As the old year fades, so too should old problems. Not so in the case of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). It is one of the enduring problems of the last 30 years, yet instead of diminishing, it is proving intractable in the sense that CARICOM is still languishing as a functioning organisation.
At the present level, CARICOM functions in pieces and patches without any overriding authori-tative machinery. All major decisions are made in the round-about process of agreement, first at the level of the cabinets of member governments, then regional Heads of Government meetings.
While participating governments are willing to meet at the level of Heads of Government and arrive at a consensus on issues, they are not willing to cede absolute authority on vital issues which will affect their home base. Hence, repeated stalemates foil the functioning of CARICOM, as I had forewarned on previous occasions.
As discussions on the CSME have now reached a point where final positions are required, variances among the 15 members have become more apparent:
the smaller islands are not sympathetic to any tax regime which deprives them of customary import revenues that have to be reduced to create the common external tariff essential to the establishment of a Single Market;
the exchange control regime of the regional group of countries is largely based on a pegged exchange rate which has provided great economic stability for the majority. In contrast, the larger countries are operating on flexible rates and, with the exception of petroleum-rich Trinidad, doing poorly. Neither side shows any sign of abandoning its own system;
the Dominican Republic, as a member of CARIFORUM, wishes to be included in the discussions on sugar and bananas. This is not agreeable to all CARICOM states.
These are only some of the differences which, predictably, are arising as the loose arguments of the past give way to tighter and more factual reasoning based on solid grounds that demand firm and final support or rejection.
This is the same scenario experienced with the West Indies Federation when a group of leaders, enamoured with the vision of federating as one West Indian nation, hurled themselves into making commitments on the future of their countries without any deep thought. As the discussions proceeded through a series of regional conferences, as well as with the British government in London, problems never before considered began to unravel the dreams by raising insurmountable differences. For instance, serious conflicts arose between Jamaica and Trinidad over the establish-ment of an oil refinery in Jamaica to the point where the leaders of those two governments while attending conferences, did not speak to each other.
Failure of the WI Federation
The fundamental reason for the failure of the West Indies Federation was that it was never planned from the bottom up, but from the top down. Hence, the problems of how it would affect the people at the bottom in several ways never became critical until discussions reached near the bottom end of the top-down process. That is when the stage was set for collapse.
The same regional conferences with Heads of Government are now being carried out again, and the same consultation with an external power, this time the European Union rather than the British government, are also proceeding along an obstacle course of conflicting internal differences endeavouring to find common ground before the deadline in July, 2007, when the EU-CARICOM problems must all be solved.
The answer to the lack of authoritative leadership is the establishment of a CARICOM Commission with super powerful public officials appointed to take decisions in prescribed matters as if they were a single regional CARICOM Cabinet overriding the national executive of member countries.
Anyone who believes that this would work does not understand the psyche of Caribbean leaders nor, indeed, the people.
Those who argue for this structure point to the functioning, workable example of the European Union. They considered that the success of the European Union means that CARICOM can work in that way. But the EU is a relatively homogeneous group of nations with all members having broadly similar levels of development. Wide dissimilarities are ruled out in the membership process for admission. Member countries have to ensure that they meet the minimum criteria for establishing a tolerably similar base.
Heterogeneous group
The CARICOM group, on the other hand, is heterogeneous. As I noted in my budget presentation of April 22, 2004, to the House of Representatives entitled, 'Finding a Fresh Wind':
"In the mix of member states, wide differences are as marked as deep similarities. Haiti, the only French-speaking member, has more than half the population and one of the lowest per capita incomes in the world, US$440. Several countries, though mini states like Barbados and the Bahamas, have much higher per capita incomes, US$9,750 and US$14,560 respectively. Barbados, with one of the highest levels of human development in the world, co-exists with one of the lowest in the world, Haiti. Jamaica has the second largest population, 2.7 million, the third lowest per capita income, US$2,820, and the largest purchasing power."
The pressure placed on Caribbean countries to make the foot fit the shoe will, no doubt, begin to ease with the retirement of P.J. Patterson as Prime Minister of Jamaica, and the defeat of Kenny Anthony, whose party recently lost the St. Lucia general election. Owen Arthur, Prime Minister of Barbados, has indicated that he will also be retiring soon.
This leaves only Ralph Gonsalves, Prime Minister of St. Vincent, as the remaining fanatical believer and fiery advocate of regionalism to work with the present group of leaders who are supporters but have far less fire in their bellies to carry on a campaign with passion.
CARICOM is likely, therefore, to face a slide, not a climb, in the future.
One day we will look back at the days, months and years of effort that has gone into this futile ordeal to say nothing of the setback for the future, and regret the waste which could have been avoided if the lessons of the past had been taken to heart.
Edward Seaga is a former Prime Minister. He is now a Distinguished Fellow at the University of the West Indies. Email: odf@uwimona.edu.jm
