Oliver F. Clarke (right), chairman and managing director of the Gleaner Company, in his presentation at the 2004 Annual Dinner of the Guyana Manufacturers Association in Guyana recently. -Contributed photoThe following is an edited
version of an address by the Honourable Oliver F. Clarke, chairman and managing director of The Gleaner Company, to the 2004 Annual Dinner of the Guyana Manufacturers Association in Guyana recently.
I WOULD like to speak for a moment about the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). What has CARICOM and its predecessors brought the region in the over 40 years since the collapse of the Federation?
To a lay person, progress has been slow and many decisions difficult to
follow. Let us look at some of the
decisions made.
Why would the 15 CARICOM nations include Haiti as a full member (in 1998)? Haiti has a population of over seven million people and has the lowest per capita income of the region, and a long history of democratic failure. The French-speaking population of Haiti by itself (7.4 million) is greater than the population of all other 14 members combined (6.4 million). What does its inclusion in CARICOM add to the other members? It is not clear. Why did CARICOM not just seek a trade agreement as it later did with the Dominican Republic?
Many countries in the world are rushing into bigger and bigger trade blocs. The incredible expansion of the European Union is one story. New countries joining have lower standards of living than existing members but the expansion continues. The enthusiasm of America for the FTAA may have stalled but is still there.
SINGLE MARKET
In the Caribbean our plans for the Caribbean Single Market and Economy (CSME) progress at a crawl. We have not really decided whether the CSME is an end in itself or is a preparatory step to allow the Caribbean the opportunity to get its act together prior to joining the FTAA.
Whichever, it appears to be a process that requires much greater financial and management resources to complete than are now committed. If we are going to have the free movement of people and capital throughout the 15 member states of CARICOM, or any other of the CSME strategies, then we ought to act with greater resolve.
Preparation is inadequate. There do not appear to be adequate studies to determine what will happen, for example, if there is free movement of people, rather than just qualified persons, as is now the plan.
Additionally, the Caribbean will be the first area in the world to have a regional court and a separate appeals court both fully funded in advance of having a working free trade area! Merging together the creation of a regional trade court with an appeal court may be politically smart but is disingenuous and in the long run harmful. The trade court is needed (but) there is a much greater question hanging over the need for the appeal court. The CCJ is an example of politicians pushing their pet ideas above those that have greater justification.
How can we encourage the public's support for the CSME when there are no funds available for the necessary public education programmes? To introduce what may be the most comprehensive free trade area in the world without hardly a dollar being spent on carrying public opinion seems short-sighted.
It is difficult to see how the CSME
can be implemented without a large
and expensive public educational
programme. What would that cost ? Maybe at a guess, US$100,000 per annum for four years in 15 countries or US$6 million?
On top of this, budget funds will be needed to do the necessary studies and co-ordination. For purposes of argument the total needed may be five to 10 times the public education budget say a total of US$30-60 million.
With most governments in the region running unacceptably large deficits and having great indebtedness, this amount can only come from some form of new regional tax or some external donor.
The Caribbean must not continue to look to foreign donors to finance so many of our endeavours. But without a persuasive programme to obtain greater public support for the CSME a new regional tax would be strongly opposed.
It would seem that the funds raised for the CCJ would be better used right now on an educational programme about the CSME.
CARICOM SECRETARIAT
And then there has to be a question as to whether Guyana is the best location for the Caribbean Community Secretariat. This organisation is the driver for regional integration and for the creation of the CSME. To locate it in a country that is not near to the geographic centre of the region, in a country that is gaining so quickly such an unfortunate reputation for crime (Guyana is not alone in this regard), and in one that is not the best exemplar of economic growth does not appear to be the most rational decision. There may be compelling counter arguments but I do not see them right now.
Let me try to suggest some specific actions which, if taken, might improve the living standards of Caribbean people.
Take the CSME seriously. It is important to establish a Caribbean Free Trade area quickly even if this is just a warm-up for the FTAA. To do so the efforts of the Regional Negotiating Machinery (RNM) and the CSME unit at CARICOM should be combined. The rule of only moving forward if all countries unanimously support a move should be
discontinued. This would allow at least the four decisive countries of Guyana, Trinidad, Barbados and Jamaica to finalise these trade arrangements. Let others join as they wish later.
An extensive public relations programme should be launched, using government information services, as well as other measures to win public support for these steps at greater Caribbean co-operation.
The funding for this programme and all the other steps required to achieve the trade area needs to be sourced. It is probable that a new tax would have to be levied to pay the bill. This will be unpopular but is probably unavoidable. Some of the tax proceeds should be used to underwrite the additional studies and work required by business and labour organisations such as the Caribbean Congress of Labour, the Caribbean Association of Industry and Commerce (CAIC) and indeed the Guyana Manufacturers Association. These organisations are as underfunded (in most cases) as the governments themselves.
Set some new relevant and measurable goals for CARICOM. In most people's eyes CARICOM is seen as a political club rather than a dynamic organisation designed to uplift the economies of the Caribbean. This should change.
Hard decisions must be made. The CARICOM Secretariat should be moved to the most effective and convenient location. The rule of unanimity should be qualified to allow quick movement by those governments interested in Caribbean improvement. The focus of CARICOM should be on economic growth and job creation. Welfare and distributive economic policies should not dominate thought. There must be annual transparent targets set for economic growth, job creation, expansion of both external and intra-Caribbean investment, crime control, an attack on corruption, reduction of government size, improvement of law and order, public education and expansion of the private sector.
Civic society and the private sector should be involved in the establishment of these goals and must demand performance. Frequently, government and the private sector do not see themselves as equal partners on the same team striving for economic development. Often personal likes and dislikes are allowed to disrupt what should be institutional relationships. In our economies which are so dominated by state enterprise, governments are tempted to believe they should act as governors rather than facilitators.
Re-evaluate the viability of many of the Caribbean states. Sovereignty/nationalism has been and is the sacred cow of the Caribbean. So much political energy was expended in achieving political independence and in the entry and exit from Federation that it appears exhaustion overtook most subsequent political thought and action.
Political independence is important, but it could be so much better if it was supported by economic growth. Vast numbers of Caribbean nationals have voted decisively on this issue by migrating to North America and the U.K. to earn a living that poor governance deprives them of at home.
The inclusion of Haiti as a member should be reconsidered. The other 14 members have so many problems of their own that dealing with a civil war in a failed state, wherever geographically located, should not be taking up so much time. It is inappropriate for small countries in the Caribbean to be expected to resolve Haiti's problems, which are probably unsolvable, when we have so many of our issues which go unresolved.
