A sister CARICOM country's look at CARICOM and the CSME
Guest Editorial
Guyana Chronicle
May 11, 2004
WHILE many complain that there's some dragging of feet on the effort to close the deal on the Caribbean Single Market and Economy (CSME), equally slow in pace is the dissemination of information about the CSME itself.
The assertion by Prime Minister P.J. Patterson that more is needed in strengthening the public awareness campaign about the CSME is a blatant admission that CARICOM has failed where this is concerned.
By the time they catch up, the deadlines for the implementation of the regional economic and trade arrangement would have been upon us.
There are matters that have long been discussed and it appears that only when time becomes pressing or circumstances reach dire stages, like in Haiti, that our leaders bring the urgency in their efforts to resolve issues.
So back to Patterson, the outgoing CARICOM chairman, and his observations. Even more remarkable was his declaration that, "It is surprising how unaware and uninformed people in strategic positions are as to what the Single Market entails and what is required of each of us."
This is an extremely discomforting declaration at this late stage of the game.
Obviously a lot more importance has been placed on the negotiations in the boardroom and less priority given to executing the information flow to the CARICOM constituents.
We can see it coming now. "The media is to be blamed as well." And we anticipate hearing any number of CARICOM officials singing this refrain.
Well, in that connection, CARICOM has again failed to establish the structures that would allow for the smooth and reasoned dissemination of information. In falling short on grasping a simple principle of communication, the regional body faces the Herculean task of bringing "people in strategic positions' on board with the CSME in a relatively short space of time.
So how do you repair the damage and compensate for the time that has been lost? More public consultations? That's a stretch of road that has been repeatedly tried without producing the required results. Obviously many members of the Caribbean public are still in the dark where the free movement of skills and services, the Caribbean Court of Justice, the Treaty of Chaguaramas and all the other inter-related measures and mechanisms of the arrangement are concerned.
Equally as well, the threats posed by other hemispheric arrangements like NAFTA and that other potentially hazardous arrangement, the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) need to be brought home to Caribbean people forcefully.
If they do spell opportunity as opposed to the doom that some forecast how does the region prepare itself?
The problem might very well be that the regional political directorate is calling all the shots, with little involvement of the corporate and business entities that are the real determinants in the areas of trade and manufacturing.
What are their roles in the establishment of the CSME? Their direct involvement would be a boon to the bolstering of the public relations programme of the CSME. By informing, of course, we engender a spirit of involvement and appreciation for the work by our Caribbean leaders and technocrats.
If we fail so to do, then we would have prepared a sure recipe for failure when the time to kick off the CSME comes around. --- Antigua Sun