At the recent 42nd Annual Conference of Monetary Studies in Trinidad, Professor Clive Thomas received tributes from former Governor of the Central Bank of Barbados Sir Courtney Blackman and others for his brilliant contributions to Development Economics, the WPA said in release yesterday.
The conference was sponsored by CARICOM Central Banks, the University of the West Indies and the Caribbean Centre for Money and Finance at the Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago under the theme “Financial Stability, Crisis Preparedness and Risk Management in the Caribbean.”
The WPA said that “on the first morning of the conference, which was held in honour of the work of Guyana’s Distinguished Professor Clive Y. Thomas, a tribute was presented to Professor Thomas by former Governor of the Central Bank of Barbados, Sir Courtney Blackman.”
Professor Thomas subsequently presented a paper in Session 1 of the conference entitled “Looking Backwards into the Future: What Lessons can be Learnt from the Colonial Exchange – Standard for Understanding Globalization and its Financialisation.” “On the second evening of the conference, more tributes were paid to Professor Thomas and he and his wife received special gifts in appreciation,” the WPA stated.
The party also said that “it is only on a couple of previous occasions since 1968 that the Annual Conference of Monetary Studies has honoured a Caribbean scholar and so the University of Guyana and the Guyana society as a whole should be exceedingly proud.”
According to the WPA, the failure of the Central Bank of Guyana in 2009 when it hosted the 41st conference to give due recognition to Professor Thomas’ undoubtedly brilliant and consistent contribution to Development Economics, locally, regionally and internationally, “is not an accident given the politically tainted nature of institutions in Guyana and it underscores the time worn adage that ‘A Prophet is Not Without Honour, Save in His Own Country.’”
The party said it wished to publicly congratulate Professor Thomas on this latest recognition of his work on the world stage and also expressed the hope that his brilliant mind will continue to be available for years to come.
