CATEGORY: COMMENTARY
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By Lloyd Noel



"Government has a few projects to undertake, in preparation for CWC 2007, but the news on the grapevine, is that funding is a serious problem at this point in time. So it seems that not only is the CSM(E) on hold, but the Economy as a whole - and where we go from here, and how fast we get there, is anybody’s guess."





In the highly competitive World of Politics, Diplomacy, and public administration generally - it must be accepted and fully understood, that
the business of the people takes time. And that is so, in a nutshell, because those entrusted with the mantle of responsibility and state power, to carry out public duties and take decisions that will affect people’s lives - their livelihood, their rights and freedoms, their capacity to earn a living wage, their God-given mandate to live in peace in the lands of their births, and above all else the very right to life itself; those people, commonly called Politicians but who are really and truly Public Servants, they come in all shapes and sizes, with a variety of ideas and motivations, and a whole hosts of intentions and inclinations of the good, bad and indifferent models.

And as a natural consequence of that jungle of ordinary human differences, that are natural and very understandable; as well as the real sources of our Caribbean political shameful and disgraceful behaviour - that many of those
so-called Politicians cultivate and live by, in the form of Graft and outright corruption with the people’s properties - too many issues and
projects and laudable development schemes, get bandied about and postponed and even shelved, while the people are kept in the dark and their welfare and interests are squandered by their trustees.

Of course, this does not mean that the powers-that-be could just wake up every Monday morning and have new agreements in place, and all sorts of
benefits coming on stream for all those in need. International and Regional relations involve complicated and meticulous detailed negotiations, to ensure that those who eventually enter an agreement know what they are agreeing to at that point in time, and that those who will be coming thereafter can also follow the terms and conditions thereof - because they are sufficiently clear and un-ambiguous.

Having said the foregoing, however, can it be argued, with any hope of conviction, that since the Grand Anse Declaration in Grenada in 1989, enough time was not available for CARICOM and the OECS to put their houses in order to bring the CSM(E) into full operation by the end of December, 2005? I very much doubt such hope exists.

On the contrary, I am of the opinion - that while the various leaders over the years, have all voiced nice sounding phrases about Unity, and
Integration, and one Caribbean - that just beneath the surface, those leaders were too much more interested in their respective parties winning
the next Election, and or the optimum success of their own Island or Country, and above all else their own ego. And if any proof or precedent is needed, the 1958-62 collapsed Federation stands out like a daunting beacon.

The positions taken by some of those leaders then, and since, were not accidental or simply bad judgment after considering all the facts - but
fully calculated, and clearly intentional to put themselves and their Country at the forefront of the new and emerging Caribbean. Of course, the events, which have happened, have proven them very wrong over the decades that have gone by.

And in answer to the question - have the new crop of Leaders learnt anything concrete, from that experience of their pre-decessors? My response
can only be, very little, if anything at all. And the current state of affairs, surrounding the CSM(E) statement, is my authority.

At the OECS Twenty-fifth (25th ) Anniversary celebrations, and signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (M.O.U.), in Basseterre, St. Kitts last week, the incoming Chairman of the Group, Hon. Baldwin Spencer, Prime Minister of
Antigua and Bermuda, was very forthright, bang onto the points in issue, and clearly in a no-nonsense mood that enough was more than enough.
And whatever others of a contrary opinion may wish to think, about his ‘to the point’ statement, I think that time has come, and long since passed,
when what he said should have been said; and I sincerely hope the same will be diligently acted upon.

There is no need to keep on repeating, that with the trend in the Global Market place now-a-days, the ever-increasing sizes of the trading blocs
World wide, and their influences and voices on the World Trading Organisation (W.T.O.) - Mini States and fragmented little groups would hardly be seen or heard.

So clearly it is in our greater interest in the wider Caribbean to pool our resources, our un-doubted talents in the Region, and Market our natural gifts from the Sun, Sand and Sea, and the climate that goes with them, as one Integrated Bloc.

Despite some obvious shortcomings, with Administration and Selection of teams in particular, we have done it over the years with Cricket. And in a much wider context we have done it in the OECS for the past Twenty-five
years; and while there are some gaps that need to be filled - life among our people in these Islands have not been too bad. In fact, the areas in which the greater benefits have not been realised, are mainly where our Politicians have not acted in their own Island’s best Economic interest, or in the best interest of the Region’s Foreign Policy.
And that state of affairs came about, because each Island’s Leader had his or her own ideological outlook - and was promoting that rather than what was best for the people; and in one or two cases, including that of Grenada, the Political Leaders had their own axe to grind.

The Foreign Policy behaviour is a major shortcoming of the Regional position as a whole, and I am of the opinion - that as long as those Leaders follow or adopt policies that appear to be anti-U.S.A. in outlook - then the support and positive references that can be derived from Washington D.C., and which are vital in the diplomatic corridors Worldwide, will not be
forthcoming whether we call the grouping by the name of CARICOM or CSME.

So now the CSM(E) seems to be on hold until the end of December, 2006, and its implementation by the Six Independent or Sovereign States, and the Three British Dependent Colonies, will depend on how much is achieved and put in place on the two issues that are troubling the OECS: The Special and Differential Treatment procedure, and the Regional Development Fund (RDF). These are two key issues that are very critical to the well being of those smaller states who cannot, as they now stand, even begin to compete with the Big Four.

I have seen a statement by Sir Ronald Sanders in which he stated that $125 Million (U.S.) Dollars have been designated for the RDF - but much work
needs to be done on setting up the scheme for withdrawals, or loans, or whatever, before it comes into force. In addition thereto, while Trinidad and Tobago will be contributing a sizeable sum, and maybe Jamaica and Barbados smaller sums, it seems that a lot of effort has to be expended to raise the bulk of that said sum.

Now when I mentioned earlier, the ill-advised Foreign Policy positions our Caribbean Leaders maintain or project, and the negative response those positions receive from our Super Power neighbour in North America - it is precisely in situations like funding for the RDF that those same Leaders have to suffer in silence.

Although in reality it is the people of the Region who are suffering, and not those Leaders who are all well off - and even when they are mouthing all
the leftist jargon and sovereignty rhetoric, they nearly all have their U.S.Visas and comfortable U.S. Accounts in New York and Miami.And even as I am writing this article, the news coming through is that Grenada and Dominica will be signing Agreements, or whatever they are called, with Venezuela today, to be able to access the PetroCarib Scheme that President Hugo Chavez is promoting to get back at the U.S.A.

But do you think those two Leaders are seeing or facing the reality? Oh! No; they are fooling themselves, and some of their diehard supporters and hangers-on in St. George’s and Roseau, that Chavez cares about Grenadians and Dominicans and other OECS Nationals - with his buy his Oil now, and pay later with Bananas and Sugar and maybe Nutmeg in years to come. The level of that mentality is astounding. In our own case here in Grenada, the Economic strangle hold is getting worse with each passing day and every new shipment of goods for the building Industry. More work sites are on go-slow, or totally closed down, because of Cement shortage, and as a result the shortage of available spending money, is surely suffocating the local markets for everything - from foodstuff downwards.

And this situation, in the context of un-employment, is due to escalate even higher - as those graduating Students from this week onwards come on the job market with no hope of finding employment.

Government has a few projects to undertake, in preparation for CWC 2007, but the news on the grapevine, is that funding is a serious problem at this point in time. So it seems that not only is the CSM(E) on hold, but the Economy as a whole - and where we go from here, and how fast we get there, is anybody’s guess.




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