Almost sixty percent of respondents tested within thirteen CARICOM Member States know of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME).
A release from the Caricom Secretariat today said that this is one of the findings revealed in the most recent CARICOM Secretariat CSME awareness survey report which was submitted this month. The CARICOM Secretariat executed the study under a public education project funded by the 9th European Development Fund (EDF), Caribbean Integration Support Programme (CISP).
The release said that among the views expressed was that CSME implementation was too slow and lacked leadership from CARICOM Member States; increased integration is linked to cheaper transportation costs; greater respect is required for all nationals as they carry out their legitimate transactions and there is need for increased awareness of procedures to offer services and establish businesses in CARICOM.
The awareness study further showed social networks, text messages and new media ranking highly as the preferred methods for receiving CSME information. Respondents called for a sustained flow of information on the CSME in order to be empowered and also stated the need for segmenting messages to resonate with different markets, the release said.
Almost 4500 CARICOM Nationals were interviewed during a three-week period and focus groups were also organised in some CARICOM Member States.
