CARICOM is dead! CARICOM has lost momentum! CARICOME CARIGONE! trumpet the headlines of our regional press.
I stand here today to say: CARICOM is alive! CARICOM is on the move! CARICOM is here to stay!
How can I stand here and assert this? Because I will, as succinctly as possible, lay out for you today what CARICOM is and you will join with me in seeing that CARICOM is not a uni-dimensional construct but a multi-dimensional living organism.
Since the concept of common services drove the very first Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government in 1963, our Governments have sought to exploit the advantages to our people that could come from banding together to provide those services. There is an argument that could therefore be made that the collapse of the Federation served as a spur to ensure that the essential elements and benefits of integration were not lost to the people of the Region.
Integration is not just some intellectual concept debated over by politicians, intellectuals and bureaucrats. It is present in the University of the West Indies (UWI) producing thousands of Caribbean people, trained in a variety of disciplines to help develop our Region. It is present in the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) preparing hundreds of thousands of our youth for a future in our Region and the wider world.
Integration is co-operation in health which, among other things, lowers the cost of pharmaceuticals through bulk purchasing and enabled the Caribbean to be the first region in the world to be rid of polio. It is the Pan Caribbean Partnership Against HIV/AIDS (PANCAP) – recognised by the United Nations as an international best practice – which has significantly increased access to drugs, (more than 50 percent) treatment and care for those suffering with the virus.
It is pooling our skills and resources under the co-ordination of the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDEMA) to reach out to the people in distress in the wake of natural disasters.
It is the Free Trade Area, then the Common Market and now the Single Market that by 2008 had accounted for more than $3 billion US in intra-regional trade and provides jobs for hundreds of thousands in this Region, as the commercial enterprises benefit from the duty free market provided within our space. Indeed, one study conducted in the last decade pointed out that, should a particular Member State not be part of the CARICOM Market, some 250,000 persons would be affected in that country alone.
Integration is in the thousands of people, who have seized the opportunities provided by the free movement of skilled persons and found employment in the selected categories within the Single Market.
Integration is the 283 students who, as part of our public education drive, have had a living experience of the CSME in Member States other than their own and have become ardent advocates for the possibilities in that enterprise.
Integration is found in our co-ordination of foreign policy which ensures that our support is sought from all quarters in international fora because we are viewed as a bloc and which we parlay into meaningful programmes and projects for the Community. Together we have shown that we have the political power to make a difference in hemispheric and international arenas. In recognition of this fact, more than 20 countries have sought and received diplomatic accreditation to the Community.
The leadership that we can provide working in a co-ordinated fashion is demonstrated in the agreement by the United Nations to host a High Level Meeting on Chronic Non-Communicable Diseases in September. This is an initiative promoted and pursued by CARICOM as we seek ways to ease the pain and suffering of those of our citizens afflicted by diabetes, hypertension and other lifestyle-related diseases which are taking such a heavy toll on our societies and economies.
Integration is in the much praised security co-operation which enabled the ICC Cricket World Cup 2007 and the Twenty 20 contests in 2010 to be incident free.
Integration is the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) which has exclusive jurisdiction with respect to the interpretation and application of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas, and to which the signatories to the Treaty subscribe in its original jurisdiction; it is the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB); it is the CARICOM Competition Commission (CCC); the CARICOM Development Fund (CDF); Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre (CCCCC); CARICOM Regional Organisation for Standards and Quality (CROSQ) and the Caribbean Regional Public Health Agency (CARPHA) now being established.
Integration has worked and continues to work for the benefit of the people of this Community. CARICOM cannot be judged solely on the progress of the CSME. The scorecard must be balanced. Although the CSME is the flagship of the integration movement, it is by no means the only aspect of our regional integration. CSME, itself is a multi-dimensional initiative which has made great strides since the vision was launched in 1989. It encompasses social, economic, commercial and human resource development factors, among others.
The initiatives identified demonstrate the practical application of functional co-operation, a concept which allows us to pool the skills and resources existing within our Member States. Functional co-operation has also yielded significant and tangible benefits for our citizens in areas such as sport and culture.
It is that functional co-operation which allows the Community to engage in a variation of what the Europeans term “variable geometry”. Although there are Members of our Community who do not participate in the Single Market and Economy, such as The Bahamas, Montserrat and our Associate Members, their contribution to, participation in and benefit from the areas of functional co-operation are critical elements in fostering that sense of identity so vital to our Caribbean Community. It is in recognition of the value of functional co-operation that four years ago the Heads of Government decided that it should form the basis for advancing the integration movement.
Heads of Government at the recent Special Retreat stated clearly that while much had been accomplished in the Region, the success of our integration movement depends on its ability to continue to improve the quality of life of the citizens of the Community.
We hear you, citizens of our Community, when the treatment at ports of entry leaves a lot to be desired; we hear you with your complaints about the difficulties surrounding skill certificates; we hear you with the need to be able to move freely in search of jobs; we hear, especially, you our youth about lack of opportunities to fulfil your dreams but we also recognise the contribution that so many of you are making to the development of the Region.
At that same Retreat, the Heads of Government committed themselves to ensuring that our Community delivers tangible benefits to our citizens. This is not the job of one group of persons or one organisation. It calls for the total involvement and active participation of all of us, as stakeholders in this enterprise. As Martin Carter has aptly put it: “All are involved/All are consumed.”
This Caribbean Community belongs to all of us. We should embrace it and nurture it.
This Community of ours presents us with the best chance of making our way in a world that is indifferent, if not hostile, to the challenges faced by small and vulnerable countries such as those that comprise CARICOM.
I welcome you President Martelly to your first Meeting of the Conference, I congratulate you, Excellency, on your victory at the polls and we look forward to your unique perspectives and insights into the continuing evolution of our integration movement.
I also welcome you President Bouterse, to your first Regular Meeting of the Conference since your election to Office.
It is also your first regular Meeting of Conference Prime Minister Stuart, and I bid you welcome.
I wish to thank the Government and people of St Kitts and Nevis for their warm hospitality and the excellent arrangements for this Meeting.
Citizens of the Community, this journey on which we have embarked is unprecedented and still unmatched in the developing world. It is ours. Let us make it our pride and joy.
I thank you.