Whither goest Caricom?

Jul 03, 2012 Editorial

Yesterday marked another Caricom Day, an event observed on the first Monday of every July. This day was identified at one of the summits, long after the regional body came into effect. It was intended to draw even more attention to this group of fifteen small nations, the largest with a population of a medium sized city in the metropolis.
Caricom is older than the European Union but it cannot measure its successes alongside those of the Union. Some may argue that it is a case of there being fewer people and even less resources. Others may argue that the level of skills is not adequate to take the regional grouping to the heights necessary for it to become a global power house.
Caricom was the brainchild of four men who had a dream to make the region one solid base rooted in history, culture and language. They had seen each tiny Caribbean speck on the globe hoist its flag and set about fashioning an economy that would see its people lead lives befitting anyone.
But there are some inhibiting factors. For example, Trinidad with its oil wealth was in a position to buy its needs; Guyana with its arable lands and its huge agriculture potential was in a position to provide the food needs of every country in the Caribbean; Jamaica and Trinidad with their resources to produce cement were able to drive the housing programme of every country in the region.
The four founding fathers recognizing the ability of each of the so-called Big Four countries opted to pool their resources so that their individual development would be assured. The group was not always Caricom. That name came later but after there were attempts at cultural fusion through a programme known as Carifesta. It was not surprising that Guyana hosted the first Carifesta with such panache that this event is not allowed to fade into the woodworks. The weakness in the regional group seems to be a commitment on the part of the leaders. They had all agreed that there would be the free movement of skills and indeed to some extent there is. They had all agreed that goods produced in the region would be exempt from taxes once exported to a sister country.
But some things are easier said than done. There was supposed to be a move to a common currency. The European Union has a common currency although Britain holds on to its Pound Sterling. Caricom still has the diverse currencies because the various countries have their own problems. Guyana has the lowest currency when measured against the United States dollar of the Pound Sterling.
Some politicians say that the move toward a common currency is influenced by the debt of each country. Many have loan repayment schedules that are having a serious effect on their economic status.
To their credit the regional leaders have done a lot to ensure that the regional grouping not only survives but prospers. They recognized the need for a court to deal with their issues. Guyana was the first country to make the regional court its final court of appeal, subverting its own court of appeal which had led to the severing of ties with the Privy Council.
However, there are still countries within the grouping that send their cases to the Privy Council although the British court is often at variance with the regional laws. For example, hanging is still on the statutes of many countries in Caricom. The level of crimes makes that a necessity but the Privy Council abhors the death penalty.
What this says is that although the countries of Caricom want to determine their own way forward some of their peoples still do not want to take that step. It suggests a distrust of their lawmakers. Small wonder then, that many of the people within Caricom see the summit as a talk shop because decisions are not enforced.
These issues apart, Caricom is necessary in the scheme of things. Each of the member countries now knows that it has a larger voice when it speaks within Caricom. It gains more than if it was bargaining on its own.
Since Caricom is so necessary why then has it not taken off in the manner its founding fathers anticipated?

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Whither goest Caricom?

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