Freedom of people, not only markets
Guest Editorial
Guyana Chronicle
June 7, 2003
THE QUESTION of the Single Market and Economy (CSME) continues to be the dominant theme on the lips of most regional politicians and commentators. Not because it is anywhere near fruition but because it is ‘fashionable’, as we say in Barbados. Everyone has an idea what it is but knows nothing about it. This was the contention last week by retired Guyanese diplomat Cecil Pilgrim who noted that Caribbean leaders have failed to sell the idea of the CSME to the people. He drew a parallel with the failed Federation and lamented that decisions are being taken by the political leaders “almost in a vacuum”. One of the main difficulties is the failure to facilitate free movement of people throughout the region. There is much logic to this viewpoint because, whatever the difficulties in implementing the CSME, the Caribbean people must feel as one people. This oneness is perhaps hindered because of the Caribbean Sea around us. We are too physically fragmented. We should not, however, allow this to continue to keep us separate. One of the major hurdles is the idea of a single market as opposed to a common market. This contradiction was borne out by Ambassador Havelock Brewster in an address at the University of the West Indies, Cave Hill Campus, recently. He said that the single market contemplated removing market barriers while maintaining frontiers. So we have a situation in the revised Treaty of Chaguaramas where there is free access to markets but not free movement of people. There is merit therefore in the proposition that there should be free movement of people in the region to give legitimacy to a single market and to deepen regional integration. Another contradiction is the notion of a single economy. According to Brewster, the revised treaty required unified economic and monetary policies in the region to accomplish this goal, which now seems like a distant hope. The establishment of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) is considered vital to the economic stability and legal certainty in the region and the CSME. Of the 11 states, four have ratified the agreement and no member has made it law. The CCJ has attracted most attention, though only a small but important component of the single market. It has had its fair share of detractors in the region, but in principle it has psychological merit in terms of regional jurisprudence. In defence of the CCJ at a recent address to the Grenada Bar Association, St Lucia Prime Minister Kenny Anthony said it transcended the CSME. Though overstated, the CCJ should be part of the process of full political, legal, and economic integration. Given our chequered history and our inability to unite, we believe the region has reached the stage where piecemeal approaches are getting us nowhere. This is now time for action. (Reprinted from yesterday’s ‘Barbados Nation’)
