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CARICOM restructuring a priority in 2013- Secretary-General
The restructuring of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat will be one of the priority areas for Secretary-General Irwin LaRocque come 2013.
According to the head of the regional lobbying body, revamping the administrative arm of the community was one of the recommendations of the Landell Mills, Consultancy and Heads of Government had mandated a strategic plan and change process to effect the transformation.
Secretary-General, Irwin LaRocque
In a recent interview, Secretary General LaRocque said that the strategic plan will be a major piece of work that will be undertaken in the New Year.
“We have already lined up the necessary resources to get it done and I intend to start in earnest, the change process or the transformation process that our heads have mandated. With the assistance of DfID we have been able to engage a Change Facilitator who will be advising me on the way forward,” the official said in a release from CARICOM yesterday.
There have been misgivings about the progress of CARICOM. The 15-member body is headquartered at Liliendaal, Guyana. Issues of free travel and trade have been bogged down by one hurdle or the other. The cost of running the secretariat with contributions from member states has been a major problem.
According to LaRocque, the restructuring of the administration of CARICOM will take time. While the change will begin at the Secretariat, it is intended to sweep the community, as a whole, its organs and its institutions.
It was clear, the Secretary-General said, that there was need for some transformation to make the Secretariat and the Community more effective and efficient.
“…The change process … is not just about the Secretariat; it is about the Community. It is about changing what we do, how we move forward. It’s about prioritizing what we do as a Community. I have said before, it can’t be business as usual. We can’t be all things to all people. We need to focus, make advances and have an impact on the ground with the people of the Community.”
The Secretary-General said some aspects of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) are to be advanced next year also
“…One of the questions that I get throughout the Community when I interact – particularly among the young people – is the movement of CARICOM nationals. Some attention will be paid to that and contingent rights as well so that the rights attendant upon moving throughout the Community will be also addressed. So there are a number of big issues which will be on our plate. I will pay equal attention to social aspects and to functional cooperation aspects of integration, along with the CSME.”
The New Year will also see a continuation of the outreach and advocacy missions LaRocque had undertaken since his tenure began in 2011.
CARICOM
CARICOM’s associate members – Anguilla, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands and the Turks and Caicos Islands – will be targeted this time around as “they are an integral part of what we are doing,” the ambassador said.
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