Caricom policies fail to reach the people
One-day summit hears
By Miranda La Rose
Stabroek News
December 2, 2003
Transforming Caricom policy decisions into legislation and action has not been working well, says Alternate Director of the Inter-American Development Bank, Ambas-sador Havelock Brewster.
He made these remarks at the closing session of the National One-Day Summit on the Caricom Single Market and Economy (CSME) organised by the Ministry of Foreign Trade and International Co-operation. Held at Le Meridien Pegasus, there were some 16 presentations, an open discussion, seven workshops and workshop presentations with over 60 recommendations made.
Brewster urged that an institutional mechanism for sustained sensitisation of the CSME be put in place, given that the recent Rose Hall Declaration looking at regional governance issues had not really advanced this matter.
Communication and involvement of all of the stakeholders had been a theme running through all of the group discussions and an initiative as far reaching as the CSME could not be confined to small circles of officials, Brewster said.
Another theme, which he noted as being urgently needed, was closer involvement and partnership with the private sector and labour.
There was a general consensus that in spite of the various instruments and mechanisms in place, progress had been slow. It was also observed that there was a lag between the principal act and the regulations, and that local laws and regulations were often not in sync with the various instruments already in place. There is also a significant level of resistance to the CSME and that the enforcement mechanisms have not been identified or are not fully in place.
Apart from stronger sensitisation, the following recommendations were made: a Caricom Export Board should be established to find markets for member states; there should be equal provision of the enforcement of rules of trade as there was a feeling that there are no provisions to address unfair practices; that a Caricom assembly should be established to exclusively deal with defining Guyana's interest and position and that this should include NGOs; that a Caricom parliament ought to be considered; that a mechanism should be put in place to ensure that a broad-based consultative process including provision for the input of the opposition parties; and that a Caricom constitution should be established.
There was also some feeling that "maybe this was moving a little too fast for Guyana."
This prompted Caricom Assistant Secretary General Byron Blake to remark that Caricom was more often accused of being too slow on implementation and he cautioned that slowing down the process could have adverse effects.
At the local level it was recommended that a decision-making body should be established to ensure speedy implementation of the instruments; that laws and regulations that govern the various provisions within the CSME should be harmonised within member states.
Prime Minister Sam Hinds delivered the feature address at the opening session where remarks were made by Minister Foreign Trade and International Co-operation, Clement Rohee; Chairman of the Private Sector Commission, Dr Peter deGroot; and General Secretary of the Guyana Trades Union Congress, Lincoln Lewis.
Those making presentations were Programme Manager of the Caricom Secretariat, Ivor Carryl who looked at Basic Instruments, Institutional and regional arrangements under the CSME; Project Coordinator of the CCJ Unit, Sheldon Mc Donald - the Judiciary and Legal System under the CSME; Editor-in-Chief of the Stabroek News, David de Caires - the Role of the media in Promoting the Objectives of the CSME; Chief Executive Officer of Trinidad Cement Limited, Rolland Bertrand - the region's Private Sector Involvement; Caricom Assistant Secretary General, Byron Blake and Chief Executive Officer of the Sugar Association of the Caribbean, Dr Ian McDonald who looked at Positioning the Agriculture, Mining and Manufacturing Sectors to face the challenges and opportunities in the CSME; Caricom Deputy Programme Manager, Timothy Odle - Exploring the Potential of the Services Sector under the CSME; Enid Bissember of the Caricom Secretariat - the Banking and Financial Institutions under the CSME; Foreign Service Officer, Bevon McDonald - Challenges and Opportunities to health, labour and the education sectors and the movement of Caricom nationals under the CSME; and Caricom Co-ordinator of the Regional Drugs and Crime Control Programme, Lt Col (rtd) Fairbairn Liverpool.