Searchlight Logo
special_image

    • News
      • Front Page
      • News
      • Breaking News
      • Press Release
      • Features
      • Special Features
      • From the Courts
      • Sports
      • Regional / World
    • Opinions
      • Editorial
      • Our Readers’ Opinions
      • Bassy – Love Vine
      • Dr. Fraser- Point of View
      • R. Rose – Eye of the Needle
      • On Target
      • Dr Jozelle Miller
      • The World Around Us
      • Random Thoughts
    • Advice
      • Kitchen Corner
      • What’s on Fleek this week
      • Health Wise
      • Physician’s Weekly
      • Business Buzz
      • Hey Rosie!
      • Prime the pump
    • ePaper
    • Obituaries
      • In Memoriam / Acknowledgement
      • Tribute
    • Contact Us
      • Advertise With Us
      • Letters To The Editor
      • General Contact Information
      • Contact our Webmaster
    • About Us
      • Privacy Policy
      • Interactive Media Ltd
      • St. Vincent & the Grenadines
    • Subscribe
    • News
      • Front Page
      • News
      • Breaking News
      • Press Release
      • Features
      • Special Features
      • From the Courts
      • Sports
      • Regional / World
    • Opinions
      • Editorial
      • Our Readers’ Opinions
      • Bassy – Love Vine
      • Dr. Fraser- Point of View
      • R. Rose – Eye of the Needle
      • On Target
      • Dr Jozelle Miller
      • The World Around Us
      • Random Thoughts
    • Advice
      • Kitchen Corner
      • What’s on Fleek this week
      • Health Wise
      • Physician’s Weekly
      • Business Buzz
      • Hey Rosie!
      • Prime the pump
    • ePaper
    • Obituaries
      • In Memoriam / Acknowledgement
      • Tribute
    • Contact Us
      • Advertise With Us
      • Letters To The Editor
      • General Contact Information
      • Contact our Webmaster
    • About Us
      • Privacy Policy
      • Interactive Media Ltd
      • St. Vincent & the Grenadines
    • Subscribe
R. Rose
July 3, 2009

CARICOM – A time for reckoning

Two events dominate the onset of the second half of the year annually in the Caribbean. The first of these is our own “July in the Sun” Carnival, beginning in June and climaxing in the first week of July.{{more}} The second major regional event is often missed by most revelers in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, too busy with the partying to take note of more mundane, but yet critically important matters affecting the people of the region. That event is the annual anniversary Summit of the Heads of Government of CARICOM.

For those who choose the self-styled ‘hottest Carnival” in SVG as their focus area to kick off July, missing the details of the CARICOM Summit, it may well be a blessing in disguise. That Summit, nearly always with a bloated and over-ambitious agenda, has a history of promising much more than it actually delivers, leaving a trail of frustrated hopes and ambitions. Even the Heads themselves, who go through the annual ritual, do not mince words during the rest of the year in “dissing” the value of the Summit’s accomplishments.

If our leaders are themselves not sure of the real worth of their gathering, then what should the region’s people think? The Summit was timed to coincide with “the” big anniversary in the Caribbean Community, the founding of CARICOM itself. The first Monday in July is supposed to be celebrated throughout all CARICOM countries as a public holiday to mark CARICOM DAY and the Heads of Government Summit is organized around this time. How many people in the region are actually aware of this holiday? How many countries observe this? It must be the least-known public holiday in the entire region!

Given this scenario, it is difficult for the people of the Caribbean to conceive ourselves as one community. So, what our individual leaders do has far more relevance to us than what they do, or rather say, collectively. In turn, the leaders do not seem to feel accountable to the people of the region as a whole for their collective decisions, or failure to implement them. The CARICOM Summits and various Heads of Government Inter-sessionals appear to be merely routine. Several leaders have themselves openly questioned the seriousness of commitment to the regional integration cause.

Not surprisingly, this never-ending quest for regional integration is on the agenda once again. But it is as though those who represent us cannot make up their minds. Time and again deadlines and goals are set, only for this or that leader, once back on home territory, to pander to all sorts of petty nationalist or narrow interest causes. We make more firm commitments to extra-regional bodies, such as the European Union, than to each other. Are we going to consummate this Caribbean Single Market or not? Is the Single Economy still a goal we wish to pursue?

As our leaders grapple with the mechanics of economic integration, they will also have to situate within it the freedom of movement issue. Regrettably, it is not the right of Caribbean people to move freely within the Community which is highlighted; rather, they talk about immigration, illegal immigration to be exact. People migrate to countries where they perceive that there are opportunities for advancement. These poles change from time to time, depending on circumstances. A glance at our history will show that these poles have shifted depending on economic circumstances. So, our forefathers went to Cuba, then Panama, Santo Domingo, Aruba and Curacao during the last World War. We make noise today about Guyanese migration but we either do not realize, or forget conveniently, that at one time, Guyana, B.G. as it was called (for British Guiana), was the land of opportunity. Today it might be Antigua, Barbados and Trinidad (for English-speakers) and Martinique and Guadeloupe for the people of St. Lucia and Dominica, but who knows about tomorrow?

Yes, states have legitimate concerns, especially about pressures on their social services, and these must be recognized, but as long as we continually fail to develop a Regional Economic Plan which will generate and sustain development throughout the entire region, we will have such imbalances. It is what takes place at a national level between town and country, growth areas and areas of stagnation. We cannot forget, too, that we make representation to other countries about the treatment of Caribbean citizens who have migrated there, legally or otherwise. Just as we depend on remittances from North America and the UK, we must remember that the families of migrants, in their country of origin, also depend upon them for support. If these broader perspectives are borne in mind, if the right of all people to move freely throughout the Community is upheld, and if all this is placed in the context of the absolute necessity for regional integration, all levels, then it becomes less difficult to find solutions.

That absolute necessity is created by the worsening economic crisis. Just this week, Eastern Caribbean Central Bank Governor, Sir Dwight Venner, spoke of the difficulties facing the countries of the Eastern Caribbean. Those circumstances are not unique to the small states; the entire Caribbean community is threatened. That must be the basis on which responsible leaders should meet, discuss, agree and implement. Otherwise, we are into yet another wasted Summit.

Renwick Rose is a community activist and social commentator.





























  • FacebookComments
  • ALSO IN THE NEWS
    Villa woman in  hospital after being stabbed over 20 times
    Front Page
    Villa woman in hospital after being stabbed over 20 times
    Webmaster 
    September 9, 2025
    Police are said to be carrying out investigations into the stabbing of Rafia Sardine, a 20-year-old female of Villa. Reports are that Sardine, a FLOW ...
    RSVGPF most hacked of gov’t agencies
    Front Page
    RSVGPF most hacked of gov’t agencies
    Webmaster 
    September 9, 2025
    In St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG), an analysis has found that the most hacked government entity was the Royal St Vincent and the Grenadines Polic...
    Event staged locally to mark Africa/ Caricom Day
    Front Page
    Event staged locally to mark Africa/ Caricom Day
    Webmaster 
    September 9, 2025
    Leaders of Governments and institutions from countries of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), and the continent of Africa, gathered at the weekend for ...
    PM, proud of his constituents
    Front Page
    PM, proud of his constituents
    Webmaster 
    September 9, 2025
    Prime Minister, Dr Ralph Gonsalves, is proud of the persons in his constituency who continue to aim for higher education. Dr Gonsalves is the parliame...
    Van conductor to be sentenced for beating pregnant ex-girlfriend
    Front Page
    Van conductor to be sentenced for beating pregnant ex-girlfriend
    Webmaster 
    September 9, 2025
    A van conductor, who beat his five- months pregnant ex-girlfriend after she refused to get back with him, has been remanded pending sentencing. Onez J...
    King selected again for the ULP in West St George
    News
    King selected again for the ULP in West St George
    Webmaster 
    September 9, 2025
    To the haunting timeless reggae melody of Jimmy Cliff’s classic ‘Journey’, Curtis King, who was selected as the candidate for the Unity Labour Party (...
    News
    King selected again for the ULP in West St George
    News
    King selected again for the ULP in West St George
    Webmaster 
    September 9, 2025
    To the haunting timeless reggae melody of Jimmy Cliff’s classic ‘Journey’, Curtis King, who was selected as the candidate for the Unity Labour Party (...
    Steel wielding Lowman’s Hill man to be sentenced tomorrow
    From the Courts, News
    Steel wielding Lowman’s Hill man to be sentenced tomorrow
    Webmaster 
    September 9, 2025
    A Lowman’s Hill man who struck another villager in his head with a piece of steel will know his fate tomorrow, September 10, 2025. Kevin Roberts, 25, ...
    Minister of Information Technology  emphasises the importance of Cybersecurity
    News
    Minister of Information Technology emphasises the importance of Cybersecurity
    Webmaster 
    September 5, 2025
    Robust cybersecurity must be at the heart of the digital transformation that is currently taking place in St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) says Min...
    Entities team up to boost disaster communication capacity
    News
    Entities team up to boost disaster communication capacity
    Webmaster 
    September 5, 2025
    The Climate Change Resilience Network (CCRN) in collaboration with the Youlou Radio Movement (YRM) recently embarked on a disaster preparedness initia...
    Ministry of Health to get more dialysis machines
    News
    Ministry of Health to get more dialysis machines
    Webmaster 
    September 5, 2025
    The Ministry of Health, Wellness and the Environment, is to obtain three more Heamodialysis machines as part of the revolution in the healthcare secto...

    E-EDITION
    ePaper
    google_play
    app_store
    Subscribe Now
    • Interactive Media Ltd. • P.O. Box 152 • Kingstown • St. Vincent and the Grenadines • Phone: 784-456-1558 © Copyright Interactive Media Ltd.. All rights reserved.
    We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.Ok