Drew at UN: Time to Fix a System Built for Yesterday

Prime Minister Terrance Drew didn’t mince words at the UN on Saturday. He told the General Assembly that the global financial system is stuck in the past, built for another century and failing the world’s smallest and most vulnerable nations.

Drew backed the Bridgetown Initiative, saying it offers a real blueprint to ease debt, fund green projects, and protect countries like SKN from climate shocks. “Reform is justice, reform is prudence, reform is protection and equity,” he said, calling for less talk and more actual cash flowing where it matters.

But Drew didn’t stop at finance. He tied the issue to history, pointing out the glaring injustice of slavery’s aftermath: “When emancipation came, it was not the enslaved who received reparations, but their enslavers.” He also renewed the call for Marcus Garvey’s full exoneration, describing him as a global Black icon and prophet of liberation.

On security, Drew reminded the world that the Caribbean must remain a “zone of peace” — and that means cutting off the flow of guns and dirty money, boosting youth opportunities, and getting Venezuela and the US talking instead of trading barbs.

He also stood firm on regional issues: urging real investment in Haiti’s rebuilding, demanding an end to the US embargo on Cuba, and insisting that Taiwan be given a seat at the table in bodies like the WHO and ICAO.

Run Di Chat take: Drew used the UN stage to throw serious weight behind small islands. Less pity, more partnership. Less speeches, more solutions. The world can either keep running old systems, or finally update the rules to match reality.