President Bharrat Jagdeo today highlighted that the issue of governance in CARICOM is one that has been ignored in the past since it requires some devolution of power from national authorities to regional institutions.
            He explained that about five to six years ago, there was no political will across the Caribbean to create a commission comprising a small group of people who would make decisions that will be binding on national governments.
            However, since the need for an institutional structure that goes beyond the CARICOM Secretariat to implement the many features of the integration movement was seen as critical, in order to advance the integration movement, a suggestion was made to have a council of permanent representatives.
            The President stated that it was suggested that each capital will send someone who is vested with some kind of ministerial status to sit on the commission that would meet on a daily basis. He explained that this arrangement will ensure that countries do not feel alienated from the decision making process.  
            “They will be part of the decision making and hopefully these decisions will find greater support at the national level,” the President said.
            He noted that there is need for such a body to meet on a daily basis in order to tackle the many problems that are faced in the Caribbean as it relates to integration movement.
            CARICOM Heads meet twice yearly, while government ministers meet about four times per year, where focus is place on an integration movement that entails an aspect of trade, movement of capital and people, and rights of establishment.
            President Jagdeo asserted that to manage such an integration movement with meetings that take place once yearly is a recipe for non implementation of decisions.
Moreover, the Secretariat is currently not structured to undertake what is required in order to move apace with the integration movement and as such there is need for such a body that meets on a daily basis.
            He said that this issue may not have had much traction six years ago; however, the proposal was once again brought to the fore by Jamaica’s Prime Minister, Bruce Golding at the last CARICOM Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM).
President Jagdeo disclosed that, “many of the Heads agreed that this should be explored in greater detail. There is a small committee that would be working on this and hopefully by the end September we will meet to see if we can approve a new Government structure.”