Paul Kagame the transformational leader of Rwanda is set to visit Barbados today after leaving Jamaica. In another blog post Rwanda was featured for its rapid transformation under his leadership following a brutal civil war.

His arrival will be telecast – see link: https://youtu.be/PhLZtEhRouA


Becoming the SINGAPORE of the Caribbean

Posted on by David 122 comments

The pace at which Singapore has achieved so-called first world status- in a generation- has ensured mention in case studies to be found in any management volume of standing. By every account it is a well managed country directed by a relevant strategic plan, disciplined society, adequate workforce with required skill sets to execute plans, routine enforcement of laws etc. You get the picture. It is a country serious about effectively and efficiently directing its resources.

Read full text of the blogBecoming the SINGAPORE of the Caribbean

149 responses to “Paul Kagame Visits Barbados”


  1. … she letting herself get way though … too much food, too little exercise.

    Needs to go up at Aunt Esther in the highlands of St. Thomas and get some exercise forking and eat some proper food.


  2. Barbados, Rwanda to team up in sports, IT

    Barbados and the Republic of Rwanda are about to become the best of friends.
    Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley and the East African country’s President Paul Kagame made that clear yesterday, after reaching an agreement of cooperation minutes after completing more than two hours of bilateral talks at the Lloyd Erskine Sandiford Centre.
    In brief remarks after the talks, Mottley said her new Minister of Innovation and Technology, Davidson Ishmael, and a highlevel team from Export Barbados will be making immediate plans to visit Rwanda to prioritise which areas could be shortlisted for action.
    She also said areas of climate change, food security, international travel, horticulture, agriculture and CARICOM issues would also be further discussed in June when she is expected to lead this country’s delegation to the Commonwealth Summit, also set for Rwanda.
    Mottley told reporters Kagame had a serious interest in cricket, and she had made sure he was introduced to one of the country’s two living National Heroes, The Right Excellent Sir Garfield Sobers, on his two-day visit to Barbados.
    The President intends to start a cricket movement in Rwanda, having tried his hand at the sport previously, and Mottley promised she would get Barbados’ significant wealth of talent in the sport to help their new East African friends.
    She added that discussions will be held about how Rwanda, set to start a vaccine manufacturing push this year, can also assist CARICOM countries with procurement of pharmaceuticals which could aid in the battle against the COVID-19 pandemic, and any other viruses or bacteria which may become future public health menaces.
    Kagame confirmed his brief visit to the Caribbean had created quite a stir on social media in his country.
    “There is already quite a bit of interest in people from Rwanda wanting to visit Barbados,” he said in response to a question from the media after yesterday’s talks.
    He said that on his short trip to Jamaica and Barbados, he felt quite welcomed and immediately realised that Caribbean countries and Rwanda share some of the same traditions, along with social and economic challenges.
    “We are going to find concrete ways to deepen cooperation between our two countries,” he said. “We are also looking forward to welcome the Prime Minister to Rwanda for the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in June. Let’s continue to align our priorities and spur more direct cooperation between the Caribbean and Rwanda.”
    Mottley said Rwanda was noted for its advanced work in robotics and information technology, and since so many Barbadians students at the University of the West Indies are also showing interest in those areas, it is likely there will be some movement to and from both countries to take Barbados forward.
    “We’ve agreed to work on these areas of biotechnology, and science and technology. Barbados has produced 6 000 graduates here in those areas in the last
    five years, and we recognise teaching is not the only purpose people would want a science degree for. We want to be able to build a platform.”
    She added discussions will also continue on a bilateral investment agreement with Rwanda.
    Kagame and Mottley jointly planted a tree at the National Botanical Gardens in Waterford, St Michael, before the President visited the nearby Deighton ‘Pa’ Roach Road Tennis Facility in Bush Hall, St Michael, taking in some exhibition matches from a number of the leading players in Barbados’ lone indigenous sport.
    No. 1 player Mark “Venom” Griffith played Julian “Michael Jackson” White while Aaron Barker opposed Roach whose name is on the venue.
    Mottley, who is parliamentary representative for the area, presented road tennis equipment to Kagame while encouraging him to relieve some of the stress of leadership by playing the game.
    Kagame heeded that advice quickly as he soon discarded his jacket and took on the Minister of Sports Charles Griffith, with Mottley looking on along with other Cabinet members in The Most honourable Dr Jerome Walcott, Kirk Humphrey and Adrian Forde.
    (BA/KB)

    Source:Nation


  3. Right time to boost trade with Africa

    The need for strong and long-lasting diplomatic, political and trading ties between Caribbean and African states is long overdue.
    The politically convenient but divisive policies of former times developed by the colonial powers mandated that the centre point of air travel should be London.
    To a large extent that policy militated against putting in place a system of shorter and affordable air traffic routes between our islands and the African continent.
    Our similarities, however, still far outweigh any differences that may exist, and the attainment of political independence and its sovereignty has presented new vistas for both our peoples.
    Generally speaking, our cultures are embedded in our common ethnicity, and the imposed language of English by our former rulers enables us to speak with each other.
    So language is not a bar to communication. Ironically, another imperial practice which mandated, in many cases, the need to obtain educational qualifications from British institutions of higher learning may have birthed important linkages of future leaders.
    Seminal contacts
    These rules unwittingly helped to forge seminal contacts between Caribbean students and those from other parts, studying in London, including the very African states from which we were separated by thousands of miles and by the dubious politics of our rulers but connected by our connected histories and ethnicity.
    Many such personal contacts, though leading to long-lasting friendships, however, did not truly ripen into major trading and other business exploitation of mutual national interests.
    Some individuals, on their own initiatives, chose to move between our islands and Africa, and in many instances these private
    reciprocal efforts have contributed significantly to the benefit of the islands and the African countries of our brothers and sisters.
    These recent emphases on official country-to-country trade and other linkages reconnecting those ancient bonds can be of immense benefit to both sides.
    In this context, the very welcome visit of President Paul Kagame of Rwanda to this region can herald new initiatives aimed at consolidating meaningful political and trading ties with the region, and with our country, in particular.
    In recent times, we have also had the pleasure of official visits by heads of other African countries. We urge the authorities in the public and private sectors to leave no stones unturned in promoting and bringing about any enabling changes or approaches to doing business with our African friends.
    There are mutual interests to be protected and fertilised, including the all-important links by air and sea transport. These routes will be necessary if ideas about trade and improved relations are to become reality.
    Our current path-breaking trade visit to Ghana to create reciprocal trading opportunities will need those new routes should they be successful.
    Without such routes we will not be able to build on that start.
    We are also conscious that the next Commonwealth conference later this year takes place in Rwanda, and that competing candidates from this region may present challenges of a potentially divisive kind. We trust that President Kagame’s visit will enable any kinks in that process to be ironed out by the person-to-person contacts and talks, which often succeed when other time-honoured methods prove unfruitful.
    On both sides of the previously imposed divide, the time for a new and united start has come!

    Source: Nation


  4. “The need for strong and long-lasting diplomatic, political and trading ties between Caribbean and African states is long overdue.”

    Agreed, but education and cultural community ties should also be explored and expanded.

  5. African Online Publishing Copyright ⓒ 2022. All Rights Reserved Avatar
    African Online Publishing Copyright ⓒ 2022. All Rights Reserved

    Never turn your back on DEVELOPMENT and shared INNOVATION…

    “Some individuals, on their own initiatives, chose to move between our islands and Africa, and in many instances, these private reciprocal efforts have contributed significantly to the benefit of the islands and the African countries of our brothers and sisters.”

    read twice…that was when Afrika was demonized even heavier than it is now and Caribbean people, others in the diaspora still managed to push progress….

    John…the more intelligent among us look higher than that…..we know what we know…anything can be reversed..


  6. I cannot remember anyone giving Mia credit for her turn towards Africa. Instead her effort is often cast as some sort of a scam.

    Interested in a comment from the Afrophiles


  7. And here we go again! Why, why, WHY?

  8. African Online Publishing Copyright ⓒ 2022. All Rights Reserved Avatar
    African Online Publishing Copyright ⓒ 2022. All Rights Reserved

    “I cannot remember anyone giving Mia credit for her turn towards Africa. Instead her effort is often cast as some sort of a scam.”

    it’s not only her last, but ONLY RESORT…if she had a choice she wouldn’t, and i can say that with qualified confidence..

    scams were attempted initially, but Afrikans are not as docile as Bajans…and then there was ME….


  9. Generally speaking, our cultures are embedded in our common ethnicity, and the imposed language of English by our former rulers enables us to speak with each other.
    ..
    We are also conscious that the next Commonwealth conference later this year takes place in Rwanda, and that competing candidates from this region may present challenges of a potentially divisive kind.

    Commonwealth union has former colonies as satellites rotating around the British Sun, with UK sanctimoniously whitesplaining the proper way to behave. A United Africa with Caribbean nations coalitions are about self empowerment and are no threat to the White World.

  10. African Online Publishing Copyright ⓒ 2022. All Rights Reserved Avatar
    African Online Publishing Copyright ⓒ 2022. All Rights Reserved

    It is the sensible approach….and now the only one, to get the ISLANDS finally on a sound footing..

    William can tell us AGAIN, how many DECADES this initiative was being pushed and always IGNORED because it came from Black people…, demonized…….looked down on….too busy looking to slave masters….well, that party is over…

    the metropolis countries have to break for themselves, it’s the hour of SURVIVAL…


  11. Steuspe


  12. Black leaders will always be viewed negatively with prejudice
    Obama hit a nerve in a nation of racists that is still having it’s effects with white movements

  13. African Online Publishing Copyright ⓒ 2022. All Rights Reserved Avatar
    African Online Publishing Copyright ⓒ 2022. All Rights Reserved

    I found this while researching my second book.

    “Languages[edit]
    English is the official language of Barbados, and is used for communications, administration, and public services all over the island. In its capacity as the official language of the country, the standard of English tends to conform to the vocabulary, pronunciations, spellings, and conventions akin to, but not exactly the same as, those of British English.

    A regional variant of English referred to locally as Bajan is spoken by most Barbadians in everyday life especially in informal settings.[4] In its full-fledged form, Bajan sounds markedly different from the Standard English heard on the island. The degree of intelligibility between Bajan and general English depends on the level of creolised vocabulary and idioms. A Bajan speaker may be completely unintelligible to an English speaker from another country. Bajan is influenced by other Caribbean English dialects.”


  14. Know their names: Black people killed by the police in the US
    #BLACKLIVESMATTER list keeps growing
    Patrick Lyoya: Video shows fatal US police shooting of black man 4/4/2022
    https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-61102065

  15. African Online Publishing Copyright ⓒ 2022. All Rights Reserved Avatar
    African Online Publishing Copyright ⓒ 2022. All Rights Reserved

    Let’s see if Blogmaster can turn the above that is in CYBERSPACE…into a fantasy…

  16. African Online Publishing Copyright ⓒ 2022. All Rights Reserved Avatar
    African Online Publishing Copyright ⓒ 2022. All Rights Reserved

    William…..you are so right, they got it all to do…



  17. One of the things we have to be is…be honest with each other.

    Give Jack his jacket.

    You don’t have to hug or kiss Jack, but give him his due.


  18. Paul Kagame and Rwanda look like they will be short 150,000,000 injections plus some people.

    Is this a kind of reverse Human Trafficking scheme where people are transported there instead of out of there?

    https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/rwanda-asylum-plan-could-lead-to-home-office-staff-walking-out-in-protest-union-warns/ar-AAWisjd?ocid=winp1taskbar&cvid=55084314c6624e67950d720beacb18f9


  19. The elites are not going to be happy with the loss of their cut of the cash.


  20. Kagame looks a natural on the road tennis court from his form.

  21. African Online Publishing Copyright ⓒ 2022. All Rights Reserved Avatar
    African Online Publishing Copyright ⓒ 2022. All Rights Reserved

    “Give Jack his jacket.”

    don’t have to give shit…had too much of a protracted battle on my hands that no one knew about….

    in saying that….when i SEE PROGRESS…where the Black majority are the ONLY ONES BENEFITING from what is RIGHTFULLY THIERS, since others have benefited off them for CENTURIES….and then DECADES….then they will get their credit for putting in the now YEARS AND YEARS of much needed work…..until then….hop to it…

  22. African Online Publishing Copyright ⓒ 2022. All Rights Reserved Avatar
    African Online Publishing Copyright ⓒ 2022. All Rights Reserved

    Theo….get back to me in 5 years, there is hope, and AOP…

    everyone deserves a second chance and time to implement…


  23. DavidApril 17, 2022 8:25 AM

    Kagame looks a natural on the road tennis court from his form.

    ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

    Ms. Mockley looks barely able to get up out of her chair and if she did she would be blowing hard time she got on the court..

    She needs some physical exercise and proper food.

    For the Rwandan president the likely loss of the $$$$$ will be just another case of easy come easy go.


  24. She could also go and spend some time in Rwanda and learn some of Kagame’s secrets to looking so good.

    No one here will miss her.

    BTW ….

    https://www.celebritynetworth.com/richest-politicians/presidents/paul-kagame-net-worth/


  25. I see Paul Kagame is the fifth richest ruler in Africa.



  26. The King of Swaziland (now Eswatani) is up to 15 wives now and has 30 children.


  27. Why is he wearing European attire for cold climates?


  28. Maybe he is cold blooded.


  29. @🐇/🐰
    Come on.
    Generate some new hypotheses as most of this stuff is above my head.

  30. African Online Publishing Copyright ⓒ 2022. All Rights Reserved Avatar
    African Online Publishing Copyright ⓒ 2022. All Rights Reserved

    Theo…this thread is dead….can’t go any further….they do not have the information and no one who has will post any..


  31. Rwanda’s President calls on Dame Sandra Mason at State House – Rwanda’s President calls on Dame Sandra Mason at State House:

    https://barbadostoday.bb/2022/04/17/rwandas-president-calls-on-dame-sandra-mason-at-state-house/

  32. William Skinner Avatar
    William Skinner

    @ TheOGazerts
    “I cannot remember anyone giving Mia credit for her turn towards Africa. Instead her effort is often cast as some sort of a scam.

    Interested in a comment from the Afrophiles”

    On more than one occasion , on BU, I have supported the PM’s decision to pursue more and better ties with Africa. I think the most recent time was about two or less weeks ago.

  33. African Online Publishing Copyright ⓒ 2022. All Rights Reserved Avatar
    African Online Publishing Copyright ⓒ 2022. All Rights Reserved

    William….you are generous without a fault..


  34. @WS,
    Yes, I now remember some of your comments and you are correct.


  35. @WS
    I saw that Kammie H took a stab at our “mirror image” in 2010.

    I think a 2022 “mirror image” article from you would be interesting.

    I am wondering if we miss the point of Barrow’s mirror image message. Was he asking us to take a honest and good long look at ourselves?

    If we did then we would drop a number of phrases including “punching above our weight”. We would see that the distance between us and other islands has shortened or we have been overtaken.

    Did we miss what Barrow was trying to tell us?


  36. Kigali Rwanda

  37. African Online Publishing Copyright ⓒ 2022. All Rights Reserved Avatar
    African Online Publishing Copyright ⓒ 2022. All Rights Reserved

    The cleanliness of the city is unmatched, there is a video on my site as to how it stays that way….it’s very impressive…to see the strides made from the 90s…you can’t help but admire..


  38. I wonder what passed through Paul Kagame’s mind whilst being ferried along the shit-hole streets and degraded built and natural environment on an island reputed to be punching above its weight?

  39. African Online Publishing Copyright ⓒ 2022. All Rights Reserved Avatar
    African Online Publishing Copyright ⓒ 2022. All Rights Reserved

    Trust me, he knows exactly what happened to reduce the island to such a state…it’s not a secret, only the deluded think it is and still trying to cover up..

  40. William Skinner Avatar
    William Skinner

    @ TheiGazerts
    I will certainly consider the suggestion. I do have a very high level of respect for your deportment as a regular on BU.
    Here is my first salvo at Barrow: He is more responsible for what once referenced as the “Barbadian condition “
    than many suspect , know or want to believe.
    Peace

  41. William Skinner Avatar
    William Skinner

    @!WURA
    The day we allow the Mottley’s of the world to escape serious scrutiny , is the day that the genuine work of truly genuine, progressives’ : blood , sweat and tears are forgotten.
    While I support her efforts, I have always made it abundantly clear that the need for closer ties with Africa goes back several decades.
    The real question here is why did Mottley , who has spent a few decades in Parliament, was Deputy Prime Minister , Minister of Education and Culture , wait until now to be so interested in Africa.
    Answer:
    After the reign of Donald Trump, we started to realise that : England was no longer an option; Canada has always been a rather quiet call and the USA is becoming less tolerant of emigrants.
    Mottley and company suddenly remembered Africa!
    In other words, while progressives will welcome her actions they are not fooled. But, ties with Africa are required and important. We have future generations to think of .
    The struggle continues.


  42. @William

    There is the blogmaster’s view it also combined with the pressure of an economic reality.

  43. William Skinner Avatar

    @ David
    Africa has its own business culture. Once we can understand it, trade with Africa should pick up quite quickly.
    There are countless opportunities. Hi


  44. Wishing the local companies well. The Africa market is a vast penetrated space for the Caribbean.

    Companies glad to share with Ghana
    MORE THAN US$20 000 worth of products from six Barbadian manufacturers have been shipped to Ghana as the first step in cementing commercial ties there and in the wider African continent.
    On April 13, representatives of Export Barbados, Armstrong Manufacturing, Caribbean Sugar Ltd, Bajan 1966 Rum, Cockspur Rum, Trowel Plastics Barbados Ltd and Roberts Manufacturing, along with Minister of Industry Davidson Ishmael, gathered at Woodland Radicle International in Cane Garden, St Thomas, as products were loaded on a 20-foot container that left for Ghana on Friday. Ishmael said the event was “historic” and signified the reconnection of ties between Barbados and the Motherland.
    “We’re starting in Ghana, but we’re hoping that we can then go . . . throughout the continent of Africa, because there’s significant demand for our products no matter where we go . . . . So we want to encourage local producers to see Africa as . . . an open market for them to be able to see how they can get their products and services [into] Africa.”
    He lauded Export Barbados and Barbados’ High Commission to Ghana for making the shipment a reality and said he was confident it was the first of many, noting that spending by African consumers and businesses is expected
    to reach $6.66 trillion by 2030. Senior business development officer with Export Barbados, Modou Diagne, said: “We are going to continue the effort and now that we have put in place the blueprint, it is much easier and we are hoping that in the next one or two months, the next container will go.”
    Armstrong’s brand manager Cheryl Armstrong said they were especially pleased to be shipping Claytons Kola Tonic to Africa.
    Brand manager for Cockspur Rum, Shanica Prescod, said the company was happy to share Cockspur Rum’s long heritage of Fine Rum with Ghanaians.
    Donna Branch, sales and marketing manager, Roberts Manufacturing, said the company is always looking for opportunities to share the versatility of its products with new customers.
    Gerard Borely, director at Caribbean Sugar Limited, noted that while Ghana was a large market, it was also a gateway to West Africa and the African continent.
    Jerry Burke, business development officer with Trowel Plastics, said its research showed that Ghana has a robust construction industry and presented a prime opportunity for them. ( PR)

    Source: Nation


  45. Time to adopt export culture

    THERE IS A clarion call to diversify the economy and move away from the one-prop dependence on tourism to earn foreign currency.
    This is not new today but on every occasion that we are faced with a crisis this mantra is repeated and nothing is done. There is a need to adopt a more export and manufacturing culture, especially in products in which we have a competitive advantage and types of product unique to Barbados. We need to create a critical mass.
    Well crafted art and craft, leather goods, sweet potato chips, breadfruit chips, local spices and herbs, and our hot pepper sauce need to be targeted at members of the diaspora. The second generation members of the black diaspora, in particular those in the United Kingdom and the north-eastern seaboard of the United States.
    The Small Business Association should provide a range of services, including marketing, consultancy advice, export marketing and research assistance. We need to encourage overseas buyers to buy Barbadian goods, using the overseas missions with extensions to market Barbadian produced goods.
    We have missions in London, Washington, Miami, New York, and so on. We need to encourage trade missions to visit Barbados, primarily with the aim of buying Barbadian produced goods. This has application, especially in the fashion industry, where the manufacturers can come together in a co-operative venture and not sell their products individually, competing against each other. The revenue earned would then go through the individual bank accounts or be wired directly.
    Barbados at this juncture produces very little. We are an importoriented, distribution country which has little value added. It does not earn foreign exchange, but uses it. There is a need for a diversified manufacturing, exportoriented culture, like in the days of K.R. Hunte. Failing this, we fall into the ten-year boom and bust trap which has been exacerbated by the current state. –

    PHILIP HUNTE

    Source: Nation

  46. African Online Publishing Copyright ⓒ 2022. All Rights Reserved Avatar
    African Online Publishing Copyright ⓒ 2022. All Rights Reserved

    “wait until now to be so interested in Africa.
    Answer: Mottley and company suddenly remembered Africa!”

    they have no choice, but still believed they could carry their shite minorities there ahead of descents….that’s why i will not give jack shit, until they recognize that Afrikan descents come first in everything going forward as inheritors…i can be very unforgiving especially when having to work overtime to expose stupidity…

    let them learn the business culture of Afrika on their own, that is another piece of information i will not share to BU> but it’s phenomenal…they need a learning experience.

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