Keeping faith with CARICOM
Editorial
BARBADOS is the chosen venue for a major encounter in October for the arrangements being advanced for the creation of a CARICOM Single Market and Economy. This is not surprising, as Prime Minister Owen Arthur has portfolio responsibility, among CARICOM heads of government, for the transformation of the community into a Single Market and Economy (SME) and the country is appropriately placed to host such an event. The idea of the single market came out of the Grand Anse Declaration of the 1989 CARICOM Summit in Grenada. Starting with former Prime Minister Erskine Sandiford, Barbados has always held lead responsibility for advancing the arrangements to make the single market_a functional reality. Under the current administration of Prime Minister Arthur, Barbados has been credited as having evolved possibly the most practical, functionally-working relationship with the CARICOM Secretariat for implementation of the package of nine protocols governing the arrangements for the single market. With the gaps between official pronouncements and the reality on the ground in relation to implementation of the protocols, doubts have been increasing about the single market being inaugurated even in 2002. But Arthur, in urging the people to keep faith with CARICOM, said earlier this week in Canouan while participating in the 21st Heads of Government Conference, that there was no alternative to this region proceeding as rapidly as possible to the goal of a single market and economy. He is, of course, very right. One reminder being the implications for CARICOM if it fails to have the SME and its very relevant legal institution, the Caribbean Court of Justice, in place and properly functioning well ahead of the coming Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) by 2005. It is therefore encouraging to know that for all the urgent and very contentious political issues they_had to deal with, the CARICOM leaders concentrated on fixing firm implementation schedules for meetings and functional arrangements to complete the legal framework for the single market by yearend. The next step, after the completion of the legal framework, and armed with a single document incorporating all nine of the protocols for legislative endorsement, is for the process of region-wide consultations with all the relevant stakeholders. This is where the private sector, labour movement and the community of non-governmental organisations will be expected to become very actively involved in helping to sensitise the public about the single market and the Caribbean Court of Justice; the latter having original jurisdiction on matters arising from interprepation and application of the CARICOM Treaty.  Follow the goings-on in Guyana
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