In our most recent editorial on Caricom, ‘Structures of unity,’ we lamented the failure of heads to establish a commission to further the integration process, as recommended by the West Indian Commission (WIC) in 1992. But we concluded by expressing the hope that our leaders would now act to secure the future of the community.
As the 30th annual summit of Caricom heads opened in Georgetown yesterday, we are witnessing, as stated in our editorial two Wednesdays ago, a certain “nervousness about Caricom” and “a barrage of comment by both the political leadership of the region, and commentators in the press” regarding the current status and direction of the community. While we advocated “calmness and deliberation” on the part of our leaders, that is not to say that we are oblivious to the substance of some of the comments and the real and perceived stresses and strains to which all integration movements are subject from time to time, but to which Caricom seems particularly vulnerable at this moment.
One analyst whose voice ought not to be ignored is Professor Norman Girvan, who posed the question, in these pages, ‘Is Caricom at risk?’ (In the Diaspora, June 22). In this regard, he specifically referred o the failure to make the Caricom Single Market and Economy (CSME) a reality, “because of the inaction of Caricom leaders.” He should know what he is talking about. In 2007, he had developed a road map for heads, at their request, on the implementation of the CSME. The report, Towards A Development Vision and the Role of the Single Economy, based on extensive stakeholder consultations, has seemingly gone the way of a dusty death, as have most serious studies in the region that require political will and urgent action. Ironically, however, it is readily accessible on the Caricom Secretariat’s website.
In his article, Professor Girvan also points to other problems related to freedom of movement, barriers to free trade, the Caricom Investment Code and Financial Services Agreement, the Caribbean Court of Justice, the Economic Partnership Agreement with Europe and the reform of community governance. In the latter respect, another regional luminary, Professor Vaughan Lewis, had led a Technical Working Group on the Governance of Caricom, which followed on the heels of the Prime Ministerial Expert Group on Governance (PMEGG), set up in 2003, to make recommendations on the structure of regional governance “consistent with the logic of regional economic integration reflected in the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas.”
In picking up where the PMEGG had left off, the Lewis group produced a report in 2006, which built on the recommendations of both the PMEGG and the WIC for strengthened governance and addressed, inter alia, the “implementation deficit,” including reiterating and tweaking the WIC’s original proposal for the establishment of a commission. In this respect, the Lewis report recommended that such a commission would act under the authority of the Conference of Heads of Government and be accountable to it, in addition to being responsive to the ministerial councils in their respective areas of competence. Needless to say, this report too and its recommendations are languishing in cyberspace.
Compounding these institutional problems and the clear lack of political will to redress them, there are the grave threats posed to the region by the international financial crisis, climate change, violent crime and narco-trafficking, among others. There are now signs that the political antennae of regional leaders are finally picking up the rumblings of discontent emanating from the people.
President Bharrat Jagdeo, the incoming Chairman of Conference, has already indicated that he plans to give priority to these issues as well as the CSME and his eponymous initiative on agriculture. This is encouraging. And President Jagdeo has also shown his seriousness about facing up to the challenges and achieving consensus by calling for a pre-meeting caucus to deal with contentious issues.
Professor Girvan has recommended that President Jagdeo dedicate his six-month term “to getting Caricom back on track.” We agree. President Jagdeo should seize the regional governance bull by the horns and ensure that one of the legacies of his chairmanship is movement forward on the implementation of the CSME and new structures of enhanced governance in the community.
As chairman and as one of the senior heads of government, this is a golden opportunity for him to build commitment to and generate momentum on the regional project. We do not need new studies. A good start would be for him to simply gather a small group of wise men and women to revisit the WIC’s Time for Action and the Girvan and Lewis reports, to draw up a short-list of recommendations for implementation. All the region now needs is enlightened, bold and selfless leadership and urgent action.
