Prospect reef is the perfect model for studying the subject of capital and its value in driving Virgin Islands prosperity
Now, the management of capital for increased productivity and therefore profitability is the key driver of prosperity under the capitalist system that governs all our lives.
Capital is the engine and chain that drives the wheel of a free market society. Ironically, capital also decides social and economic outcomes in non-capitalist societies where governments decide on the allocation of scarce resources, and not markets. The Virgin Islands is a capitalist country, albeit government looms large.
The appropriate value and supply chains in the journey from input to output governs the capital trail. A chain is simply the process in a specific market from initial input to final output: where supply meets demand. Prospect Reef is the perfect model for adopting the idea of capital chain.
Prosperity is the result of the increase in the value of capital as it goes through these various stages or processes of the chain from original input to final output- from initial investment to revenue and profitability. That progress is termed the value chain with the related supply chain.
Capital is a chain composed of factors such as human resources, technology and finance that drives business from start to finish: input to output. The chain proceeds symmetrically: it is linear with asymmetric impacts.
How will Prospect Reef fulfill this idea of capital as a chain of value? That is a most appropriate question to ask. Looking at Prospect as a value and supply chain will enable the project from start to finish.
It is crucial to manage value and supply chains – capital- according to the vision adopted by organizations and government, in the quest to increase revenue, profitability, and prosperity. There must be a vision of the capital mix and trail that is Prospect reef.
In order to decide on the type of value and supply chain a product or a number of inter-related products, which amounts to a market, a vision of the whole chain is imperative, from start to finish.
The chain runs from supplier and producers to consumers. The value supply chain and its links decide the culture of specific markets: in this case, it is the Prospect Reef Project.
How does the value and supply chain begin and then end its journey? A vision for Prospect Reef is a maritime resort, hotel chain, leisure center, condominiums, and business center integrated and managed by a board. Much like the past but grander: a Pier Park Mark 2 that will employ scores of employees and managers. A boost for the Virgin Islands economy. Prospect Reef could even be a second cruise pier for small ships and mega yachts.
The Prospect Reef Project promises work in construction and project management. Then once built jobs and business opportunities for decades in tourism and retail. It must be a public private partnership.
However, will the project move from ideas on paper to reality? Will the progression of activity be a priority for government and partners? Adopting the idea of a cycle, a value and supply chain, following the progression of the capital trail, and efficiently managed from the start to finish will drive the vision to reality. That cycle can be termed the white paper. It will require courage and decision to take the plunge.
Now the supply chain best adopts to a manufacturing type process, where there is transformation of a raw material or similar, into what the consumer wants, or the finished product. In the Virgin Islands, the fishing and agricultural industry will best adopt the supply chain as Modus Vivendi in its call to satisfy markets.
On the other hand, a value chain best describes the supply of a service, which is what the Prospect reef Project mainly offers: services to tourism and tourism oriented businesses.
There is a strong link between the supply and value chain. This writer uses both in an interwoven way, but always with the idea that it is simply the movement of capital in one form or the other, increasing in value as it advances to its final destination. The chain like the chain driving the wheels of a steam engine follows a trail decided by the vision of the project.
Managing capital and the chain of capital- technology, human resources, finance, land, and innovation- in an ordered, symmetrical, innovative, efficient, and contemplative manner, avoids error, in how critical projects are adopted.
On the other hand, ignoring the role of the capital mix and trail in social and economic development is a song to white elephants, waste, and under-development.
Dickson Igwe is an education official in the Virgin Islands. He is also a national sea safety instructor. He writes a national column across media and has authored a story book on the Caribbean: ‘The Adventures of a West Indian Villager’. Dickson is focused on economics articles, and he believes economics holds the answer to the full economic and social development of the Caribbean. He is of both West African and Caribbean heritage. Dickson is married with one son.
