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Full CSME implementation… CARICOM Secretary General tells regional officials to get it done
Former Jamaica Prime Minister, Bruce Golding
Regional leaders yesterday admitted that there are deep disappointments over the slow rate of full implementation by the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Single Market and Economy (CSME).
At the opening of the two–day Stakeholder Consultation on advancing the CSME, CARICOM Secretary-General, Ambassador Irwin LaRocque highlighted the many plans which have been in discussion as far back as 2005. These delays, he explained, are costing the region.
“We take too long to get things done in the community,” the Secretary General stated.
He added, “It’s either get it done or move onto to something else.”
Ambassador LaRocque said that while there was progress on the regional flagship programme, the agenda needed to move along much faster.
He advised that regional positions had to be adopted rather than national stances. The CARICOM Secretary General said the consultation needed to produce concrete recommendations to put to Ministers and Heads of Government.
Former Jamaica Prime Minister Bruce Golding was blunt in his assessment, pointing out that the CSME is stuck on a hill, but regional leaders can’t afford for it to stay there.
“We have to decide whether we can push it up the hill or allow it roll back down,” Golding stated.
Golding highlighted that the important matters have not been placed on the table for discussions and actions. He noted that macro-economic convergence, free movement of people and free circulation of goods are matters that are central to the existence and function of a single market and economy.
“Is it that the CSME was over-ambitious? Is it that we bit off more than we can chew? Did we take into account all of its implications and the net effect it would have and the benefits it would provide, not just to the region as a whole but also for every single member state?” Golding questioned.
The former Jamaica PM stated that it would not be fair to blame the CARICOM Secretariat for the implementation issues. He said that the issue of implementation is the focus of national governments, and not the Secretariat.
Golding also pointed out that the multilateral agencies that fund many of the implementation efforts of the secretariat are also frustrated with the lack of progress.
“I think one has to acknowledge as well that the implementation actions that are required by member states have not been in all cases, simple matters. Some of them are very complex. They require far-reaching policy changes, they require legislative processes, they require executive action,” Golding noted.
Prime Minister of St Vincent and the Grenadines, Dr. Ralph Gonsalves, who is also participating in the consultation, called for lowering of expectations on CSME. He did not express optimism that the outstanding CSME matters will be resolved anytime soon.
The Prime Minister expressed the view that the Governance structure may need to be revamped, noting that the region cannot move to deeper integration if it remains ‘unequally yoked’ due to the uneven states of development.
Director, Economics Department at the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) Dr. Justin Ram urged that the major focus should be on implementation. He added that new ways of working and a greater level of accountability needed to be found to tackle the implementation deficit. There also needs to be planning laboratories, and plans and budgets had to be communicated to the regional populace to elicit feedback and buy-in, he underscored.
Panels throughout the day examined matters such as what the CSME objectives and priorities should be and the private sector and labour.
Today’s consultation will focus on free movement of persons and public awareness.
The findings and recommendations from the consultation are intended to be considered by the Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED) and also to inform the review of the CSME being undertaken by the CARICOM Conference of Heads of Government which will continue in a Special Session at its upcoming meeting next month.
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