ST JOHN'S, Antigua - The Opposition Antigua Labour Party (ALP) has called on the government of Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer to give "full support" for the country's involvement in the Caricom Single Market (CSM).

BIRD. we agree that nationals and non-national entities of other Caricom countries should have rights as our own nationals and national entities

Former prime minister and leader of the ALP, Lester Bird, said in a statement here Friday that the long history of the country's involvement, under his party, in fostering regional economic integration and functional co-operation should not be undermined by the Baldwin Spencer administration.

Further, that even those within his own party, including three ALP senators who recently had misguidedly voted against a bill designed to implement aspects of the CSM, should know that they would be inconsistent with the firm and declared policy of the party.

Bird, who was referring to rights for nationals and non-nationals of Antigua and Barbuda under the "CSM bill" approved by majority vote in the Senate, said: "We agree that nationals and non-national entities of other Caricom countries should have rights as our own nationals and national entities. After all, Antiguans and Barbudans will enjoy the same rights in other Caricom countries, and that is how it should be if we are creating a single economic space throughout Caricom..."

The Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), of which Antigua and Barbuda is a member, has not yet entered the CSM.
The regional sub-group had announced a three-month delay for its members to accede to the CSM at the January 30, 2006 formal signing in Jamaica of the protocol.

The OECS wanted undertakings in the treaty to be in place before they signed on. At the time of the signing, the OECS countries did not give specifics on what they wanted. However, OECS chairman Ralph Gonsalves' comments then were clear references to a Regional Development Fund, which is to help bolster countries and sectors that will feel the impact of competition in a single market.

"The OECS has taken the principled position that, while we are fully committed to the process of regional integration, and intend to be fully participants in the CSME, we must ensure that the provisions of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas, which speak to our own special needs, are in effect," Gonsalves said at the signing ceremony at the Mona campus of the University of the West Indies.

"It is for this reason that we have sought from the Community, the deferment until the end of June for our full implementation of the Treaty," he added.

Barbados, Belize, Guyana, Jamaica, Suriname and Trinidad & Tobago signed the declaration of entry to the single market aspect of the CSME, a seamless trading bloc that will allow the free movement of labour, services, skills and goods across the Caribbean.

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