– says climate change, free movement, economic crisis need urgent attention
Guyana’s main opposition party, the PNCR says it believes that Caricom would have to urgently tackle the challenges of climate change, free movement of its citizens and measures to overcome the current economic crisis, even as it expressed satisfaction at the recent Caricom Heads of Government Meeting.
Reading from a prepared statement at the party’s weekly press conference at Congress Place on Friday, PNCR Co-Chairman Basil Williams commended President Bharrat Jagdeo on his appointment as head of the Task Force to study and report on the economic crisis. Jagdeo was named to the post at the 30th Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community, which concluded here last Saturday.
PNCR member Ronald Austin, meantime, acknowledged that President Jagdeo’s appointment as head of this Task Force is recognition of the fact that he has been doing good work in this area. However, he said that when consultations are held they must be wide and very inclusive.
He acknowledged that although the region has not been significantly affected by the global financial crisis thus far, in comparison with other developed territories, the crisis was deepening and needed to be addressed at a regional level.
Williams, while reading the statement, said the party hopes President Jagdeo would take the opportunity to consult the finest economic minds of the region and come up with a plan which would help the individual states of the community to navigate these difficult economic times.
“The party wishes to remind that, some time ago, it recommended the setting up of a commission which would consist of the relevant stakeholders and regional and national economists who could study and make recommendations for measures and programmes to successfully survive the current economic crisis,” he added.
Williams said the party noted the critical issues, which were on the agenda of the conference, such as climate change, the impact of the global financial and economic crisis, freedom of movement, and the need for the community to put governance structures in place to facilitate the prompt implementations of decisions.
“The PNCR noted that the conference benefited from the intervention of such committed integrationists as Sir Shridath Ramphal, Mr PJ Patterson and Mr Patrick Manning, the Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago. It was clear from the various debates and statements that, even though it was recognised that the community is challenged in some critical areas, its demise was not contemplated. … Patterson, put it very well, during his mature presentation to the conference, when he stated that the collapse or the disintegration of Caricom was not an option. The consensus was that Caricom must endure,” he stated.
He reminded that more than 36 years ago, LFS Burnham, the founder leader of the PNC, “who played such a stellar role in the establishment of the Caribbean Community, warned that the Caribbean states must integrate or perish. The community chose that path at that moment in its history. The party is convinced that Caricom would continue to travel the road of integration”.
Austin, however, pointed out that the sore point of Caricom has been the movement’s failure to put in place mechanisms to ensure that decisions made are implemented in a timely manner.
There is a recognition that the community has to survive and that it needs to put in place mechanisms to ensure that decisions that are made as a community are implemented in a timely manner, he said. Austin identified the inability of the community to implement several important decisions even as it related to free movement of people as “a sore point” of the community.
