Mr. Chairman,
Colleague Heads of State and Government,
Honourable Ministers,
Secretary General of CARICOM,
Delegates,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Introduction
Let me first express appreciation to the Government and people of St. Kitts/Nevis for so graciously accepting to host this important session of Conference at short notice, for the excellent arrangements and for the kind hospitality extended to us all. Prime Minister Douglas has occupied the Chair before and I entertain not the slightest doubt, that under his able guidance, much will be accomplished in our deliberations over the next two days.
I would like to extend on behalf of Jamaica and as Outgoing Chairman, sincere congratulations to the newly elected Government in Antigua and Barbuda following the general elections on Tuesday. As we welcome Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer, we well understand why he cannot be with us today, but he has asked this Conference to receive the Honourable Harold Lovell, not only as Minister responsible for Foreign Affairs of Antigua and Barbuda, but as his personal representative to this Conference.
The warm and enthusiastic welcome of our newest colleague should not prevent us from placing on record, our highest appreciation for the contribution that has been made over many years to the Caribbean Community, by the outgoing Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, the Honourable Lester Bird. We want to thank him for his long years of service to the Community and his contribution to the advancement of the process of regional integration. Not for the first time, a newly elected Prime Minister has, by the accident of rotation, been plunged into the Chairmanship of the Community. Those who have done so before, one of whom is with us today, have performed with remarkable distinction and I have no doubt that so will Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer.
I also join in extending a very special welcome to the Premier of Bermuda, the Honourable Alex Scott and the Chief Minister of the Turks and Caicos Islands, the Honourable Michael Misick.
If there seems to be any obvious signs of relief on my face, I hope you will understand that this is not only because of the pleasures which St. Kitts and Nevis has to offer, but because I am very pleased that the time has come when I can “leave the crease and return to the pavilion”. I was called upon to bat on until the elections had taken place in Antigua and Barbuda. In my innocence, I did not anticipate the turbulent three months which we have all had to undergo, and for the time being, I am being generous and certainly, I am not being mean-spirited, when I say that I look forward to the new Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda taking his rightful place as Chairman of CARICOM until the end of June.
Despite the challenges of this period, I have been motivated with the recognition that our regional integration movement must endure at all costs. Some have said that it was a historic coincidence that I was afforded this extended opportunity since I have said very clearly that ‘I will not pass this way again’.
Stewardship of the Community’s Affairs
At our 24th Conference in Montego Bay last year, there was general concurrence that there were certain priorities which needed to be addressed with utmost urgency in order to propel the deepening of the integration process. I presented a document – “CARICOM Beyond Thirty: Charting New Directions”, in which I shared some ideas on where our Community should be heading in the coming years, and with the benefit of the work of the Committee, chaired by Prime Minister Gonsalves, we developed a considerable momentum and a sense of immediacy, which characterized our deliberations and culminated in the Rosehall Declaration on Regional Governance and Integrated Development. I regard it as one of the most important results of our exchanges in recent times. It must now be the yardstick by which to measure our commitment to the regional integration process.
Over the past nine months, we have sought to focus on what I have termed the three “lifeline” areas of the Community – the consolidation of our common economic and commercial space, the establishment of our Regional Court and the improvement of our system of governance to ensure greater efficiency in the delivery of services to our people.
CARICOM Single Market and Economy
We have made some progress, maybe not as much as many of us would have liked, towards implementing the CSME. More than half the membership has already ratified the Revised Treaty. Almost all Member States have put the necessary arrangements in place to facilitate the free movement of skilled persons. We are continuing to work towards achieving the reality whereby CARICOM citizens can travel with greater ease throughout the region, even as we grapple with the security concerns that must be addressed in view of changes in the international environment.
We must accelerate the removal of restrictions to achieve overall progress. Let me warn my colleagues, that the citizens of the Community are closely following our actions, and we therefore have to act decisively to ensure that the goals that we have set are met, and that our timetable remains on course.
Caribbean Court of Justice
With respect to the Caribbean Court of Justice, we have advanced in a number of areas. The Board of Trustees for the Trust Fund has now been appointed; the Legal Services Commission is now recruiting the President and other judges to staff the Court; the High Level Task Force and Coordinating Unit are up and running; more countries have become party to the Agreement and that others are making steady progress towards enacting the necessary legislation to make the Court a reality in the shortest possible time.
Governance
If I must confess disappointment in one area, it has to do with the follow up on the Report on Governance which was presented at the Ninth Special Meeting in St. Lucia where the three Technical Working Groups established to elaborate on the proposals emanating from the Rosehall Conference were presented to us. They have been made readily available to the public and we certainly have to find the time between now and the time of our meeting in Grenada to meet, consider those reports and make some considerations for our Twenty –fifth meeting.
Haiti
Who would have thought that when we last met at our Ninth Special Meeting in St. Lucia in November 2003 that the resilience and validity of our Community would have been so tested and tried in such a brief spell? We would never have imagined that the ongoing political crisis in our sister member state, Haiti, would have become so explosive and with such a strange twist of circumstances that would seek to undermine and threaten the very pillars of unity on which our integration movement was founded.
We cannot emphasise too much that the Charter of Civil Society, which embraces the ideals and standards of political governance, must move from a non-binding undertaking to a legally binding arrangement as we cement the governing structures and entrench democracy within our societies.
I believe CARICOM has every reason to be proud of the CARICOM initiative. It presented a logical blueprint for achieving lasting democracy in Haiti. Despite our best efforts, it was torpedoed. As we remain steadfast in our commitment to the tenets of democracy and good governance in our societies, CARICOM must continue to play its part in seeking to help the people of Haiti realize their full potential for political, economic and social development.
The situation in Haiti speaks volumes to the imperative of strengthening our governance machinery in the course of regional decision-making and the pursuit of international policy.
CARICOM Solidarity
Let me emphasise, that it is at such challenging times in our regional grouping, that more than ever we need to stay the course and act boldly with a strong sense of unity of purpose to discharge the responsibilities of leadership to the people of our Community. The world has been watching – we have been put under the microscope, and CARICOM must, without fear or favor, uphold the fundamental principles by which we remain guided to ensure law, order, propriety and transparency in not only our governance system, but in all aspects of our regional and international undertakings. We cannot empasise too often the value of the strength of our togetherness. We have steadily built a foundation throughout CARICOM over the years to respond collectively to a number of political, economic and social crises. We may be small in size, we certainly make no claim to military power, but our influence in the hemisphere cannot be underestimated and I do not believe that there will be a lasting and permanent solution to the problems in Haiti unless CARICOM is involved and allowed to make a meaningful contribution. Nothing can be achieved without our collective support and without the single vision we have always had for the region’s development and the maintenance of CARICOM’s integrity.
Our Agenda
And so, that is the background against which we meet in Basseterre. The Agenda seems formidable. I do not know if it is contrived to ensure that we are not entitled to enjoy all the facilities that exist in this Member Country of the Caribbean Community, but I know that we are going to tackle the items with vigor and we are going to work efficiently so that CARICOM can remain relevant and validate the purpose for which it was created. We have several other matters to attend to: health, about which I am sure our Chairman will share some thoughts with us; education and human resource development- how do we take advantage of modern information technology in the strengthening of communication and information flows?; how do we strengthen cooperation in regional air and sea transportation to facilitate greater integration of our economies and increase people to people contact? This is an indispensable element to the success of our integration movement.
We will also have to look at our relations with the outside world and the mechanism needed to ensure that our friends and partners continue to support our interests, while at the same time we preserve our ideals and do not compromise our standards for the conduct of these relations. We have to deal with a multiplicity of external trade negotiations and without being in any way contentious we cannot ignore issues pertaining to energy and the protection of our environment.
Despite what happened at Sabina Park, and at Queens Park Oval, that most of us would prefer to forget, we cannot at this meeting, fail to address our preparedness for the Cricket World Cup series to take place in the region in 2007. The promotion of cultural awareness and identity among our people has been one of our greatest achievements.
Conclusion
Events over the past few weeks have underlined in a very real way the importance of unity and dedication to the goals of regional integration. We have recognised once again that as small states, it is only through the pooling of our resources, limited though they may be, and an unwavering commitment to the principles on which our Community was founded, that we can weather the storms through which we must pass from time to time.
In moving forward with our commitment renewed, we must spare no effort to engage every citizen of the Community, as a full partner in our endeavors. It is ultimately through their full participation and sense of ownership that our success will be eventually assured. Jamaica remains deeply committed to playing its part to advance the goals and ideals of our integration movement as together we continue to shape the political, economic and social future of our region.
I leave these thoughts with you in the hope that it will somehow cause reflection and stir positive action on the Agenda, on which we will now deliberate. May I take this opportunity to reiterate my gratitude to you my colleagues, and particularly to those Heads and Foreign Ministers and the CARICOM Secretariat who have worked with me very closely on the matter of Haiti. To all my colleagues who have given me support over the past few months, I express my appreciation. To the Secretary General and his staff, I extend special gratitude for their guidance and dedication to the cause of building the Caribbean Community and advancing the welfare of all our citizens.
I thank you.
