PM Gonsalves repents: ‘CARICOM on pause’
Tue Apr 9, 2013
Editor: As a good Catholic, Prime Minister Dr Hon. Ralph Gonsalves was moved to repentance in a February 9, 2012 letter to Ambassador Irwin La Rocque, Secretary General of CARICOM and his fellow Presidents and Prime Ministers of the region, in which he stated:{{more}}
“But surely, the times demand that we move resolutely beyond minimalism which inexorably leads to regression; âpausingâ is but a euphemism for standing still, which in a dynamic world is sliding backwards. That, to me, is the evidence before us in CARICOM since its leaders, including me, decided at a special conclave in Guyana about a year ago to put the âsingle economyâ process on pause.â
Throughout the eight pages of soul searching and penance, Dr. Gonsalves removes the trappings of political expediency and garb to exorcise the demon of “in-built lethargy in our collective regional political leadership, bureaucratic inertia and public cynicismâ that continues to plague the regionâs integration movement. Those who have followed PM Gonsalves long and industrious career, beginning at the University of the West Indies as President of the Guild of Students, through his twelve years as Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, compassing over forty years of political experience locally, regionally and internationally, would no doubt be moved to repeat the comforting words, “Go my child, your sin has been forgiven.â
Our Condition
Sticking points
Dr. Gonsalves ended his homily, “The Book of Ecclesiastes reminds us that: âHe that observeth the wind shall not sow, and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap.â The clarion call of old is still relevant: Time for Action.â Just this week, Dominica has decided it is time for action. Grenada has re-affirmed its commitment, while Haiti and Suriname are pushing for deeper collaboration. Where this new berth takes the regional movement is anyoneâs guess. However, what is certain, this year marks the 40th year we have been saying, âIt is time for action.â What is also undisputable is well summed up by Professor Havelock Brewster:â regionalism, for all that is said about its survive or perish importance by political leaders, is run on a shoe string and mendicancy.â
I pray that the Joshua-ites will be more than willing to answer the call ahead. In the interim, I hope this opinion serves to jolt our regional leaders to understand that mature regionalism is not obtained through institutions, but through all of us. The time for action is not to implement, but for us to first mature from infantile grandstanding.
Adaiah J Providence-Culzac
Zhejiang University, China
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