-Carrington tells CARICOM institutions

Representatives of regional institutions meeting at the  CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen last week, were urged to devise methods of implementation of decisions, particularly those taken by Heads of Government.

Edwin Carrington

A CARICOM Secretariat release said that Secretary General Edwin Carrington in brief opening remarks Thursday  at the start of the Third Meeting of the Secretary-General and Heads of Community Institutions, pointed out that implementation, which was considered the “Achilles heel” of the Community, should be the forum’s watchword.

“For, it is on the devising of methods of implementation of decisions, particularly by the Heads of Government, and on the execution of those methods that the success of this forum will be determined,” the Secretary-General was quoted as saying.

The release noted that Thursday’s meeting continued the process towards developing synergies among community institutions to advance a common regional agenda by pooling their resources and building on their collective strengths for the harmonisation of policies, practices and standards across the region.

The other meetings of the Secretary-General and Heads of Community Institutions were held in 2007 and 2008, the release added.

Carrington said further that the meeting had been established as a “key event on the Community’s calendar.”  He contended that the synergy and interaction envisaged when this meeting was first conceived had begun to manifest itself, particularly with regard to the Memorandum of Understanding signed last year between CARICAD and IMPACS to provide standardized training of immigration officers across the region.

“It is critical in going forward that we look at this enterprise as a joint one with all parties being involved, all lending their skills, all pulling in the same direction against the dead weight of individual action,” Carrington was quoted as saying.

The delegates were expected to meet over two days in sectoral clusters – Agriculture and Food Security; Air Transportation and Security; Climate Change and Water Manage-ment; and Human Resource Development.