The Landell Mills review of the Caricom Secretariat and the strategic direction of the 15-member community are expected to be among the priorities when Heads of Government meet in Suriname this week for their 23rd Inter-Sessional Conference.
Under the chairmanship of Suriname’s President Desiré Delano Bouterse, the Conference of Heads of Government will meet on Thursday and Friday and discuss recommendations contained in the report, ‘Turning around CARICOM: Proposals to restructure the Secretariat,’ the Caricom Secretariat at Turkeyen said in a statement.
The report is the result of a review commissioned by Heads of Government at their Thirty-First Regular Meeting in Jamaica, July 2010.
To facilitate a robust discussion, the Community Council of Ministers will meet today, prior to the Heads of Government Conference, to discuss the report in detail and make recommendations for the conference to consider.
The report has warned that Caricom “could be brought down quickly” if the international economic situation worsens. It noted that many member states are highly-indebted and said further financial downturn this year could see significant funding for the Secretariat and regional institutions cut off at short notice. It also said there is evidence that over the next few years some member states, frustrated by the pace of progress, could begin to “vote with their feet” and leave the community, it further warned.
In order for Caricom to survive and eventually prosper, the consultants recommended that there must be full and unequivocal support from member states; a focus on delivering a narrow range of specific, practical and achievable benefits over a reasonably short time span; and a credible reorganisation and strengthening of the movement, including the Secretariat and regional institutions.
The statement said that the restructuring of the Caricom Secretariat will be done within the context of the community’s vision, strategic direction and priorities.
The ongoing discussions on this issue began at last year’s inter-sessional meeting in Grenada and continued at a special retreat last May in Guyana as well as at the 32nd regular meeting of the conference in St Kitts and Nevis last July.
The release said also that a special guest at the meeting will be President of Chile, Sebastián Piñera Echenique. President Piñera is the pro tempore President of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) and Chile will also be the host of the next Summit of the European Union and Latin American and Caribbean (EU-LAC) countries scheduled for early 2013. According to the release, in light of the persistent high rates of crime and violence plaguing several member states within the community, Heads of Government will again examine developments related to the regional Crime and Security Agenda in an effort to arrest this trend.
Another agenda item is the thorny issue of the governance of cricket at the national, regional and international levels, and discussions will be conducted against the backdrop of a continuous public debate on the matter.
In addition, issues of sustainable development, including climate change, joint economic ventures for the establishment of Caricom enterprises; regional air transportation and matters affecting community relations, particularly CARICOM support to Haiti, will also occupy the attention of CARICOM Heads.
