Caricom must prioritise

In what was perhaps one of the most candid and revealing disclosures by a Senior Caricom official, private sector representatives and other stakeholders in Georgetown were told recently that the region will not be able to achieve a single economy, including a single currency by the 2015 deadline. This revelation was made by the Caricom Secretary General Ambassador Irwin LaRocque.

“One can understand the impatience of the people of the community, the CSME was launched in 2006; one year later, we announced to the world that we would have by 2015 a fully functional single economy, including a single currency, namely common to our union. That 2015 target will not be met,” said the SG.

These remarks came days after details of a report by a UK consulting firm, Landell Mills Ltd., which painted a gloomy picture of the regional integration process were published by sections of the local and regional media. The report, entitled ‘Turning Around Caricom: Proposals to Restructure the Secretariat,’ warned that the community “could be brought down quickly” if the international economic situation worsens. It noted that many member states are highly-indebted and said further financial downturn this year could see significant funding for the Caricom Secretariat and regional institutions cut off at short notice. It is no secret that the secretariat’s funds have already begun to dry up; infact previous reports gave the impression that the organisation has had to tighten up on its spending in various areas.

The report warned that in addition to the danger of a loss of funding, there is evidence that over the next few years some of its 15 member states, frustrated by the pace of progress, could begin to “vote with their feet” and leave the community. The consultants identified too many mandates, institutional weaknesses and a lack of implementation at the level of member states as some of the internal problems that have retarded the community.

In order for Caricom to survive and eventually prosper, it was recommended that there must be full and unequivocal support from member states; a focus on delivering a narrow range of specific, practical and achievable benefits over a reasonably short time span; and a credible reorganisation and strengthening of the movement, including the Secretariat and regional institutions.

There is a general view, and which was supported by the UK consulting firm and the SG himself, that the targets set by the community were unrealistic and perhaps not well thought-out considering the resources available and the capacity of the region to meet those targets. As pointed out by the SG; “We made then, as we continue to make now, the same mistakes we made in 1989 in Gran Anse; we set ourselves overambitious and unrealistic targets. Targets, which by their very nature, doom us to apparent failure when they are not met.”

In particular, the independent consultants contended that regional leaders need to be more realistic about the constraints posed by geography, (spread as we are across the Caribbean Sea), lack of size physically, and in respect of markets. In reality, there is just so much that can be done given the present situation, including the effects of the international financial crisis on the region’s economies. Hence, the Heads of Government would need to seriously sit at the table again and review the progress that was made thus far and where the region should be in 2015 and beyond.

Now that we know that some of the important targets would not be possible to achieve, it is necessary that they (Heads) in consultation with all the region’s stakeholders prioritise, taking into account not only the necessity and urgency of achieving targets, but equally important, what it takes to get there and the resources available to the region to do so.  It would be a waste of time to continue along the same path doing too many things at the same time, and at the end of day the results we hope for would be impossible to achieve.

Like the SG, we are convinced that the CSME still represents tremendous potential to achieve the goals of growth and employment and to provide business opportunities, both with respect to manufacturing and services. It is a vehicle through which businesses utilising the enlarged single economic space, now with a market of some six million, could begin to expand their horizons to enhance their competitiveness and so use the regional platform as a springboard into the global environment.

In what was perhaps one of the most candid and revealing disclosures by a Senior Caricom official, private sector representatives and other stakeholders in Georgetown were told recently that the region will not be able to achieve a single economy, including a single currency by the 2015 deadline. This revelation was made by the Caricom Secretary General Ambassador Irwin LaRocque. “One can understand the impatience of the people of the community, the CSME was launched in 2006; one year later, we announced to the world that we would have by 2015 a fully functional single economy, including a single currency, namely common to our union. That 2015 target will not be met,” said the SG. These remarks came days after details of a report by a UK consulting firm, Landell Mills Ltd., which painted a gloomy picture of the regional integration process were published by sections of the local and regional media. The report, entitled ‘Turning Around Caricom: Proposals to Restructure the Secretariat,’ warned that the community “could be brought down quickly” if the international economic situation worsens. It noted that many member states are highly-indebted and said further financial downturn this year could see significant funding for the Caricom Secretariat and regional institutions cut off at short notice. It is no secret that the secretariat’s funds have already begun to dry up; infact previous reports gave the impression that the organisation has had to tighten up on its spending in various areas.   The report warned that in addition to the danger of a loss of funding, there is evidence that over the next few years some of its 15 member states, frustrated by the pace of progress, could begin to “vote with their feet” and leave the community. The consultants identified too many mandates, institutional weaknesses and a lack of implementation at the level of member states as some of the internal problems that have retarded the community. In order for Caricom to survive and eventually prosper, it was recommended that there must be full and unequivocal support from member states; a focus on delivering a narrow range of specific, practical and achievable benefits over a reasonably short time span; and a credible reorganisation and strengthening of the movement, including the Secretariat and regional institutions. There is a general view, and which was supported by the UK consulting firm and the SG himself, that the targets set by the community were unrealistic and perhaps not well thought-out considering the resources available and the capacity of the region to meet those targets. As pointed out by the SG; “We made then, as we continue to make now, the same mistakes we made in 1989 in Gran Anse; we set ourselves overambitious and unrealistic targets. Targets, which by their very nature, doom us to apparent failure when they are not met.” In particular, the independent consultants contended that regional leaders need to be more realistic about the constraints posed by geography, (spread as we are across the Caribbean Sea), lack of size physically, and in respect of markets. In reality, there is just so much that can be done given the present situation, including the effects of the international financial crisis on the region’s economies. Hence, the Heads of Government would need to seriously sit at the table again and review the progress that was made thus far and where the region should be in 2015 and beyond. Now that we know that some of the important targets would not be possible to achieve, it is necessary that they (Heads) in consultation with all the region’s stakeholders prioritise, taking into account not only the necessity and urgency of achieving targets, but equally important, what it takes to get there and the resources available to the region to do so.  It would be a waste of time to continue along the same path doing too many things at the same time, and at the end of day the results we hope for would be impossible to achieve. Like the SG, we are convinced that the CSME still represents tremendous potential to achieve the goals of growth and employment and to provide business opportunities, both with respect to manufacturing and services. It is a vehicle through which businesses utilising the enlarged single economic space, now with a market of some six million, could begin to expand their horizons to enhance their competitiveness and so use the regional platform as a springboard into the global environment.