Mr. Chairman, I believe that it is fitting that at this the first Meeting of the Heads of Government of the Community in this new millennium, taking place here in Barbados that we are recognising the contributions of three outstanding citizens of the Community to the process of regional integration. I salute the Rt. Hon. George Price of Belize; Sir George Alleyne of Barbados; and Dr. Slinger Francisco, the Mighty Sparrow of Trinidad and Tobago. I extend to them the heartiest congratulations of the Government and people of St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
Continuing the note on which this Meeting of the Heads of Government was launched, I cannot help but commend the Member States of the Community for the step we are about to take today to add one more vital brick to the edifice of the Caribbean Community we are in the process of building. The signing of the Agreement Establishing the Caribbean Court of Justice – the CCJ – is one of the pillars of our Single Market and Economy. But unfortunately many in our societies do not readily appreciate the link between the law and the administration of justice and the process of economic and social development. But this agreement despite some constitutional and other issues yet unresolved will undoubtedly facilitate the growth and development of our Region and its peoples, it will also reinforce our sovereignty. We in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, recognise that the sustainable development of our CARICOM family demands a re-thinking of our economic, political and social development policies and a strengthening of our institutional capacity as we confront the challenges, and indeed the outright threats, to our small countries.
Last July, my country, St. Vincent and the Grenadines assumed the Chairmanship of the Conference of Heads of Government. It was in persona, the Rt. Hon Sir James Mitchell, the then Prime Minister of our country. I must first of all express our appreciation to him for his outstanding leadership up until his retirement as Prime Minister on October 27, 2000, the date of our 21st Anniversary of Independence. That leadership involved the successful 21st session of the Conference of Heads of Government in Canouan at the beginning of July, the various initiatives in search of a satisfactory solution to the banana issue; the efforts to launch an appropriate regional mechanism to respond to the unjust OECD attack on our offshore financial sectors; and the search by the Bureau to ensure an equitable treatment to all CARICOM Member States from any energy facility made available to the Region. It was perhaps more than mere coincidence that his term virtually came to an end with the preparations for the subsequently aborted meeting between the Canadian Prime Minister and our Conference. Canada as you know played a great part in his life.
My entry into the leadership of the Community at the end of October last, coincided with a period of relative calm as we approached the end of the year. Benefitting as I did from the results of the Consultation on the Implementation of the Single Market and Economy, as well as from a full briefing from our Secretary-General and his staff, I was enabled to follow more easily the initiatives by my successor – our current Chairman as we sought to combat the many threats to our regional economy to our territorial integrity and indeed to our very place in the international community. If, however,
St. Vincent and the Grenadines has been able to contribute to keeping the good ship CARICOM ‘steady as she goes’ through the rough waters encircling us, it has been in large measure thanks to my predecessor, to you his colleagues, and to our supporting Institutions. We thank you for that support and pledge St. Vincent and the Grenadines’ determination to make its full contribution to the continued advancement of our Community. As a member of the Bureau, I stand ready under your leadership Mr. Chairman to play my part.
But I am concerned Mr. Chairman, deeply concerned, that in our Region we at the political level often speak about the threats, the challenges and the opportunities of the new global environment. We meet often in various fora to address the issues, for example, the threat to our Offshore Finance Sector from the OECD. Good work is being done and some progress is being made, but are we carrying our people along? Have we spent sufficient time sensitising our local population, and particularly the Private Sector? After all its businesses that trade not Governments. Do our people really understand? Are they fully sensitised to what we mean when we say that restructuring of our economy must require us to place more emphasis on trade in services because we may have some comparative or even absolute advantage in the provision of some services in this era of unbridled competition?
Indeed in my own country and I daresay in the other Banana producing countries it is not unusual to blame the Government for all the problems in the Banana Industry without any reference to the impact of trade liberalisation and this from people who should know better.
Mr. Chairman, as we forge new links at the hemispheric and global levels, we must simultaneously build new mechanisms to ensure that we involve our people who after all drive the integration process and the development and growth of our economies and cultures. As we prepare for the upcoming Civil Society Encounter – Forward Together – it is instructive to recall the words of the Hon. Errol Barrow, former Prime Minister of Barbados and one of the Founding Fathers of CARICOM, at the third Conference of the Commonwealth Caribbean countries nearly thirty-six years ago. His words during that era of colonialism were:
“… the ultimate objective of any meeting of this kind must not be the degree of hospitality which we enjoy and share, but it must be the furthering of our declared intentions and purposes which we so readily seem to forget once an election is past, that we intend to improve the living standards of the peoples of these territories and to afford them the equity of opportunity which by birth and status they have been deprived of. I think that it all we can promise, but it will be up to the people themselves, once the social and economic barriers are removed which will enable their full development and expression of personality – it will be up to them to pass a verdict on their own deliberations.”
Our world has changed since then and technology has altered our lives, but for me, that mandate and the priority it attaches to the well-being of our people remains paramount – be they the retired civil servant, the school teacher, the policeman, nurse or banana farmer or the jobless, youth. We must ensure that no segment of our society is excluded from participating and benefitting from the Caribbean Community that we are in the process of building.
I therefore believe that we have a duty here in Barbados, to refine our arrangements for the management of our Region to ensure that we can achieve that result. Not only therefore must we settle on proper arrangements for the encounter with Civil Society, for informing our people of the new realities, but we must also determine the modus operandi of our Quasi Cabinet to ensure that we are best placed to deliver on the promises we have made.
Mr. Chairman, as you realise, my focus is on the sustained development and the improved welfare of our people. In that regard, I am happy to recall words most relevant, attributable to one of those being honoured this evening – the Rt. Hon. George Price:
“May I suggest that in all our regional efforts we should make a deliberate and determined attempt to ensure that the advantages and benefits, arising out of our joint ventures and regional arrangements, result in a just and equitable distribution for all.”
These words must guide our decisions and actions throughout the life of our Community if our people are to take their rightful place in this edifice – CARICOM – that we are constructing. First spoken in 1967 those words are no less valid today. Let them and the centrality of almighty God in our lives be our guide.
I thank you.
