This would include the Guyanese President himself among fellow Heads of Government that have been assigned lead portfolio responsibilities within the framework of a quasi-cabinet structure.

The precise intention of this "portfolios mechanism" -- as outlined in the "Consensus of Chaguaramas" that resulted from a special CARICOM Summit in Trinidad and Tobago in October 1999 -- was to speed up the implementation of important developments in the 15-member Community.

In the same way that governments and lawmakers are expected to be accountable at the domestic level, so must it also be at the level of CARICOM.

After all, the leaders cannot assign themselves lead portfolio responsibilities to advance the process of regional economic integration and functional cooperation, and then expect the Community's people to simply accept excuses or rationalisations for failures to realise what they keep promising at their "summits" or "inter-sessional" meetings.

About the CARICOM Bureau itself, it could reasonably be asked how well has it really succeeded, since it became operational in December 1992, in carrying out its mandate to "initiate proposals, update consensus, mobilise and secure implementation of decisions in an expeditious and informed manner."

There is no shortage of promises from CARICOM leaders, especially on people-oriented issues like freedom of movement, currency conversion, common passport or travel document for intra-regional travels and in the streamlining of immigration and customs services. The shortage lies in the delivery of promises.

Deserves Credit
President Jagdeo deserves credit for going public with a festering problem -- the constant harassment that Guyanese nationals experience far too often on entry at airports within CARICOM.

It is not by accident that he chose last Monday's meeting in Barbados of the CARICOM Bureau -- the so-called Management Committee between meetings of Heads of Government -- to go public with his complaint that "the second-class treatment" of his country folks must come to an end in the interest of fairness and hassle-free travel.

Mr. Jagdeo, whose chairmanship of CARICOM expires at the end of next month, presided at the Bureau meeting that also included the Prime Ministers of Barbados, St. Lucia, Belize and Dominica and the Secretary General of the Community.

Perhaps the Guyanese experience at airports such as in Barbados, may be worse than others. But frustration keeps building among nationals of the Community over the harassment, the impoliteness, sometimes sheer rudeness and hostility they encounter from some immigration and customs officials at regional airports.

Trying to fill out cumbersome immigration forms, like the one currently being used by Trinidad and Tobago for instance, could be tedious enough. To be treated with hostility by an immigration or customs officer is another problem. Worse, to be sent packing back home, as often happens to Guyanese for debatable reasons, is a very costly and humiliating experience.

President Jagdeo seemed to have made such a compelling case that the communiqué issued after the CARICOM Bureau meeting included the following paragraph:

"Members of the Bureau expressed disappointment at the continuing difficulty of CARICOM nationals to travel without hassles throughout the Community. Particular concern was raised over the treatment of Guyanese in this regard and the Bureau emphatically stated that such treatment was unacceptable both in the law and the spirit of Community."

Ah, but there is the rub! "Disappointment at the continuing difficulty" for hassle-free travel by CARICOM nationals.

At that meeting was Dominica’s Prime Minister Pierre Charles, who has lead responsibility for free movement within the Community. What "progress", what initiatives, has he managed to achieve since succeeding the late Rosie Douglas as Head of Government in Dominica?

For that matter, what progress, what specific new initiatives, has President Jagdeo succeeded in recording for his own portfolio responsibility for "regional food security" since assuming the presidency in August 1999.

It is perhaps time for a check-list on exactly how the Heads of Government with lead responsibilities, respectively, in some ten important areas, have been responding to their regional "portfolio" assignments while coping with their pressing, daily demands at home.

Areas for Action
As stated in the "Consensus of Chaguaramas" document of three years ago last month, the Community leaders had fixed January 1, 2001 "for substantial progress" in the following areas:

*Governance of regional institutions; regional human resource development; labour mobility; science and technology development; regional food security; regional financial institutions; cultural co-operation and development; harmonising development of the services sector; regional programmes to combat HIV/AIDS and drugs; and Regional programmes for the development of sports".

There was no need to identify lead responsibilities for either External Economic Negotiations, or the SCME. These are the "portfolios" of the Prime Ministers of Jamaica and Barbados, respectively. Both are fortunate in having, at this time, supporting facilities.

The others do not, and must fall back on their local technocrats and, as always, the CARICOM Secretariat. The Secretariat itself suffers from the inadequacies of skilled and experienced human resources and facilities.

Nevertheless, the leaders and the Secretariat would perhaps do themselves a favour by spelling out at least some of the "substantial progress" achieved, as promised in that "Consensus of Chaguaramas" document of October 1999.

There remain far too many areas of lack of significant progress, and not just in the area of "labour mobility".