Rowley: Time for serious action on CSME

This request was granted.

The implementation of the CSME was high on the agenda on the first day of heads three-day meeting which ends today in St George’s, Grenada. Speaking during the first plenary session, Rowley expressed his frustration with the lack of action on the matter.

“I get the impression that all we are willing to do is talk this issue to death,” he said. “We cannot expect to get the benefits of medication if we refuse to swallow the medication.” At last year’s Heads of Government regular meeting in Georgetown, Guyana, Rowley had requested the inclusion of the CSME on the Caricom agenda and it was.

The integration initiative had for some time been on the back burner.

He suggested that when the special meeting is held that the integration movement decide definitively whether it will move forward or not with the CSME initiative. He said that deciding to pause the process could prove dangerous to the overall development and progress of the region.

A review on the outstanding issues related to the implementation of the CSME was presented at yesterday’s first plenary session. The review noted the need for clarification on the status of Haiti, Montserrat and the Bahamas, and the need for closer examination of the definition of a Caricom national.

During the meeting several heads reiterated their commitment to the CSME but raised several challenges that have impeded its full implementation. At the start of the meeting Rowley asked for Venezuela to be included on the agenda for discussion. Given ongoing developments in that country, he said, it was necessary for Caricom to reiterate its position on the matter.

Other decisions taken included an agreement that the region will develop a prospectus of transformative development projects and programmes for submission to the World Bank’s Small States Forum to be held in October, 2017, Singapore.

The heads also agreed to urgently expedite the selection of their National Implementing Entities (NIEs), to initiate the capacity building that would be required to get them accredited to the Green Climate Fund, and to appoint dedicated staff to their national designated authority so they could undertake the relevant readiness functions.