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Budget approved for CARICOM Secretariat
Among the many other issues that were up for deliberation and approval at the
The meeting in session on Tuesday
Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Council of Ministers on Tuesday, was the approval of the work programme and budget for the CARICOM Secretariat for 2012.
Secretary General, Irwin LaRoque, at the opening of the meeting had revealed that the budget of the Secretariat had been frozen from 2008 through 2010 and then further reduced in 2011.
He disclosed that while the Secretariat has been able to maintain a level of service, “we have had to undertake cost cutting measures, including not filling posts as they become vacant, some of which are necessary for the efficient management of our institution and the delivery of its work programme.”
The Ambassador further pointed to the fact that “should we endure any further cuts in real terms without prioritizing mandates and an already over ambitious work programme, we will become that more inefficient, given the resources that are available to us.”
The Secretariat, he said, is threatened by the rising arrears which restrict its cash flow and further limit its ability to perform. This state of affairs, he warned, should not be allowed to continue even as he pointed out that in the process of change, reform and restructuring the Secretariat must be equipped to be the change agent that it is required to be.
His remarks undoubtedly charted the way forward for the Council to make the crucial decision to approve the body’s work programme and budget for this year, according to a statement issued by the CARICOM Secretariat yesterday.
The one-day meeting, which was venued at the Turkeyen, East Coast Demerara, CARICOM Secretariat, also saw the Council of Ministers agreeing to establish a Working Group to look at issues pertaining to Associate Membership of CARICOM. The Council also sought to appoint Saint Lucia to head the Working Group with other members being Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Guyana, Jamaica, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago.
The Ministers were tasked with discussing proposals for enhanced participation of and criteria for Associate Membership as well as the expression of interest by the Dutch-speaking islands of St. Maarten and Curacao in becoming Associate Members of the Community. Currently, Anguilla, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands and Turks and Caicos Islands are Associate Members.
The Council, under the Chairmanship of Winston Lackin, Foreign Minister of Suriname, also recommended for approval by Heads of Government, the “Implementation Plan for the Regional Framework for Achieving Development Resilient to Climate Change”.
The plan, prepared by the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre (CCCCC), was developed following approval of the Regional Framework by Heads of Government in 2009.
The CCCCC, with support from the Climate and Development Knowledge Network and the Department for International Development (DFID) of the United Kingdom, conducted extensive consultations throughout the Community with various stakeholders. The Plan seeks to guide the identification and prioritisation of actions regionally and nationally within the Framework.
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