TT private sector group urges swift appointment of Caricom SG

TIMES INT'L

The Trinidad and Tobago Chamber of Industry and Commerce on Tuesday called on regional governments to fill the position of Caricom secretary general. In a statement read on its radio programme in TT, the private sector group said that it has been more than six months since Trinidad and Tobago national Sir Edwin Carrington stepped down as secretary general and regional leaders are still unable to name a re placement.

Sir Edwin, 72, who served in the post for 18 years, has since been appointed Trinidad and Tobago’s Ambassador to Caricom. According to the chamber, with Caricom and the Dominican Republic signing the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with Europe under the aegis of the Caribbean Forum (CARIFORUM), it is vital that a secretary general be appointed as the region goes through the process of implementing the accord.

“Initially, the region wanted to have the EPA Implementation Unit housed in the Caricom Secretariat, but this will not take place. The unit will now be headed by a director general, who is supposed to report to the secretary general of Caricom.

“The region needs a secretary general to oversee and coordinate this important regional process,” the private sector group said, noting that within recent times there have been several public incidents that have caused the region to question the value and relevance of Caricom.

The private sector said all these issues “touch upon governance and the inability of the secretariat to push member states to implement the commitments undertaken subsequent to the signing of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas (that governs the regional grouping)”.

It said the most “known example of this is, six years after member states were supposed to implement the single market, fundamental components like the freedom of movement have not been put into action. “This despite repeated mandates to the heads of government to move expeditiously to implement the outstanding commitments,” the chamber said. (CMC)

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