CARICOM leaders open summit
It benefited from little advance publicity, whether local or international, so Belizeans could be excused this morning when they awoke to find that the country had been overrun by a virtual invasion of regional dignitaries…and today was just the beginning. News 5’s Janelle Chanona reports from the Princess.
Janelle Chanona, Reporting
Amid the flurry of activity today, it was obvious that the Heads of Governments of the Caribbean Community met as friends, ready to meet the gamut of challenges facing the region. As the organisation grapples with the reality of life post September eleventh, high on the meeting’s agenda is a move towards economic unity.
Prime Minister Said Musa, Chairman, CARICOM
“Too often we are criticised as indulging in too much talk and too little action. As Chairman, I share in your deliberation and determination to forge ahead with action to positively enhance quality of life in our Caribbean neighbourhood. We have negotiated several regional agreements to transform the community and Common Market to a Caribbean Single Market and Economy. We must find the resolve to give practical effect to the commitments we have undertaken while addressing the special concerns of those who may be disadvantaged. It is my hope and pledge that my tenure as chairman will be action oriented.”
And today they proved it. One by one, all member states signed the protocol on the revision of the treaty of Chaguaramas and the protocol on the provisional application of the revised treaty.
Janelle Chanona
“What that all means is that CARICOM citizens now have the official blessing to do things like set up businesses in member states and even get loans from other regional banks if their rates are better.”
At this meeting, the Chairman of the community, Belize’s Prime Minister Said Musa is determined to do away with the paperwork and begin the process of implementation on a number of specific issues that have been on the table for some time. Tackling criminal activity is a focal point.
Prime Minister Said Musa
” The threat of trans-boundary organised crime to the Caribbean is real. And we must be diligent to attack the causes of crime as vigorously as we address the curtailment of criminal activities. Let us work toward greater co-operation with all Caribbean Countries, whether we speak English, Dutch, French or Spanish, whether we are independent or not, and whether we be island or continental territories.”
Another CARICOM project getting attention is the Caribbean Court of Justice. According to Belize’s Attorney General Godfrey Smith, the court’s establishment is but a trust fund away.
Godfrey Smith, Attorney General
“We’ve reached the stage now where all the various documents and all the other things necessary to bring the court into effect are in place. So it’s all there but for the important thing of money. Secondly, it is so important that the financial sustainability be secured because as you are all aware, one of the biggest criticisms of any court is that it must be beyond the reach of politicians. So what member states are looking for, is some sort of financial mechanism that will assure everybody that the judges or the court doesn’t have to run cap in hand every year looking for money. So, one of the proposals for example, put up by the preparatory committee to the Heads is a onetime trust fund be set up with a settlement of U.S. sixty million dollars. The interest accruing from that fund would then defray the recurrent expenses of the court in perpetuity. So once you find that money, then it’s secure, you know that you’ll be able to meet on an annual basis the recurrent costs.”
Financing is also the obstacle keeping the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC), off the air, something the community has deemed vital to regional integration.
Prime Minister Said Musa
“The peoples of our region must be owners of the integration process and must benefit from it. We have to decide what to do about the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC), without which it will be more difficult to keep our peoples informed and to move all sectors of the community ‘Forward Together’.”
On Tuesday, the CARICOM leaders will sail uncharted waters as they join presidents of Central America for a summit that will bring the two sub-regions together for the first time. Reporting on the thirteenth inter-sessional meeting of the CARICOM Heads of Government, I am Janelle Chanona for News 5.
Viewers may have noted that the CARICOM leaders, usually attired in suits and ties, were all provided with guayaberas for the occasion.
