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Caricom Secretariat operating on tight financial constraints
“….there is need for new perspective in the region” – Dr. Carrington
By Tusika Martin
Caricom Secretary General, Dr. Edwin Carrington and Chairman of the Community Council, Wilfred Erlington (right) during the press conference yesterday
The Caricom Secretariat will be operating under tight financial constraints this year as there have been no increases in its budget despite some workers requiring increases in salaries.
During a press conference following the closing of the 23rd Meeting of the Community Council of Ministers, Caricom Secretary General, Dr Edwin Carrington said that like last year the Secretariat will be operating with just under US$17M to carry out its mandate.
He pointed out that those employees at the Secretariat that are qualified for an increase in salaries will get it, even as the possibilities of cutting expenditure are being examined.
“Those who qualify for increases are not many and the size of increases is relatively small…we have to look very carefully at recruitment.
There are vacancies that need to be filled but we are only going to be able to fill those that are ‘absolutely’ necessary and we match that against some people that are going to retire, so we may end up with a situation of ‘one out one in’,” the Secretary General said.
Dr. Carrington stated that at the end of the day this will mean that employees will be in a situation where they have to put in ‘more effort for the same pay’.
“This may look like at raw deal, but one has to take into consideration that there are many people who do not have jobs.” He added that given the economic situation on the world’s economy and more so the region’s economy, having a job in this time is a fortune.
“We try at the secretariat to make the working conditions as pleasant as possible…even if we cannot affect the level of salary, at the end of the day it’s the commitment of the staff that is decisive. The senior staff will face the squeeze.”
The Secretary General also feared that the International Development partners from the developed countries might also ‘tighten their hands’ on the contributions this year.
“We do not know to what extent the economic meltdown would reduce the size of their contribution. It would be foolhardy for us to believe that we have anything firm and set down except a willingness to make a contribution.”
Also addressing the constraint budget at the Caricom Headquarters, Deputy Secretary General Lolita Applewhaite said that over the past several years the Secretariat has aimed to look at value for money.
This is done not only with the contribution of member states but also donor agencies. “We set up a strategic planning, monitoring and evaluation unit, which will look at the impact that our programmes are having on member states and the value we are getting for the money we spend…we are not seeing it as a hardship, but we are seeing it as a continuation of using our resources wisely.”
Another burning issue that was raised yesterday by the Secretary General was the need for a new perspective in the region that would address the achievements of the integration movement.
This is needed, he said, since the differences in the region have been perceived as manifestations of disunity.
He told the media that small issues are perceived in a negative dimension, pointing out that the differences of opinion are seen as cause for alarm rather than to search for unity.
Integration, he noted, creates difficulties along the way and the region must work to arrive at acceptable solutions.
The issue of geography, Dr. Carrington said, is in itself a sense of separateness which has brought on another dimension to the integration movement.
Also present at yesterday’s press conference was Chairman of the Community Council, Wilfred Erlington, who is also the Attorney General and Foreign Minister of Belize.
The Community Council replaced the Common Market Council as the second highest organ in CARICOM.
It has primary responsibility for the development of Community strategic planning and co-ordination in the areas of economic integration, functional co-operation and external relations.
The Council consists of Ministers responsible for Community Affairs and any other Minister designated by CARICOM Member States.
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