CARICOM Whither Goest Thou!

It is not the first time that our regional bodies have faced major challenges. In fact, we can go back to the early sixties when our Federation after Jamaica’s withdrawal and Dr. Eric Williams of Trinidad and Tobago made his famous mathematical calculation, declaring that “One From Ten leaves Naught”.

That was the end of our first effort at creating a regional body. Other challenges have arisen over the years as the region attempts to deepen the integration Movement. Hopefully the recent Trinidad’s threat, rebuke and anger are just among those challenges, that will force the regional body to re-examine itself, its procedures, really the way it goes about doing its business.

I am not clear about the nature of this latest hullabaloo. Ron Sanders, Antigua and Barbuda’s Ambassador to the UN and OAS seeks an answer in the resignation of the General Secretary, Dr Carla Barnett who is at the centre of the controversy. But why should she? What signal will that send? It raises the question of whether the normal procedures for electing/re-electing a General Secretary were different this time around. The exchange between the Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, Kamla Persad-Bissessar and the Chairman of CARICOM, Dr. Terrance Drew does not answer that question, although the Trinidad PM seems to be suggesting that it does. It was part of the agenda of a retreat held in Nevis. The Trinidad PM left St. Kitts/Nevis where CARICOM’s Heads of Government met before the Retreat. The CARICOM Secretariat, according to that body, had agreed to allow Foreign Affairs Minister, Sean Sobers to represent her at what was really a Heads of Government Retreat. We are told that Sobers was unable to take the fifteen minutes boat ride because he normally gets sea sick. Did all other Heads attend? For those who might not have attended, were they represented by their Foreign Ministers? Sobers, however, denied what was said about him. One assumes that that would be easy to check!

I am assuming that the election/re-election of a General Secretary is not by consensus. Is it that Trinidad had a different candidate in mind and wanted the occasion to state its case against the re-election of Barnett. A special meeting was called to address the fallout with Trinidad and Tobago, but that country was not represented at that meeting. We heard too that the country will not recognise the General Secretary after August when her term of office ends. I am assuming too that a majority of Heads agreed to her re-election. If Trinidad had attended the retreat and stated its objection to the re-election of the General Secretary but the majority decided on her re-election, what would have happened?

Trinidad and Tobago is apparently threatening to withdraw its financial contribution to the body. Is that country flexing whatever muscle it has. Journalist Dereck Ramsamooj suggested that Kamla Bissessar abandon her “Trump like” and egotistical approach to CARICOM and accept that Trinidad and Tobago is no longer the regional power house it once was. Ramsamooj is of the opinion that CARICOM could survive without Trinidad’s contribution, but Trinidad’s presence means more than its financial contribution. Remembering too in her earlier stint as PM she stated that Trinidad was no ATM.

I suspect that it is much more than this and might even have to do with the rift created by the Man In The White House who sees us as being in his Back Yard and got T+T to be part of his plan for removing the Venezuelan President. His venture with T+T was dubbed an effort to dismantle Drug Smuggling in the area. Kamla accepted this because she saw the cocaine traffic as the source of the criminal activity in her country. Even before this, one saw her warming to President Trump. CARICOM had before this declared the region a zone of peace. Were there attempts to discuss this matter with CARICOM?

One of the problems faced by CARICOM is that its full members are independent countries, with at times different positions on foreign policy and relations. But the same applies to the European Union. Obviously, CARICOM does not have the muscle of the European Union, with the region being the grass on which elephants make love and fight. Our position is clear as each country tries to manoeuvre itself into accepting positions that it considers favourable to itself. We are still not as independent as we claim to be. But what is the next move? There is a suggestion that outstanding Caribbean people like P.J Patterson be invited to try to settle the current dispute. Weak as CARICOM is, we cannot do without it!

• Dr Adrian Fraser is a social commentator and historian