‘jurisdiction under increased monitoring’ — commonly known as grey listing — has caused much concern about the state of our financial institutions, law enforcement agencies and investment environment. The situation is concerning but less dire than some people suggest,”
Holding a similar view was Acting National Treasury of South Africa director-general Ismail Momoniat who is confident that South Africa’s grey listing by the FATF won’t affect the financial sector.
Speaking on Friday from Paris where he led a government delegation to meet the FATF, Momoniat said that while the decision was disappointing, the intergovernmental organisation recognised that South Africa had made good progress in reducing from sixty-seven to just eight the number actions still required to be given all clear, and the financial sector was not part of them.
The sanguinity of both President Ramaphosa and Director General Momoniat, is grounded in the knowledge that South Africa has been a member of the FATF for at least twenty years, and whose delegation plays an active role, and has a respected voice within the FATF/FSRB community.
Additionally, the President said that “the government has gone through a rigorous process of addressing the issues the FATF has raised.” “The fundamentals are in place, he continued, and we know what we need to do to get off the grey list. We are determined to do this as quickly as possible. This is important not only for our international standing but also for our own ability to fight these crimes in our country.”
Nigeria was also placed on the FATF ICRG grey list. It is expected that its membership in Inter-Governmental Action Group against Money Laundering in West Africa (GIABA), one of three FSRBs on the continent, and its close working relationship with the South African delegation will allow it to emulate, South Africa’s example to undertake the required remediation work with due expedition.
There is a growing level of contact between the governments and people of African countries and those in the Caribbean Diaspora such as the establishment of a CARICOM: Caribbean Community office in Kenya, air traffic between Nigeria and Antigua and Barbuda, and Ghana and Guyana via South Africa visa-free. Additionally, Prime Minister Mottley spoke at Ghana’s Sixty-Fifth anniversary Independence celebrations to widespread appreciation and acclaim.
These moves build on the support provided by the Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) in the early and mid 2002s for the establishment and development of the Eastern and Southern Africa Anti Money Laundering Group (ESAAMLG), and the sharing of operational experiences with the GIABA.
The occasion is ripe for developing further this South/South cooperation in terms of mutual AML/CFT capacity building in both the public and private sectors, drawing on the available learning from countries that have successfully navigated the FATF ICRG process.
These collaborative arrangements should be developed not only for Africa/Caribbean cooperation but should also continue within the intra-Caribbean setting, with enormous benefits accruing to both Africa and its Diaspora.
For Barbados, Cayman Islands and Jamaica, the prospects of the FATF ICRG considering next steps by June 2023 loom ominously, in similar fashion as with Panama, as the agreed dates for the completion of their respective action plans have expired.
An idea of what next steps could entail is provided in relation to Panama where it is noted that the FATF will consider calling on its members and urging all jurisdictions to apply enhanced due diligence to business relations and transactions with Panama.
Prime Minister Mottley as noted above, ss she concluded her COP 27 remarks that “We have not been heard sufficiently,”
It would appear that there has been a bit of movement forward in that the FATF may have heard the Caribbean's voice and concerns as articulated at the Caribbean Development Bank’s 3Cs Conference in relation to the current situation in Haiti.
The nine action items to be addressed by Haiti, as listed by the FATF ICRG in October 2022 remain to be remediated as of February 2023. However, the February 2023 ICRG iteration takes cognisance of the fact that Haiti is endeavouring to advance its commitments “in the midst of the challenging social, economic and security situation in the country”
Prime Minister Mottley has an extremely high and valuable global profile in Africa, the Caribbean, and around the world, with a voice that is right for other important global initiatives as the ones outlined above, where a change in mindset and reform are critical.