At the conclusion of the recent special summit in Trinidad, CARICOM Heads of Government issued the ‘St Ann’s Declaration.’ It set out in the dusty language of officialese the measures being taken to breathe life into the stalled Caribbean Single Market and Economy (CSME).
However, far more interesting and accessible was a poorly reported but unusually detailed press conference held after the summit and available on YouTube. There, Barbados’ Prime Minister, Mia Mottley, Jamaica’s Prime Minister Andrew Holness, Trinidad’s Prime Minister Keith Rowley and CARICOM’s Secretary General Irwin LaRocque spelt out just how Heads intend resuscitating the CSME, by when, and what could happen should they fail.
In his remarks, Trinidad’s Prime Minister made clear exactly what was at stake when he described the impact of the March 2017 CARICOM Review Commission report produced by Jamaica’s former Prime Minister, Bruce Golding.