CARICOM SECRETARIAT OPTS FOR NO INCREASE IN BUDGET

  (CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana)In light of the fact that the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat has not sought an increase of its 2008 Budget, overall work at the secretariat would mean “more effort for the same pay for the time being”, CARICOM Secretary-General His Excellency Edwin Carrington said Tuesday.

He was at the time co-hosting a Press Conference on the outcome of the Twenty-Third Meeting of the Community Council of Ministers which was held in Georgetown, Guyana on Monday. With him at the Press Conference were Chairman of the Council, the Hon. Wilfred Elrington, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, and Attorney-General of Belize, and Her Excellency Lolita Applewhaite, Deputy Secretary-General of CARICOM.

Responding to a query on whether there would be a freeze in wages of Secretariat staff members, Mr. Carrington said the Secretariat would continue to pay compulsory increases to those who are eligible and who qualify for increments. The Secretariat would also adopt certain measures including a cut in expenditure in certain areas and would “look carefully” at its recruitment.

The Secretariat took a voluntary decision not to seek an increase over last year’s figure of about EC$45.5M. The Budget for 2009 was approved by the Council of Ministers on Monday.

In his address to the opening of the Meeting, the Secretary-General had indicated that the Secretariat had taken the “brave decision, despite an inflation rate of some eight per cent, not to request any increase in the budget for 2009 over that of 2008.”

The decision was based on the fact that there is a global financial and economic downturn which is certain to have an impact on Member States of the Community.

“We are determined to strive to do as much as we can, with the level of resources made available to us in 2008,” the Secretary-General said on Monday.

“We are going to take the squeeze more and more this year…,” he added on Tuesday.

The Deputy Secretary-General added that the Secretariat aimed to use its money wisely, to get value for money from the resources of Member States and international development partners. To this end, she pointed out that the Secretariat had established a Strategic Planning and Monitoring and Evaluation Unit which looks at the value the Secretariat is getting for monies spent.