“We must seek our strength in our unity. And then we must dedicate that strength to the building of a new life of opportunity and security for our people.”– Michael Manley

Frankly speaking, there is not much to celebrate about the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Caribbean Community (Caricom).

The conceptualisation of Caricom never had grass-root support from the people of the Caribbean. In fact, Caricom emerged as a back-up plan to counter the failure of the British West Indies Federation in 1958. With the end of the federation, political leaders in the Caribbean made more serious efforts to strengthen the ties between the islands and mainland by providing for the continuance and strengthening of the areas of cooperation that existed during the life of the federation.

Many of us who live in the Caribbean region are aware of the existence of Caricom; unfortunately, this awareness does not translate to any practical benefits of being in such an association. Apart from the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC), the impact of regional integration is lukewarm. For the most part, regional integration is just a theoretical concept which is far removed from the average Caribbean national.

Caricom is a grouping of 20 countries: fifteen member states and five associate members. It is home to approximately 16 million citizens, 60 per cent of whom are under the age of 30 and mainly of indigenous, African, Indian, European, Chinese, and Portuguese descent. The community is multi-lingual, with English being the major language complemented by French and Dutch and variations of these, as well as African and Asian expressions.

Caricom came into being on July 4, 1973 with the signing of the Treaty of Chaguaramas by prime ministers Errol Barrow for Barbados, Forbes Burnham for Guyana, Michael Manley from Jamaica, and Eric Williams from Trinidad and Tobago. The treaty was later revised in 2002 to allow for the eventual establishment of a single market and a single economy.

Caribbean Single Market

In 1989 at Grande Anse in Grenada, the Caricom Heads of Government transformed the common market into the single market and single economy formally named the Caribbean Single Market and Economy (CSME). By 2002, the Treaty of Chaguaramas was revised and updated to remove existing trade barriers and establish a single market space which included services, capital, technology, and the free movement of skilled professionals.

The CSME seeks to implement provisions for the removal of trade and professional restrictions. These provisions facilitate the right to establish businesses, provide regional services, the free movement of capital, and the coordination of economic policies. In the ensuing years, some Caribbean economies, under the auspices of multilateral lending institutions, implemented structural adjustment programmes, having at their core programmes of economic, financial, and trade liberalisation that far exceeded their commitments as expressed in the Treaty of Chaguaramas. Interestingly, Caricom Heads of Government have decided on free movement for all Caricom nationals by March of 2024.

In the words of Roosevelt Skerrit, prime minister of Dominica and chair of Caricom, “We believe that this is a fundamental part of the integration architecture, and at 50, we could not leave Trinidad and Tobago and not speak about the core of the regional integration movement, that is, people’s ability to move freely within the Caribbean Community.”

This grand commitment by the Caricom Heads of Government comes against the difficulty and expense associated with regional travel. It is easier and more cost effective to travel to our neighbours in North America than to travel within Caricom. The Heads of Government should have given more details concerning this grand pronouncement surrounding the free movement of all Caricom nationals. With just over eight months to go before the deadline established, it will be fascinating to see whether this momentous announcement will become a reality. In the meantime, all Caribbean nationals should ensure that their passports are not expired.

Pillars of Regional Integration

Caricom rests on four main pillars: economic integration; foreign policy coordination; human and social development; and security. These pillars underpin the stated objectives of Caricom. Among these are to improve standards of living and work; the full employment of labour and other factors of production; expansion of trade and economic relations with Third States; enhanced levels of international competitiveness; achievement of a greater measure of economic leverage; and enhanced coordination of member states’ foreign economic policies and functional cooperation.

Caricom AT 50

To commemorate Caricom’s golden jubilee anniversary heads of government jetted off to Trinidad and Tobago to celebrate this historic occasion. The leaders also joined in a ceremonial flag-raising event that was held at the convention centre in Chaguaramas, the venue where the then leaders of Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, and Trinidad and Tobago signed the Treaty of Chaguaramas on July 4, 1973, heralding the birth of Caricom. It is noteworthy that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was also part of the celebrations. The secretary of state’s visit was clearly well calculated, given the close proximity of the Caribbean region to the United States of America and the constant struggle between the world’s two superpowers China and USA to court nation states.

After being in existence for half a century, what has Caricom achieved? In fact, all is not well within Caricom as four bodies have been proposed for closure or restructuring. The four Caricom institutions are the Caricom Development Fund (CDF), which provides financial and technical assistance to disadvantaged countries; the Caribbean Centre for Development Administration (CARICAD), which was established to assist member states modernise their public sectors; the Caribbean Aviation Safety and Security Oversight System (CASSOS); and Caricom Competition Commission (CCC), which regulates cross-border business conduct.

There are those who will argue that perhaps Caricom will need another 50 years to fully realise all its objectives and aspirations and what this will mean for regional integration. We should also not forget that there has been mistrust and discrimination that are decades old and have undoubtedly worked to undermine the efficacy of Caricom. Additionally, we must question the dedication of our leaders to this one Caribbean vision as the achievements of Caricom are not proportionate to a regional body that has been in existence for half a century.

Wayne Campbell is an educator and social commentator with an interest in development policies as they affect culture and/or gender issues. Send comments to the Jamaica Observer or waykam@yahoo.com.