Antigua Supports Reform of CARICOM Secretariat

Details

Regional

Saturday, 10 March 2012 02:29

By caribarena news

Antigua St John's - Prime Minister the Hon. W. Baldwin Spencer has reaffirmed Antigua and Barbuda’s support for the process of reform within the CARICOM Secretariat as an essential plank to drive greater efficiency and change in the fulfillment of decisions from the different Organs of the Community.



He made the comments Thursday, following the presentation on the review of the Guyana-based CARICOM Secretariat on the first day of the two-day Inter-sessional Summit of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community in Paramaribo, Suriname.



In welcoming the Consultants’ Report, Prime Minister Spencer described it as “an important analysis” which contained “some good recommendations”. “We are agreed that it cannot be business as usual as we seek to respond to the myriad of challenges.

Our task is to espouse credible forward thinking policies. However, in order to achieve this goal we must have an agile, effective, proactive and aggressive Secretariat. We are of the opinion that in order to provide a proper analysis, emphasis must also be placed on capturing the views of ordinary citizens on the CARICOM project.

We need an all inclusive approach, so that ordinary citizens can feel part of this new assessment. Such approach may suggest tweaking of the CSME project taking into consideration the changed regional and global realities comprehensively articulated by colleague Prime Minister, Hon. Ralph Gonsalves in his recent correspondence on CARICOM”, he declared.

 

Prime Minister Spencer urged his colleagues that “attempts to restructure the Secretariat without ordinary citizens involvement along with a comprehensive review of the mandate is destined to fail. Hence my support for the elaboration of a 5 year CARICOM development strategy which will impact the type of structural change required at the Secretariat”.

 

“Consequently, I regard the Consultants’ Report as a first step in the process to improve the overall performance of the Secretariat in the fulfillment of its mandate. For us, the Change Agent must be the new Secretary General backed by competent professionals who are seized of new impetus to ensure all decisions are forward thinking and responsive to the present day realities”, he remarked.



Prime Minister Spencer is attending the CARICOM Heads Meeting in Suriname along with the country’s National Security Minister Dr. the Hon. L. Errol Cort, Foreign Service Director Ambassador Anthony Liverpool and Ambassador Dr. Clarence Henry.  The team returns to the country over the weekend.

• < Prev
• Next >