(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) Fireworks lit up the Paramaribo sky late on Friday afternoon, 18, January shortly after Dr. Kusha Haraksingh, a national of Trinidad and Tobago was sworn in as Chairman of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Competition Commission.
Dr Haraksingh and his six fellow Commissioners took the oath of office, administered by the Chairman of the Regional Judicial and Legal Services Commission, the Honourable Mr Justice Michael de la Bastide at the Commission’s headquarters in Paramaribo, Suriname. President of the Republic of Suriname His Excellency Drs Runaldo Venetiaan and CARICOM Secretary-General His Excellency Edwin Carrington were among a host of dignitaries who witnessed the swearing-in and participated in the ceremony marking the inauguration of the Commission.
Dr Haraksingh, an economist, historian and lawyer, is the Head of the Department of History, at the University of the West Indies (UWI), St Augustine campus. He holds a BA in History, an LLB from the University of London and a PhD in Economic History. Dr Haraksingh was the Lead Negotiator for Legal and Institutional Issues during the recently concluded negotiations between the Caribbean Forum of African Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) States (CARIFORUM) and the European Union for an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA). He is also the Lead Consultant, Sugar Association of the Caribbean and an Associate Fellow of the Institute of International Relations, UWI.
The other Commissioners are:
• Attorney-at-law, Patterson Keith Herman Cheltenham, QC of Barbados, who possesses extensive experience in Insurance, Administrative and Labour Laws as well as the Law of Trust. He has also had the benefit of specialised training in Taxation, Company Law and Insurance Law. Mr Cheltenham holds the Master of Laws and is a member of the Bars of Barbados, Saint Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
• Economist Dr. Trevor Michael Augustine Farrell of Trinidad and Tobago, who is also a business consultant and senior Lecturer in Economics at UWI, St Augustine. He holds a PhD in Economics and has more than 15 years experience as a consultant in various fields including agro-industry, airport management, banking, export development, public utilities, tourism, oil and gas and stock exchange operations.
• Mr. Hans Rudolf Lim A Po of Suriname, who is the Rector-Dean of the FHR Lim A Po Institute for Social Studies. His expertise includes economics, law, competition policy and practice, management and governance. He holds the Master of Laws degree from the University of Leyden in the Netherlands, and has lectured in law at the University of Suriname. Mr Lim A Po’s majors were Civil and Corporate Law and Corporate Finance.
• Economist Dr Maureen Paul of Dominica who holds a PhD in Economics from Warwick University and a Postgraduate certificate in Competition Policy. She is an Economic Advisor to the UK Office of Fair Trading working on competition policy in the UK and European Union markets. Dr Paul focuses on applied micro and macro-economics and in particular applied micro econometrics. She also specialises in transfer pricing and has managed several global transfer pricing projects involving multiple countries.
• Attorney-at-law Dr Barton Umax Adolphus Scotland of Guyana is in private practice in the areas of National Resources and Investment Law, Negotiations and International Law. He holds a Master of Laws degree and a PhD in International Law. Dr Scotland is a member of the Bars of Guyana, Barbados, St Kitts and Nevis and England and Wales.
• Attorney-at-Law Ambassador A.B. Stewart Stephenson of Jamaica who is the General Manager of the Factories Corporation of Jamaica. His fields of expertise are finance, law, competition policy and practice and international trade. Ambassador Stephenson holds both a BSc degree in Management Studies and an LLB from the University of the West Indies, and has been both Jamaica’s Consul General to Toronto and Ambassador to Cuba. He has also lectured on Securities at the Jamaican Institute of Management.
The Commissioners are appointed for a period of five years and their appointments may be renewed for a further period of up to five years.
The Commission, a key Institution in support of the CARICOM Single Market (CSME) and Economy, was established by Article 171 of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas and is responsible for enforcement of the Community Rules of Competition which in the main prohibit agreements, decisions, and concerted parties whose objective or effect is to frustrate competition and abuse a dominant position in the market.
Its main functions within the CSME are to apply the rules of competition, promote and protect competition, co-ordinate the implementation of Competition Policy, monitor anti-competitive business conduct, promote establishment of national Competition Institutions and harmonisation of Competition Law as well as to advise the Council for Trade and Economic Development on Competition and Consumer Protection policies.
