Caricom, 53 years old, is the longest-standing economic union in the developing world. While US President Donald Trump doesn’t mind carving up the hemisphere into friends, indifferents and foes, the rest of the world is comfortable dealing with Caricom as a regional block. In this sense, despite whatever flaws, Caricom has the consideration and respect of the world.
If the recent reappointment of the sitting Secretary General was improperly done, it can be fixed. This is, by no measure, an earthshattering impasse.
If the T&T Prime Minister claims the manner of reappointment raises serious issues about the culture and ethos of operations by Caricom Heads, that too should be addressed. Or is a dissenting voice or objection too much for Caricom democracy to handle? Or perhaps, Caricom is perfect?
Caricom leaders are duly elected prime ministers and presidents of representative countries and, and if they cannot respond constructively to criticism from within and together resolve issues of self-governance, then they really ought not to be in charge of anything.
On the other hand, our PM need not present a terminator disposition to Caricom, if she feels the grouping has acted in bad faith. After all, she is a leader among Caricom heads, and some measure of collegiality, mutual responsibility and will to find a solution is required.
Not addressing the issue the T&T PM raised - the flawed appointment of the Secretary General, the culture, ethos and operations of the Heads of Government body, and the behaviour of the Secretary General in a manner unbecoming or dithering about them, will set Caricom on a path of continuing tension, deterioration, internal friction and slow death. Over what, really?
The current Caricom should agree on whatever appropriate medicine is required to improve and restore the health of an ailing body, rather than risk gathering for funeral rites. Or maybe some think Caricom is perfectly healthy?
This is not a Caricom crisis at all, but a family quarrel with a lot of bile and pent-up rage amidst conditions of institutional atrophy.
The world, on the other hand, is, indeed, in crisis, and our hemisphere is in turmoil. Marginalisation of Caricom and the Caribbean, and small island states, is pending. And, as much as marginalisation depends on the power, technology and geopolitics of others, it also depends on the will, purposefulness, creativity and resolve of Caribbean countries themselves.
The rest of the world is not waiting on Caricom. And Caricom better understand that it does not have the time to wait for Godot either. No saviour is coming. In our region, we need to summon our collective will to solutions and decisive, coherent actions. Unresponsiveness, lethargy and inaction may lead to the region being overwhelmed.
Good governance is an urgent necessity. Not only in Caricom but in each Caribbean country. Problem-solving is not a consultant’s job. It is a critical thinking requirement of good leadership. If leaders can’t solve little problems of mal-administration, poor governance and inappropriate behaviour in Caricom, I don’t see how individual prime ministers and presidents will solve their own national problems in their little countries. And how, pray tell, if they can’t solve their own minor issues, will they begin to address the mountain of challenges that Caricom and small island countries face in the world?
Nobody that matters is losing sleep over what is happening in the Caricom Secretariat or what with Caricom governance. And if regional leaders can’t solve this responsibly, and end up ripping Caricom apart over it, no one will blink either. And if leaders solve it, no one will applaud. It is the duty of regional leaders to solve our problems by acting responsibly, resourcefully and competently.
Let us not make our Caribbean people disappointed in their leaders again. Let mistakes be acknowledged and corrected. Don’t let a small problem fester and enlarge. Don’t let a family quarrel become another unnecessary liability for citizens of the region.
There is wisdom in restraint, even if one is aggrieved; there is charity in responsiveness, even if one feels unnecessarily assaulted; and the principle that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts should guide us to rethink Caricom in a world that has dramatically changed already, and will not necessarily revert with a change of presidency in the United States.
Seize this opportunity, presented in the form of this small challenge, for Caricom to emerge stronger, together.
