The Bureau of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community today urged all parties in Guyana to do everything possible to meet the deadlines of the Herdmanston Accord particularly the provisions relating to the staging of elections under a new constitution by the year 2000.
The Bureau, presided over by Chairman of CARICOM, Dr the Hon. Kenny D. Anthony held its IIth Meeting in Grenada on Wednesday October 21. The other members of the Bureau, incoming chairman, His Excellency the President of Suriname, Drs Jules Wijdenbosch, immediate past chairman, the Prime Minister of Grenada, Dr the Hon. Keith Mitchell and CARICOM Secretary-General Mr Edwin Carrington were all present.
Also in attendance were the Prime Minister of St Vincent and the Grenadines, the Rt Hon Sir James Mitchell, CARICOM Facilitator in the Guyana process, Mr Maurice King Q.C. and Executive Director of the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Relief Agency (CDERA) Mr Jeremy Collymore.
THE POLITICAL SITUATION IN GUYANA
The leaders received a report from the Facilitator with respect to developments in Guyana since his assumption of duties. Mr King who assumed duties on September 21, 1998 was appointed according to the terms of the Saint Lucia Statement which was signed by the leaders of the ruling Peoples Progressive Party/Civic, the People’s National Congress and the Chairman of CARICOM at the Nineteenth Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government in Saint Lucia last July.
That Statement sought to bind the signatories to fulfilling their obligations under the Herdmanston Accord which set out a process through which the problems that arose in Guyana in the aftermath of the December 15 General Election could be resolved.
The leaders expressed satisfaction with the work being undertaken by Mr King and encouraged all parties to co-operate with the Facilitator in the interest of the long term development of the country and its people. The Bureau urged the other signatories to the Saint Lucia Statement to maintain the timetable set out under the Herdmanston Accord.
THREAT OF SECESSION BY NEVIS
The Prime Minister of St Vincent and the Grenadines briefed the Bureau on the outcome of the Mission he undertook with Prime Minister of Dominica, the Hon Edison James’. to the Federation of St Kitts and Nevis, in keeping with the decision of last July’s Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government. The Mission met with the leadership and other interested parties on both islands in respect of the constitutional crisis in the Federation, resulting from the recent attempts at secession by Nevis.
The Bureau agreed to urge the Administration of Nevis to rethink its attempts at secession and encourage both islands to work assiduously towards completing a constitutional review using the Report of the Constitutional Commission headed by Sir Fred Phillips as a basis for national consultations.
The Bureau complimented Sir James and his team on their efforts and requested that they continue their work, remaining available to all parties.
BANANAS
The leaders had a first look at the outcome of the recent meeting between the Community and the United States on bananas in Washington on October 13-14. The leaders, though somewhat encouraged by the dialogue, held the view that more determined and sustained efforts must be made to fmd a satisfactory solution to the Caribbean banana issue.
The Bureau welcomed the suggestion for continued high level discussions with representatives of the US Congress, including the Congressional Black Caucus and representatives of the Caribbean diaspora. They agreed that preparations should be made for such exchanges to take place as soon as possible after the US elections scheduled for next month.
There was also agreement that there should be consultations at the highest level with other relevant governments including Mexico, Ecuador and Germany.
HAITI’S MEMBERSHIP OF CARICOM
The Bureau reviewed the status of arrangements for Haiti’s membership in CARICOM and agreed, inter alia, that subject to the agreement of Haiti, the Chairman should seek to pay an official visit to Haiti in the context of the timetable agreed to by the Conference for that country’s formal accession to the Caribbean Community and Single Market.
DISASTER RELIEF – Impact of Hurricane Georges and Situation in Montserrat
The Bureau was briefed by the Executive Director of the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Relief Agency (CDERA) Mr Collymore on relief efforts for Member States affected by Hurricane Georges as well as the situation with the CARICOM Village at Davy Hill, Montserrat.
The Executive Director also outlined to the Meeting areas in which damage could be mitigated by appropriate preventive action. He cited in particular the need for adherence to and policing of building codes, and the necessity of economic disaster planning. He emphasised that urgent attention needed to be paid to the implementation of a national and regional warehousing programme. The Bureau stressed the need for Member States to provide the maximum possible support to those countries affected.
The Bureau congatulated CDERA for its work in the hurricane affected areas and extended sympathy to the heavily affected states of Antigua and Barbuda; St Kitts and Nevis, Haiti, the Dominican Republic and Cuba.
YEAR 2000 CHALLENGE
The Bureau expressed the need for Member States to pay much greater attention to the issue of the Millennium Bug and the problems associated therewith. The Bureau noted that in keeping with the decision of the Nineteenth Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government, a Regional Technical Committee (RTC) has been established under the chairmanship of Trinidad and Tobago to examine the implications for the Region of the Millennium Bug which has been variously called the Year 2000 or Y2K Challenge.
The Bureau noted that National Committees have been established in some Member States and urged other Member States to take similar action. The Bureau also exhorted all Member States to participate in the inaugural meeting of the RTC which will take place in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago on November 9-10, 1998.
CARICOM INTO THE NEXT MILLENNIUM
The Bureau was encouraged by the outcome of the Youth Consultation in relation to the question of the Community in the next decade and agreed to seek to have a representative of the Youth Parliament present their proposals to the Heads of Government during their deliberations on this issue at the upcoming Inter-Sessional Meeting of the Conference.
GLOBAL ECONOMIC CRISIS
The Bureau noted with concern the current widespread volatility affecting world financial and commodity markets. Concerned at the negative implications for the Region, the Bureau urged the Council of Finance and Planning to meet as soon as possible to discuss the implications of the crisis for the Caribbean and to make recommendations for consideration by the Heads of Government no later than the upcoming Inter-Sessional Meeting to be held on I and 2 March 1999 in Paramaribo, Suriname.
SECRETARIAT’S ISSUES
The Bureau received a report on some of the difficulties being encountered by the Secretariat especially those affecting the recruitment and retention of staff. The Bureau endorsed the Chairman’s request to the Secretary-General for the preparation of a report on these issues with proposals for their resolution.
CARIBBEAN INVESTMENT FUND (CIF) AGREEMENT
Prime Minister Anthony took the opportunity to sign the Caribbean Investment Fund (CIF) Agreement thereby making Saint Lucia the ninth country to sign the Agreement. The others are Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, St Kitts and Nevis and Trinidad and Tobago.
The main objective of the CIF is to mobilise resources for investment in Regional enterprises including the divestment and privatisation of public sector owned corporations. The CIF also seeks to encourage investment in companies listed on Regional Stock Exchanges.
