(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) It is my privilege and honour to welcome you all to the Twenty-Third Inter-Sessional Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community.
In extending that welcome, I do so especially to His Excellency Donald Ramotar, President of Guyana, who is attending his first Meeting of the Conference, and to the Most Honourable Portia Simpson-Miller, Prime Minister of Jamaica and Dr. the Honourable Kenny Anthony, Prime Minister of Saint Lucia, as they return to this august body. President and Prime Ministers, you have come at a time when change is in the air for our Community and its institutions and your contributions to the process will be valuable. I want to thank your predecessors for their contribution to the integration movement.
I also want to take the opportunity at this, my first meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government as Secretary-General of the Community, to thank you the Members of Conference, for the trust and confidence you have placed in me by appointing me to this post.
Let me recognise all the women of our Community as we commemorate today, International Women’s Day. This year’s observance places emphasis on empowering rural women and ending hunger and poverty – ideals, which this Community fully endorses. Indeed, it is gratifying that our host – the government of Suriname – has chosen Healthy Women, Wealthy Region as the theme of this meeting, in tribute to the women of our Region.
Mr Chairman, Heads of Government, ladies and gentlemen, in recent times our Community has been engaged in deep introspection at all levels, sparked by a desire to transform the way we do business. This push for transformation is being propelled by the urgent need to make our citizens feel the impact and enjoy the benefits of the integration movement in their daily lives.
This Inter-Sessional Meeting should be remembered as the initiator of this era of change, as the Heads of Government receive the Report on the review of the CARICOM Secretariat, which they commissioned some eighteen months ago and which was completed by a team of independent consultants. This review is the first in a series of initiatives towards improving governance arrangements within the Community and will be followed by a review of all Organisations and Institutions established within the Community.
This change will be taking place within a particular environment – an environment of reform within our Community, its Organs, Bodies and Institutions. It must take into account the way we conduct and govern our affairs. An important part of this process is the need for further prioritisation.
It is probably symbolic that this Report on the Secretariat is being considered at my first Heads of Government meeting as Secretary-General of the Community. Let me state that I welcome the review that has been done of the Secretariat. Virtually coinciding as it does with the start of my tenure, the decisions that will be made by Heads of Government on the recommendations of this Report will provide me with the basis for addressing the challenges faced by the Secretariat in its efforts to fulfil the role and function you envisage.
The Report, or should I say reports on the Report, has already generated significant comment around the Region. For my part, I will repeat what I said at the meeting of the Community Council last month in Georgetown: “I have no doubt that changes will flow from the recommendations of that Report and we must all be prepared to welcome those changes. Change will have to be managed; it will not be easy; it will definitely require a new mindset; a new way of doing things.” And today I will add to that, a new culture must be injected into the organisation that I lead.
Given the magnitude of the task, a change facilitator is necessary to assist in giving the focussed attention it deserves. It is an urgent prerequisite and should figure among the most immediate and pressing priorities as we go forward.
In the new dispensation, the Secretariat must become more strategic in its approach to its tasks and its advice to the Organs and bodies of the Community. In going forward, I will seek to inculcate that approach in the work of the organisation.
The challenge in delivering this transformation is in determining how we will get it done. As the saying goes, ‘the devil is in the details.’ I recognise clearly that the change must start and be led from the top. The Office of the Secretary-General has been given particular attention by the authors of the Report and the recommendations are deserving of serious consideration. The buck, as it were, starts here.
In closing I would like to thank the Government and people of Suriname for their warm and generous hospitality and the excellent arrangements they have put in place for this meeting. I am certain that it will help in ensuring the success of our deliberations.
I thank you
