Developing a five-year strategy to deliver on Caricom’s priorities and to be agreed on before mid-year will be among proposals to be considered by Heads of Government, when they begin a two-day Inter-Sessional Meeting in Suriname today.
In addition, they will also be faced with supporting the set up of a temporary Change Office to restructure the Caricom Secretariat as well as making a commitment to maintaining the current level of financing to the Secretariat until 2015, among other recommendations made by UK-based consultancy Landell Mills Ltd.
The firm was contracted to conduct an organisational review of the Secretariat and its final report, ‘Turning Around Caricom: Proposals to Restructure the Secretariat,’ including its recommendations, is expected to be among the priorities for the Conference of Heads of Government, which had commissioned the review. The Community Council of Ministers met yesterday to discuss the report in detail and make recommendations for the conference to consider.
The report, which has been seen by Stabroek News, is authored by Richard Stoneman, Justice Duke Pollard and Hugo Inniss, who declared that Caricom is in crisis. They warned that the community “could be brought down quickly” if the international economic situation worsens, while noting that many member states are highly-indebted and further financial downturn this year could see significant funding for the Secretariat and regional institutions cut off at short notice. They also said there is evidence that over the next few years some of Caricom’s 15 member states, frustrated by its slow progress, could begin to leave the union.
In order for Caricom to survive and eventually prosper, the report recommends 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 five-year strategy, proposed to prioritise long-term goals into specific outcomes that can be achieved in a relatively short timeframe, is among the proposals for Caricom’s recovery. “It is essential that a strategy is now developed to prioritise strictly what Caricom will do in line with available resources and over a time bound period,” the report says, noting that the need for a clear strategy, focused on delivering specific and tangible benefits, is widely recognised and has been highlighted by other reports. The development of a strategy is also seen as “essential” for making savings in the resources devoted to Caricom without putting its objectives at risk. In its absence, the consultants believe that it is difficult to distinguish between potentially damaging cuts and feasible savings that are not destructive.
“The strategy has to make some hard and painful choices as to what Caricom can do – and achieve – in 5 years and what it cannot do. It is essential both to drive the Caricom construct and to enable the restructuring of the Secretariat by giving it a clear purpose,” the report explains, while adding that the strategy should be put in place quickly and be agreed in the first half of this year. It is envisaged that the strategy should be seen as giving new Secretary General Irwin LaRocque a mandate for his term in office.
Among the guidelines suggested for the strategy is the need to develop a vision that is relevant to the second decade of the 21st century; measures to make a regional agenda more mainstream; and the desirability of putting off some Caricom objectives indefinitely. “These should be followed by a careful exercise to rank remaining objectives and to commit to only those that can be realised within available management resources and funding,” the report says. It further notes that the strategy should address the restructuring of Caricom and the Secretariat.
According to the report, another major step needed for Caricom’s recovery is the fundamental restructuring of the Secretariat to focus on implementation and on where the region can add value, net of costs, to what member states can do individually. It is anticipated that the restructuring would include strengthening the position of the Secretary General to enable more effective leadership of Caricom; setting up an Implementation Office more directly focused on delivering agreed priorities, including the strategy; and strengthening the Secretariat’s operations.
The consultants found that restructuring the Secretariat and turning around the fortunes of Caricom “will require a major effort” that is beyond either’s current capabilities. As a result, they proposed setting up of a temporary Change Office to support the Secretary General in the restructuring process. They suggest that the office be staffed by full-time staff plus shorter specialist inputs and it would lead the restructuring process for a period between 18 months and three years. They also recommend that an expert in strategy be appointed as soon as possible to the Change Office to prepare the five-year strategy for Caricom.
The report also says that core funding from member states remains key for the Secretariat. It was found that the way the Secretariat’s financing has been organised has been misguided and is a major source of weakness.
“The position of the Caricom construct and the Secretariat are so precarious that any significant financial cuts in the short-to-medium term would be counter-productive – and possibly fatal,” the report concludes, and recommends that no cuts be made in member states’ contributions unless worsening economic circumstances leave no choice.
It recommends that member states’ contributions be maintained at current levels until 2015, saying that this would enable major reallocation in the Secretariat’s budget, as a combination of savings and reductions crucial activities that could reverse Caricom’s fortunes to be undertaken.
The report does note that delays and arrears in member state funding have “seriously undermined” the Secretariat in recent years and current funding methods are “a major risk,” with the continual uncertainty seriously weakening the Secretariat’s ability to meet its objectives. As a result, it recommends mechanisms be investigated to provide the Secretariat with better security of funding. “The Secretariat should seek to put in place contingent financing in the event of a further economic crisis from the less indebted member states. It would also be helpful to obtain capital costs for restructuring from these sources. This would get restructuring underway quickly and send a strong signal to the international community about Caricom’s intent,” it adds.
