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Mr. Chairman I wish, first of all, to warmly welcome you to this Seventeenth Inter-sessional Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community. I extend a very special welcome to my Colleague Heads of Government, their delegations and all other visitors to Trinidad and Tobago for the meeting and invite you to have an enjoyable stay with us whilst we pursue the serious matters on our agenda. All of Trinidad and Tobago is open to you, including Our Calypso Tents which you may want to visit to be both entertained and educated on almost everything on earth, including the political life of Trinidad and Tobago. I advise you though to check with me before you believe everything that you hear. Colleagues, Ladies and Gentlemen, this is a most happy time for us in the Caribbean. We start this Inter-sessional Meeting with renewed confidence and optimism in our integration movement. CARICOM is now revitalized with the establishment of the Single Market and will be further energized when an additional six members join by June 30th. of this year. I am sure we shall now move with enthusiasm and expedition to meet the deadline of 2008 for the creation of the Single Economy. This meeting here in Port of Spain will undoubtedly make progress towards that goal. This is also a very solemn occasion. To speak plainly, it is indeed a sad time. One of the very significant drivers of our development is about to leave the regional stage after more than thirty years in the service of the Caribbean. I refer of course to our friend, the venerable P.J. Patterson who, notwithstanding his enduring vitality, has taken the decision to retire from active political life. Indeed this is the last time that this Caribbean giant will be heading a Jamaican delegation to a Heads of Government Meeting. We in Trinidad and Tobago feel touched and providentially chosen, that this aspect of his life’s journey should end on our soil. I suspect that the Divine Director has so arranged it because, as his country’s Foreign Minister, PJ Patterson played such an important part in bringing CARICOM into being through the 1973 Treaty of Chaguaramas right here in Trinidad and Tobago. Ladies and Gentlemen, I feel privileged to be among the fortunate few who would, for the last time around the CARICOM head table, experience first hand, his love and commitment for our Caribbean people, demonstrated in every contribution he makes and every decision he supports; and always done, depending on the requirement, with either the benevolent sternness, wit or wisdom with which he is generously endowed. Fare thee well PJ. I am sure you view, with great satisfaction, our recent achievement to which you made such a signal contribution and that you are very pleased with our new vitality for the course you helped so significantly to chart. With the Single Market and the coming one economy, we are now set to fully develop our potential and build on our strengths. Our economies shall now become more resilient, with a greater capacity for self –generation and more attractive for the inflow of new capital. More even development is now certainly in the offing. We shall now bring greater value to the table and be in a stronger position to negotiate partnerships for development in this intensely interdependent world. Our voice is now strengthened at all multilateral fora and we have now added further dignity to our international aura. We are giving substance to our belief that we are our own best hope. We are now truly starting with ourselves and are now further embarked, in a very real way, on the indispensable process of self transformation. Where will it take us? Towards the Caribbean Civilisation that has long been our dream. This is the Caribbean Society of abundantly flowering talent and growing opportunity; where there is security, prosperity and fulfillment for all our people; where the future and our youth are brimming with promise and possibility; and where there is an entrenched and irreversible culture of integrity, transparency and accountability in the conduct of public affairs. However, in our present mood of buoyancy and optimism, let us not forget that our process of regeneration has only just begun and that we still have much to accomplish in order to realize our fullest potential. Dangers lurk between now and then. There are certain inescapable realities which can produce intractable underdevelopment in some of our countries before the benefits of the Single Market and Economy set in. We must recognize and deal with these if the attainment of our dream is not to be deferred. What is the present situation? The process of industrialization and economic diversification has not been moving at a satisfactory level in many of our countries, rendering them quite vulnerable to external shocks; some of which have now come in the loss of preferential market access for some of our key products like bananas and now sugar. This is a big hurt which will result in loss of revenue for both recurrent and developmental expenditure in many of our economies, some of which will be less capable than others to absorb this loss. The obvious option then for staying afloat would be increased borrowing. This is sure to further aggravate the precarious debt to GDP ratio in some nations; and will obviously be accompanied by stringent conditionalities and a level of debt servicing that will consume revenue sorely needed for sustenance and development. Colleagues, Ladies and Gentlemen, the grim reality we are facing is increased unemployment and poverty in many member countries of the CARICOM family. As we know, the ground then becomes more fertile for the already thriving illegal trade in drugs and arms which has now raised the level of violent crime to unprecedented levels in CARICOM. This could eventually threaten the very security of our societies, because under such conditions, it is not far fetched to conceive of the insidious influence of drug lords spreading more easily throughout the society and eventually reaching the highest levels of our political, security and legal systems. If that happens, all of CARICOM is in real trouble. Our vulnerability does not end there. We are in the path of storms and hurricanes which are now roaring through the Caribbean with greater frequency and ferocity, bringing the most tragic loss of lives and property, damaging precious infrastructure, draining already fragile finances and severely testing the capacity of administrations to deal with this recurring problem. Additionally, volcanic eruption has already brought very tragic destruction to one member country and we will all be among the most vulnerable in the world to the looming threat of rising sea levels. Ladies and Gentlemen, the chain is as strong as its weakest link. Our integration movement and our increasing interdependence make it imperative that we take action for the strengthening of the entire CARICOM family. Some of us in the Southern Caribbean have already held discussions to examine the possibility of deeper union on an incremental basis for the sake of our improved collective security and stability. Our increased vulnerability demand that we continue to examine this idea which will place an even stronger obligation on all to strengthen the solidarity and security of the entire integration movement. Deeper singleness, Ladies and Gentlemen, in tandem with the establishment of the Single Market and Economy. We are not unique in this respect. I have made the point before that, as has been seen throughout the course of human history, economic integration has always led to the social and cultural fusion of peoples and nations, which in turn has produced the possibility of the more complete union. We are right now witnessing this development in Europe which traveled a similar path to one on which we are now engaged, moving from a Common Market to an economic union and now with a single currency among some member states. From the foundations and benefits of economic integration, there is now active consideration of common defense and foreign policies and most significantly of an European Constitution, now subject to referenda in various member states. There is even talk, however remote or resisted, of an eventual United States of Europe. Many balk at the idea of a Single Europe but equally there are also others who welcome what they see as its inevitability in the course of this century. How will we in CARICOM approach the possibility of a deeper union. Will we, with the experience of the Federation, frown, blank our minds and reject the idea out of hand? Shouldn’t we consider that, in our first attempt, we ought to have taken the present route of economic integration before embarking on anything else. Did we put the cart before the horse, almost half a century ago? We cannot avoid pondering these issues now that, thankfully, the irreversible process of economic singleness is underway, and that there is the need, as I have pointed out, to manage the transition in the face of the immediate threats that will intensify for some of our member states. Whether at this level, or in our homes, streets, communities and campuses, the discussion of deeper union will now return, in the light of our present milestone. Intellectual ferment, quietly at first , will permeate the Region. Questions will abound. Is it now more inevitable than ever? What shape, if any, will it take? Should we allow it to grow gradually, unprodded, or should we be interventionist, and to what degree, in pursuit of this objective? Are we now better prepared for referenda on this matter? The matter is not on the agenda of this meeting, but we should not debunk the possibility that it could resurface here in the not too distant future or, if delayed, when another generation takes over the helmsmanship of the Caribbean. I leave that matter for now, but as Chairman at this momentous time when we have come to our present exhilarating clearing, I think it is my responsibility to point out both our possibilities and its challenges. In my view deeper union is not an issue that can be swept under the carpet or be placed in the remotest closets of our consciousness. I think that sooner or later, it will bang on the doors of our minds and our meetings; and that whoever occupies the head table in the years to come will be called upon to bring it to the fore; to let it either wither once more or finally triumph as a major destination on which we have been embarked since we took sovereign responsibility for our destiny. Colleagues, Ladies and Gentlemen, you must forgive me for being so transported. You must blame yourselves really, because our present renewal has stimulated insight, imagination and latent talent for forecasting. Indeed it seems so easier and so natural now to think more creatively and deeply than before; to be more daring even. We have indeed been hobbled for too long, enduring a period of prolonged gestation of our potential. Now at all levels should minds be unshackled and confidence grow daily. As another great Jamaican has told us in immortal song , we can see clearly now the rain has gone. We now have the rainbow we have been waiting for and it promises to be a bright shining day for CARICOM. You would have noticed that I have not yet mentioned the agenda of this meeting. In our present mood, it seems that it could be so easily executed. I am sure we are coming to the point where, with the attainment of the Single Market and Economy, much in CARICOM will become so much easier than before, giving us more time and room to focus on the larger issues. Let us therefore work over the next two days inspired by our achievement. Let there be no drooping shoulders, weighed down with responsibilities. Indeed what might have previously become burdensome must now be viewed as stimulants and opportunity for a CARICOM creativity now unleashed. Let us approach this meeting in this way my Brothers and Sisters and we shall now advance by leaps and bounds. With this approach on our part, those who laid the foundations of the CARICOM edifice will smile on us from their abode, be it on earth or heaven. And most importantly, we shall move with pace and efficiency to secure the present and future of the millions of people whom we are privileged to serve. Let us therefore take up our beds and walk. Thank you Colleagues, Ladies and Gentlemen and may God Bless our Region. |
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