Robert Buddan
THE CARIBBEAN Community (CARICOM) opened its 27th Summit this past week with some major developments: Six members of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) joined the Caribbean Single Market and Economy (CSME) bringing the membership to twelve; Haiti has returned as an active member after a 29-month suspension thanks to CARICOM's insistence that free and fair elections be held and a legitimate government restored; freedom of movement has been extended to a wider number of regional workers; and CARICOM welcomed Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller to its Summit for the first time, a time when critical hemispheric issues are at stake while she settles in as CARICOM's Prime Minister responsible for its External Affairs.
Mrs. Simpson Miller inherits responsibility for CARICOM's External Affairs from her predecessor, P. J. Patterson. Sir Shridath Ramphal would be pleased since he believes that Jamaica must remain a leader in CARICOM and the attendance at her inauguration of CARICOM's out-going Chairman, Patrick Manning, and Prime Minister Owen Arthur, who has responsibility for the single market and economy, signalled that they agree. Prime Minister Simpson Miller might not be Jamaica's minister of foreign affairs, but she is the CARICOM Prime Minister who has 'cabinet' responsibility for the region's external affairs. That makes her one of the most important persons in hemispheric relations.
After all, CARICOM's 15 members hold the balance of power in the diplomatic and voting councils of the 34-member Organisation of American States and among the same countries negotiating for a Free Trade Area of the Americas. The 12 Commonwealth members of CARICOM might have less influence in the 53-member Commonwealth of Nations but the attendance at the Summit of the Secretary-General of the Commonwealth would have caught Mrs. Simpson Miller's interest. The Secretary General wanted to know how the Commonwealth could help with CARICOM's social and economic problems and on issues of justice in international trade.
Mrs. Simpson Miller will have to use CARICOM's balance of power to balance the interests of Jamaica, CARICOM, and the different and sometimes con-tending nations and groups of nations in the hemisphere. Immediate issues include the Non-Aligned Summit scheduled for Cuba in September, the UN vote on a non-permanent seat for Venezuela on its Security Council in October, the integration of Haiti in the hemisphere's development, the U.S. sanctions against Cuba, elections in Guyana, negotiation of free trade agreements with the U.S. and Europe, and crime and security issues.
JAMAICA'S VITAL LEADERSHIP
This is a heavy workload, but it is one that the Prime Minister cannot shirk. Jamaica indeed needs to play a leading role in CARICOM and the hemisphere. Our destiny is deeply tied up in it. She will need to find a middle way between timidity and temerity, a position that always tries to avoid angering the U.S. and one that rashly does. Jamaica must continue in the Patterson vein to build consensus within CARICOM so that the region can vote en bloc to avoid isolating any particular member for punishment. This is what CARICOM and Latin America plan to do on the Venezuela vote and this is what they did on Haiti and have done on votes against U.S. sanctions on Cuba.
In this age of the single market and economy we should not forget that CARICOM acts as a single polity as well. It debates and votes as one whenever it can because it has voting power in international affairs out of proportion to the size and governmental capacity of its individual members. Just as the single market and economy compensates for the dis-advantages of economic scale, a single governance and polity (short of a federation) make up for some disadvantages of political scale. Of 16 regional blocs, CARICOM is the second to last in terms of land area, population, and GDP, but it ties at second as the regional economic bloc with the most international votes. This is vital political power.
Mrs. Simpson Miller can convert this power into social development. She has already signalled to the Inter-American Bank (IDB) that international and regional institutions should work for development and empowerment. She must now press CARICOM to enact a Social Charter of Human and Community Development to complement the CARICOM Charter of Civil Society, which sets out its commitment to democracy and human rights. CARICOM must make the region's democracy and single market and economy work for human development. Indeed, it needs to build a single social market and economy.
While the CSME commits member countries to balanced budgets, the Jamaican administration must commit CARICOM to, as the Prime Minister puts it, balanced lives. It must insist that member countries create social budgets by reserving a portion of the national budget for social spending. Jamaica itself should follow Belize by establishing a ministry of human development and advise CARICOM to establish a CARICOM Institute for Human and Community Development to coordinate anti-poverty and job creation programmes across the community and within local communities.
This seems appropriate to Mrs. Simpson Miller's role in charge of CARICOM's external affairs. She should mandate trade negotiators to secure funds to develop mechanisms by which CARICOM can support the objectives of a social charter, a charter that should espouse moral values, early childhood development, shelter, education and training, family, community, and equity.
BALANCING OBJECTIVES
Jamaica's Prime Minister must take the lead here. She will find support from many socially progressive CARICOM Prime Ministers. It is even more important to do so now. The new emphasis on meeting the deadline of 2008 for the single economy will also force governments to balance budgets and meet standard inflation targets. So often, balancing budgets come at a cost to social spending. As she calls for the region to meet the conditions for a single economy, she must also ensure that the single market and economy is a single social market and economy.
The Prime Minister reminded CARICOM Prime Ministers after all that, "The purpose of economic growth must be to reduce poverty and inequality in our region". People must see, she emphasised, that CARICOM Summits are about improving living standards. While advocating the extension of trade agreements, she told her colleague Prime Ministers that trade must contribute to welfare and development.
In this context it is appropriate too for CARICOM to offer Cuba observer status just as Aruba, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Netherlands Antilles, Puerto Rico and Venezuela enjoy. Cuba has assisted the region far more than most of these observers have and is willing to play a greater part in advancing the fight against HIV/AIDS and for health care more broadly, as well as early childhood education, the provision of shelter, and help in disaster management.
Cuba is already a member of CARIFORUM, a CARICOM-Cuba Commission exists and Cuba participates in the Regional Negotiating Machinery. We must also support Venezuela's proposal for an International Humanitarian Fund. This will strengthen our ability to invest in people. Ultimately, CARICOM must be relevant to people's lives, and the fight against poverty and violence is the most relevant of all. The social sectors of the region must therefore work towards a social charter.
Robert Buddan is a
lecturer in the department
of government, University
of the West Indies Mona.
You can send an email to: Robert.Buddan@uwimona.edu.jm
APOLOGY
Robert Buddan's piece in the Sunday Gleaner dated June 25, 2006 captioned "Reneto Adams Policing The Badlands of Jamaica" stated that Families Against State Terrorism (FAST) in conjunction with other government and private organisations have amassed more resources to convict Mr. Adams than any other individual in Jamaica's history and made a statement the thrust of which was that Families Against State Terrorism had joined with criminals in a joint enterprise to convict Reneto Adams.
The Gleaner Company Limited is satisfied that the above statements are false.
Families Against State Terrorism, although publicly commenting on the Adams trial at no time amassed resources to convict Mr. Adams.
The Gleaner Company unreservedly apologises for publishing the above statements made in the article and for any impression that might have been left in the minds of the public that Families Against State Terrorism was in any way connected to criminals.
We apologise for the publication of the statements and for any embarrassment and inconvenience which it may have caused FAST.
The Gleaner Company disassociates itself from the comments made in the article which offended FAST.
In apologising for the publication of the statement, we regret any embarrassment and inconvenience which it may have caused FAST.
