(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) Outgoing Chairman of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community, the Rt. Hon. Dr Denzil Douglas is of the opinion that CARICOM needs to be more resolute in its responses to certain challenges – especially those which were externally imposed.
In his address to the 23rd half-yearly meeting of CARICOM Conference of Heads of Government, on Thursday, in Suriname, Dr Douglas singled out the issue of climate change, intra-regional transportation and security as prime examples.
He argued that the region’s contribution to the effects of climate change was “utterly miniscule,” and “not even measurable,” yet it is made to bear the brunt of the financial burden for mitigation and adaptation measures. He added that while the region is compelled to adopt measures to raise awareness to this phenomenon and its implications, it must convince the world that those who have caused this climatic shift should bear the financial burden of its effects.
Prime Minister Douglas also stressed the need for the Conference to address the challenges posed by intra-regional travel, given the impact of unpredictable fuel costs and un-reliable fuel supplies on the economies of Member States.
“Expanded intra-regional economic activity is a priority for us all and intra-regional sea and air-links are key to both expanded economic activity on the one hand, and the undergirding of a truly “Caribbean” frame of mind on the other,” he explained.
The challenge, according to Prime Minister Douglas, is for CARICOM to ensure that “there are reliable air links that cannot and will not disappear – overnight – simply because some businessperson thinks they should” and that any such service under the region’s control is “truly competitive.”
On the issue of security he was resolute that the security machinery that accounted for the successful hosting of World Cup Cricket must continue to evolve and “be the vanguard of our defence against the new and emerging threats to global peace and security.”
“While we build strong collaborative ties with our traditional and non- traditional partners in strengthening our capabilities to address the real threats associated with 21st century criminalities, let us continue to commit the necessary resources and to devise creative means for the sustainability of our crime and security framework and the management and delivery of our agencies that have been established to sustain the enabling environment for growth and development in our respective borders.”
Prime Minister Douglas was of the opinion that whether the issue at hand was security, crime, or protecting the region’s reputation globally, CARICOM must be resolute in its responses because “the people of the Community expect from us not only technical proficiency, but, indeed, visionary leadership.”
