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www.caribbeantimesinternational.com | week ending July 4, 2013
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EDITORIAL
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Agenda for Caricom
his Thursday, the Caribbean Community (Caricom) will complete two score years of its existence. Such a round number alone warrants a closer look at the institution to ensure that the rationales for its formation are still relevant and, if so, what can be done to achieve those goals that remain unfulfilled. There has to be an acceptance of a willingness to be bold. There can be no complacency in an endeavour that has such high stakes for the people in the Caribbean. In an address to a “Caribbean Growth Forum (CGF)”, held in Nassau last week, Inter- American Development Bank (IDB) President Luis Alberto Moreno made some points that we hope all Caricom will take some time to ponder. The IDB has been the largest source of funding to the region, and in that time has analysed us more profoundly and sustainably than any other institution, especially as far as what it will take for us to embark on a path of higher growth. He noted that there were others in far worse shape than us at the time of independence, but through a willingness to make hard decisions, have forged far ahead. Notable in this regard is Singapore, a city- state with almost no natural resources that is now a “developed country”. In his book ‘From Third World to First’, Singapore’s first prime minister, Lee Kwan Yew explicitly cited the instance of Jamaica, which was ahead of his country by so many criteria, but has now lagged. What Singapore did was craft a plan for its development and stick to it with dogged determination. Caricom’s leaders did have such a vision and plan back in 1973 when they signed the Treaty of Chaguramas, but they have not stuck to the plan. Moreno pointed out that we have to diversify our economies and become more export-oriented. The first part of the advice has been one of the foundational goals of Caricom from the onset. What else could economies that have been founded to produce a single crop – sugar – do? The term “mono- crop” agriculture was invented in the Caribbean. The second part of the advice should have been redundant, since historically, all our production was for export. But for the Caribbean to diversify, when they each had such small internal markets, they not only had to expand their markets, they also had to rationalise their production. It was accepted from the beginning that it did not make sense, economic or otherwise, for each country to produce the same range of goods: the relative comparative advantages were identified quite early on. The only constraint was the lack of political will from the politicians to overcome their aversion to cooperation. Caricom must return to this basic lesson. The Bharrat Jagdeo Initiative on Agriculture is as good a place to start as any. Ten constraints had been identified since 2004 as necessary to be removed if we were not only to become self-sufficient in food production, but also become large exporters. The reason why none of these have been resolved is the conclusion by the other leaders that since Guyana and Belize have the greatest amount of available agricultural land, they would benefit inordinately. There has been very little discussion that agriculture is not only about land and that each territory would have also benefited since each could have provided different inputs. Trinidad and Barbados, for instance, would have earned greater returns on the capital they would have invested. Returning to Moreno’s advice on “diversifying”, he explicitly mentioned not just the products, but the markets. For too long we have reflexively continued shipping our goods to our “traditional” markets in the U. S. and Europe. The 1973 plan for Caricom was drafted at a time when SouthSouth linkages were being pushed so as to overcome the past dependent relationships. We dropped the ball, which must now be picked up this Thursday in Trinidad.
Guyana’s Amerindian Affairs Minister Pauline Sukhai is greeted by residents of St Ignatius, Region Nine on Sunday before launching the Youth Apprenticeship and Entrepreneurship Project in the country’s Rupununi regions. (Samuel Sukhnandan photo)
Caricom nations can become richer with deeper integration – President Ramotar
P
resident Donald Ramotar said Caricom countries can be richer if they take bold steps to deepen the integration progress. Ramotar made the comments in a message to mark the 40th anniversary of the formation of Caricom. Ramotar said it was indeed an ambitious but necessary undertaking by the four founding nations – Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago – when on July 4, 1973 they signed the Treaty of Chaguaramas, which represented a tangible expression of their collective belief in the ideals of regional integration. “This juncture in the history of the Caricom family is an occasion for celebration, as well as critical reflection. Regionalism is a tangible expression by states that greater benefits can be accrued from promoting our commonalities. Therefore, the region has much to boast about its collaboration in the areas of foreign policy, advancement through joint partnership with third states and groupings like the European Union, the joint promotion of our culture through events like CARIFESTA and sports. A united Caricom is indeed a very powerful voting bloc in multilateral bodies and the region’s commitment to democratic principles is recognised and applauded the world over. I am convinced that our individual countries can be more prosperous and indeed strengthened, if bold steps are taken to deepen our integration process,” President Ramotar said. In this regard, he said the revision of the Treaty of
Chaguaramas paved the way for the implementation of the Caricom Single Market and Economy. According to him, while the economies of the region remain vulnerable to external shocks, the CSME offers businesses the opportunity to expand their operation and be profitable by accessing the markets of the wider region.
Hassle-free movement
“Integration implies, however, that our peoples must be vested with the right to move and do business across the region without imposed barriers. Heads of government since the conference of heads in Grand Anse, Grenada in 1989, have re-committed to hassle-free movement of people to promote a greater sense of community. Yet insularity continues to plague our union and poses a threat to what we envisage for our peoples,” the Guyanese leader said. He said the region has indeed survived many challenges, the most recent being the economic crises which struck in 2008 and the many natural disasters as a result of climate change. “Given our vulnerabilities as a region, it is time that we heighten our preparedness to such challenges even as we remain engaged in the process of advocating for countries to reduce their emissions. Similar progress must be made in other areas in order for us to meet the demands of the international environment. Critical to this is the work of the Caricom Secretariat in performing at its intended optimum. In this regard, Guyana welcomed the reform process currently tak-
ing place across the region. This process will see the restructuring of the secretariat, and other regional institutions to make these more proactive to anticipate and respond to the current trends in a timely manner.” President Ramotar said while Guyana has had the distinction to serve as the headquarters of the Caricom Secretariat, many are unaware of the work being done on behalf of the wider community.
Notable successes
Additionally, Ramotar said 40 years has brought many notable successes, making reference to institutions and associate institutions such as the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC); the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), on which a notable Guyanese national sits as a judge and the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB). However the region is challenged to reorient if it is to remain effectively engaged globally. “I trust that even as we celebrate such a momentous occasion, that we would pause to reflect of our journey thus far and seek new ways of ensuring that the strides we have made over the past 40 years are not lost to the insecurities that exist. Guyana’s commitment to regional integration has been steadfast over the years and will continue in the future. I acknowledge the inputs made by Guyanese to the success of regional integration and we would continue to seek new ways in which the aspirations of our Caribbean Community can be realised,” the President said.