Heeding dire warnings about the future of the Caribbean Community (Caricom) movement, Heads of Government have agreed to move on key proposals to restructure the Secretariat and to craft a strategy by mid-year to deliver on regional goals.
At the conclusion of the 23rd Inter-Sessional Meeting of Heads of Government, in Paramaribo, Suriname yesterday, it was announced that new Secretary General Ambassador Irwin La Rocque would begin the process of restructuring the Secretariat through the recruitment of a change facilitator to support him. Further, the Bureau of Conference would work with an internal group from the Secretariat to facilitate improving regional governance and implementation. “This process will involve the drawing up of the outline of a five-year strategic plan in time for consideration by the Heads of Government at the 33rd Meeting of the Conference in July,” the Communiqué issued at the conclusion of the two-day meeting said.
The decision is in keeping with recommendations made by UK-based consultancy Landell Mills Ltd, which was commissioned to conduct an organisational review of the Secretariat. In its final report, ‘Turning Around Caricom: Proposals to Restructure the Secretariat,’ the consultants recommended that Caricom develop a five-year strategy to prioritise long-term goals into specific outcomes that can be achieved in a relatively short timeframe for the movement’s recovery. The consultants also proposed setting up of a temporary Change Office to support the Secretary General in the restructuring.
The report, which the leaders agreed would be released to the public, said that Caricom is in crisis and warned that it “could be brought down quickly” if the international economic situation worsens, with the Secretariat and regional institutions at risk for budget cuts since many member states are in debt. It also warned that over the next few years some of Caricom’s 15 member states, frustrated by its slow progress, could begin to leave the union, unless urgent steps are taken to ensure the movement’s recovery.
According to a release from the Secretariat, at a news conference after the meeting, Suriname’s President Desi Bouterse, the Chairman of the Conference, said the leaders had accepted, in general, some recommendations of the report. He added that they would seek clarification on others.
In addition to the direction to the Secretary-General, President Bouterse explained that in a parallel exercise, Heads of Government would work with an internal group from the Secretariat to facilitate improving regional governance and implementation.
Bouterse said Heads of Government would be overseeing the change process, explaining that given the importance of the exercise, the Bureau would form the core of the group of leaders having oversight of an internal team from the Secretariat in drafting the outline of a five-year strategic plan for the Community in time for consideration at the next meeting of the Heads of Government in July.
“We had originally identified a team to spearhead this effort but after further consideration, it was felt that the Bureau of Heads of Government was best placed to facilitate this exercise, with additional assistance from other leaders if they wished to participate,” Bouterse was quoted as saying.
“All in all it was a most productive and fruitful Inter-sessional meeting and as Chairman I am looking forward to moving urgently with the Secretary-General to see the initiatives through,” he added.
Saint Lucia Prime Minister Dr Kenny Anthony added that there would also be changes made to the Conference regarding its agenda, structure and approach to meetings.
He also agreed that the meeting was purposeful and that every member of the Conference present understood quite clearly that the people wanted change now. It was not a question of postponing or feet-dragging, he said, noting that it was vital that change process commenced immediately.
Crime
Meanwhile, the Heads of Government received an update on the Caricom Framework for the Management of Crime and Security, after which they discussed current trends in criminal activity, including the international dimension and new and emerging threats to security in the Region.
“They agreed that the security of the region continued to be of high priority, especially in the context of the international criminal architecture confronting the Region,” the Communiqué said.
The Heads also discussed the future Regional Crime and Security Agenda including, possible areas for extra-regional co-operation and initiatives for sustaining it. “In this context, they received an interim report on the Consultancy to examine the institutions involved in implementing the Regional Security Agenda,” the Heads said.
The Communiqué said that the agreed on the need for a closer working relationship among these institutions.
Financial stability
In light of the Clico debacle, Heads of Government have requested the Central Bank Governors to provide an early report on the stability of the financial system in the Community, along with appropriate measures to enhance the regulation and monitoring of financial entities which operate cross-border.
“Heads of Government had previously recognized the systemic risk to the regional financial system, and had deemed the financial collapse of the Colonial Life Insurance Company and its subsidiary British American Insurance Company, in the Eastern Caribbean as a regional problem which required a regional resolution,” the communiqué said.
It said that accordingly, the Regional Technical Committee under the chairmanship of the President of the Caribbean Development Bank has submitted a slate of proposals to address this situation.
Guyana-Venezuela
According to the Communiqué, Heads of Government took note of the continued growing relations between the Republic of Guyana and the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. “They expressed the hope that the existing friendly relations will aid the efforts towards a resolution of the controversy that emerged from the Venezuelan contention that the Arbitral Award of 1899, that definitively established the boundary with Guyana, is null and void,” the Communiqué said.
At the meeting, the Heads of Government reaffirmed their support for the maintenance of the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Guyana.
