AFTER the storm came the calm. I am not referring to the threats posed last week by Dennis, the menacing tropical storm that brought back dread memories for Jamaicans of Ivan in 2004, before veering off to inflict, tragically, fresh disasters in Haiti and Cuba.

Rickey Singh

I am really alluding to what happened at the 26th annual Caricom Summit in St Lucia with some strange positions and decisions taken during the four-day event.

Perhaps the best two examples would be the fracas over cricket, involving in particular the prime ministers of Barbados (Owen Arthur) and Grenada (Keith Mitchell) before a surprising decision; and the Venezuelan-initiated project, Petrocaribe.

. OIL: First, the reservations publicly expressed by Prime Minister Patrick Manning of Trinidad and Tobago at the ceremonial opening of the summit last Sunday afternoon over Venezuela's initiative the previous week for the inauguration of the multinational Petrocaribe, under which Caricom states would benefit from less expensive oil.

A number of Manning's colleagues in off-the-record comments had noted that although some of his expressed reservations were "shared", they should first have been privately discussed at a working session of the conference.

MANNING. publicly expressed reservations about the Petrocaribe project

Instead, he had articulated his reservations in a manner, they thought, that conveyed the wrong impression. Such as seemingly admonishing Caricom partners that have signed the Petrocaribe initiative - while having concerns of their own.

But without prejudice to Trinidad and Tobago's position as the traditional major supplier of petroleum resources to Caricom states, knowing that negotiations are to continue.

Guess what was the final outcome? Mr Manning was chosen by his colleagues to continue discussions "on behalf of Caricom", with Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez on aspects of the "Petrocaribe Accord" yet to be finalised.

Another and related surprise came with the strange SILENCE of the official summit communiqué on ANY aspect of the Petrocaribe project and Venezuela's offer of cheaper oil to Caribbean partners.

ARTHUR (left) and MITCHELL. squared off over West Indies cricket

This is in sharp contrast to the end-of-summit media briefing at which Manning was quite pleased to say that for all the claimed divisions on Petrocaribe, "all's well for our unity... We have kissed and made up..."

Some explanation seems necessary as there is NO mention in the communiqué on Manning's mandate to continue a dialogue with President Chavez.

Jamaica, for one, has already announced its expectation of "big savings" from the Venezuela oil accord, as reported by the Observer on July 6.

In contrast, Barbados, which has an oil facility arrangement with Trinidad and Tobago that is unique within the Community, has not signed the Venezuela Accord but also avoids criticising it.

Question: Who then, from Caricom, will also be on Manning's delegation for the coming talks with President Chavez on the Petrocaribe project?

And what precisely will be the terms of the mandate, especially since ALL member states of the Community say they wish to maintain "good and friendly relations" with Venezuela?

. CRICKET: On the cricket front, with a lingering crisis resulting from intractable disputes between the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) and the West Indies Players' Association (WIPA), involving a mix of problems of selection of players and sponsorship of Test series, the Caricom leaders decided to discuss the situation in caucus.

In such a forum they are often much more candid in their interventions, since they are free from the presence of other members of their respective delegations.

Sharp differences reportedly arose, with some strongly opposing any involvement that could undermine the independence of the WICB in its administration or right in selection of players.

Others argued equally in favour of some kind of mechanism for structured dialogue with no intention of eroding the independence of either the WICB or the WIPA.

References were made to the increasingly integral role of cricket in the region's social and economic development and the importance of ensuring that Cricket World Cup 2007 is in no way jeopardised by current controversies that also involve the two foreign telecommunications corporations - Digicel and Cable and Wireless.

In the process, emotional outbursts between prime ministers Arthur and Mitchell became so fierce that at one stage the Barbadian leader abruptly walked out while the caucus session was still in progress.

He later explained that he had left "for a cup of coffee" and that he had returned to offer suggestions that were incorporated in the final decision.

On the other hand, Mitchell, current chairman of the Community's Prime Ministerial Subcommittee on Cricket, who had claimed gross misrepresentation of his position by his Barbadian counterpart, was on his way to China on a four-day official visit before the curtains came down on the St Lucia Summit.

Another surprise was to follow. In finally deciding to intervene in the WICB/WIPA impasse, the Community leaders came up with the idea of a "Good Offices Mechanism", comprising three "eminent Caribbean persons".

The heads of government named three of their colleagues and also invited the WICB to become an "Associate Institution of Caricom".

The prime minister of St Lucia, Kenny Anthony, host of the summit and current Caricom chairman for the next six months, is to spearhead the "good offices" initiative. The surprise, as expressed when the announcement came, was that prime ministers Arthur and Mitchell are the two other "eminent persons".

Given what transpired during that tense caucus session on cricket, some have been wondering whether it would not have been appropriate for both Arthur and Mitchell - acknowledged great cricket enthusiasts who are aware of the game's importance to our Caribbean life - to have declined representation on the "good offices" team, and let choices come from among others of their colleagues. Prime Minister Patterson, for instance?

It is indeed encouraging that the Community's leaders were pleased to paper over the cracks, the 'verbal storm' that emerged at their 26th summit, and anxious to highlight instead their "unity" and "optimism" in advancing the goals of the 32-year-old economic integration movement.

Nevertheless, they need to be more sensitive to perceived contradictory messages their posturings convey. Greater care is also required to more accurately reflect in the official communiqué, major decisions taken at a Heads of Government Conference. For example, on the sensitive, some say contentious issue, of the Petrocaribe project.

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