Caricom Heads met in St Vincent and the Grenadines for their 25th InterSessional meeting with a call from outgoing Chairperson Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar advising her colleagues of the necessity to “take the tough decisions and fulfil our obligations”; and incoming Chairperson and host Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves advising his colleagues that whatever the deficiencies of the Caricom Secretariat, “the implementation deficit has to be put squarely at the level of national governments.”
Neither sentiment will have surprised Caricom citizens. But as they met, the odds were that most of the leaders were probably more focused on their national, rather than regional, responsibilities, given the current situation in which virtually all countries, with the possible exception of Trinidad & Tobago, have been facing severe financial difficulties and are probably more concerned at this time with the views of the International Monetary Fund.
Nonetheless, those concerns matched their receipt of a report and recommendations of the Caricom Commission on the Economy which they had previously established, though it does not seem clear how they assess this process in relation to progress on the Single Market (CSME), delay in the implementation of which has been a persistent source of complaint.
In that connection, the heads may well feel that the current ongoing process of reorganization of the Caricom Secretariat will go some way towards facilitating implementation of agreements. But they will have heard Prime Minister Gonsalves remind them that “We must ensure that the organs of the Community work as intended… that its decisions are implemented in each nation-state of the Community”; and that “each government is enjoined in its responsibility, nay its solemn obligation, to put appropriate institutional arrangements in its national executive and administrative apparatuses to facilitate the speedy and efficacious implementation of Caricom’s decisions.”
Strong words indeed, but we have often heard versions of that gospel before.
The heads did, however, proceed with approval of new initiatives for the region that focus on the medium to long term creation of the human and physical infrastructure towards an integrated economy. And having discussed a presentation on Education and Human Resource Development that was the responsibility of the Caricom Examinations Council, agreed to establish a Commission on Human Resource Development for the implementation of proposals and strategies appropriate for the next two decades or so.
In terms of what they have seen as the importance of developing economies keeping in step with worldwide technological developments, the heads also welcomed the report of another commission on Information and communications technology (ICT) as a potentially significant base for economic production. And they have done this in the context of their perception of “a single ICT space as critical to the development of the single market and economy.”
But it was also clear that the heads’ preoccupation was with the state of their individual countries’economies, in the context of the global recession that has now affected most of them. In reviewing the Report on the Commission on the Economy, they agreed, though hardly for the first time, that they should have a “high level consultation with Leaders of Commerce and Industry” during their next meeting in July to “address the institutional reform agenda and the scope for promoting public-private partnerships to support the infrastructural development required to promote a vibrant and dynamic private sector and sustainable growth in the Community.”
But those with long memories will recall the encounters, in the 1980s, nearer the birth of Caricom, between governments then, and the newly formed Caribbean Association of Industry and Commerce (CAIC), in order to ensure that the real creators of industrial activity were in sync with the political directorate.
Two other areas preoccupying the heads in the economic sphere are worthy of note. The first was, not surprisingly, the issue of debt that is presently preoccupying most countries in the region. It is probably the case that the situation of Barbados in recent times was an important influence in that regard, as that country has felt constrained to undertake unprecedented strategies including, notably, the widespread dismissal of public service employees, to cope with its present crisis.
The other area has been the lengthy process that it has taken Caricom to conclude a Trade and Development Agreement with Canada. Over decades, Canada which has acted as a “friend at court,” so to speak, of Caricom states at the IMF in particular, but also generally at aid institiutions, has seemed to take a less sympathetic attitude to the region. And from the perspective of some Caribbean observers, the country has been long in coming to agreement to replace Caribcan, as well as taking what are seen as unsympathetic measures on the immigration of Caribbean nationals.
No doubt, part of the heads’ statement, emphasising that it desired what it described as a “pro-development agreement which takes account of the differences in the levels of development between Caricom and Canada” was meant to signal their dissatisfaction with the present state of affairs.
Finally, two, and what we can call new, issues saw the light of day at the InterSessional. The first was that of what was referred to as ‘Reparations for Native Genocide and Slavery,’ to which there have already been indications of negativity or unreceptivity. A substantial study undertaken under the leadership of Professor Beckles, Principal of the UWI Cave Hill Campus, would appear to have persuaded the heads that this matter may have some traction, and that it can be taken on board as part of its relationship with Britain in particular.
The second issue was that of ‘The Use of Marijuana for Medical/Health Purposes.’ Heads of Government who might have been somewhat fearful of domestic opinion on this matter, may have been prodded into action on it by two factors. The first has been an indication of Jamaica wanting to follow the path of legalization under certain circumstances; and the second, the increasing inclination in states of the United States, to initiate the process of legalization.
We shall have to wait to see how public sentiment in the region itself goes on that one, as the debate proceeds before a Regional Commission that the heads have now mandated.
