If the Georgetown-based Caribbean Community Secretariat has not been exactly ‘hogging the headlines’ insofar as its role in the regional response to the COVID-19 pandemic is concerned, it appears that the Secretariat is very much in the ‘thick of things’ in terms of coordinating the work of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) insofar as the ongoing engagements pertaining to the recovery of the region from the impact of the virus on its respective economies are concerned.
Last week news surfaced from the 13th Special Emergency Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government, which was held virtually, in the form of an update on what is being termed the Caribbean Economic Recovery and Transformation Plan (CERT), a strategy put forward by a regional team of experts under the leadership of the Prime Minister of Barbados, Mia Mottley, who is among the most seasoned politicians in the region. Last week’s statement on the work associated with the effective execution of the plan issued by the Secretariat said that work had commenced towards the hoped-for effective execution of the plan and that the region looked forward to its successful completion.