KINGSTON, Jamaica — Prime Minister Andrew Holness announced a short while ago that former Prime Minister Bruce Golding will head the Caribbean Community (Caricom) Review Commission.

Holness, who was making his contribution to the budget debate, said that the time has come to fully assess the benefits, opportunities and challenges of Caricom and for Jamaica to get the full benefits that Caricom membership promises.

“The Government will appoint a Caribbean Community (Caricom) Review Commission, aimed at positioning the country to take full advantage of benefits under the organisation. The Review Commission will be chaired by former Prime Minister Bruce Golding,” Holness told parliamentarians.

He said the commission would evaluate the effects that Jamaica’s participation in Caricom has had on the country’s economic growth and development with particular reference to trade, investment, international competitiveness, and employment creation.

Added to that, Holness said it will analyse Caricom’s performance against the goals and objectives enunciated in the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas and identify the causes of any shortcomings; review the Caricom arrangement in light of the wider Caribbean, inclusive of the Dominican Republic and Cuba, as well as the impact of globalisation.

He said the commission will also assess the value of Jamaica’s membership in Caricom on its influence in critical international fora; assess the benefits that Jamaica has derived through functional cooperation within the Caricom framework; and make recommendations for Jamaica’s regional alignments with regard to, but not limited to, Caricom.

“Our foreign policy must support our economic and development policy,” he said.