CARICOM Trade and Competitiveness Project
To ensure the practical effectiveness of the CSME, specific development interventions are required. In this context, a Contribution Arrangement was finalised in October 2007, between representatives of the Government of Canada and the Caribbean Community for the CARICOM Trade and Competitiveness Project (CTCP). Effective implementation of the Project started in May 2008 when the First Meeting of the Project Steering Committee (PSC) approved the Work Plan for 2008.
The goal of the CTCP is to provide more and better opportunities for the people of the CARICOM region to participate in and benefit from the introduction of the CSME. Under the CTCP, the CARICOM Secretariat, in collaboration with the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) Secretariat and participating countries will fulfill parts of the mandate given by the Community to work with Member States to implement their CSME obligations. The purpose of the interventions is to facilitate the operational effectiveness of the CSME to ensure that rights and benefits expected by nationals of the Community are not frustrated by elements of the implementation process:
The CTCP consists of a Core CSME Component and a Haiti Component. The four (4) main elements of the Core CSME Component are:
1. Harmonisation and Standardisation of Administrative Practices and Procedures (Component 100);
For the full and efficient functioning of the CSME, the creation of systems and procedures is required to facilitate management and administration at the national level. Comprehensive reviews of Member States administrative systems will be undertaken and, accordingly, the existing manual of administrative procedures will be revised.
2. Enhancing the Effective Functioning of the Services and Labour Markets through Standardised Licensing and Certification and Mutual Recognition of Licenses and Certificates (Component 200);
To ensure better access to the labour and services markets in the Member States and thus give practical expression to “free movement of skills”, an assessment and analysis of the existing legal and institutional arrangements in Member States will be undertaken in order to build regional capacity for quality assurance, standards setting and region-wide recognition in relation to certification and licensing for persons in the technical and vocational areas.
3. Widening the Scope of Participation by Stakeholders and Beneficiaries in the Process of Decision-Making, Implementation and Operation of the Single Market (Component 300);
The Conference of Heads of Government of the Community has recognised the critical role that non-state actors and the wider civil society play in ensuring the operational effectiveness of the CSME. The effective participation of these stakeholders will require the creation or improvement of the infrastructure for their participation in the implementation processes. The CTCP seeks to contribute to this process through the development of national plans of action and the provision of technical assistance to Member States. Gender and the Environment are treated as cross-cutting themes in the project but managed under this component.
4. A ‘Call Down’ Facility for Consultations (Component 400).
The need for a project infrastructure at both the National and Regional level was Identified and recommended. The Project’s infrastructure at the National level which is currently in place in all of the participating Member States comprises:
A National Coordinator;
A National Coordinating Committee comprising representatives of Government departments, the private sector, employers, labour and NGOs, Links to the Committee of Permanent Secretaries; an Oversight by a Minister of Government.
The Project is designed to ensure the effective involvement of a number of stakeholders, the Partner Organizations (PO). The POs are:
The Secretariat of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean Member States (OECS)
Caribbean Association of Industry and Commerce (CAIC);
Caribbean Congress of Labour (CCL);
Caribbean Employers Confederation (CEC); and
Caribbean Centre for Development Administration (CARICAD);
Caribbean Policy Development Centre (CPDC)
The CTCP is an ambitious undertaking by the Community which focuses on a better functioning CARICOM Single Market and Economy for the peoples of the Region by addressing reform and improvement of administrative and regulatory systems, improved access to the labour and services markets in the Community and increased participation of all civil society.
Project Objectives
Reformed administrative rules, systems and procedures.
Individuals and entities entitled to benefits or rights under the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramus processed and otherwise facilitated.
Regional and Member State administrative and regulatory practices that recognise and integrate environmental and gender related objectives as appropriate.
Full and free access to labour & services markets within the region by wage and non-wage earners in professions requiring licensing & certification. Mutual recognition by regional governments of licences and certificates.
Increased understanding and greater participation in implementation of the CSME by non-state actors in the region.