Fifty years after its inception, the proposed objectives of the Caribbean Community (Caricom) largely remains a pipe dream marred by a failure to deliver on much of the intended outcomes, stakeholders across the region have asserted.

Speaking in different interviews with the Jamaica Observer this week, several heads of local organisations have said that while there is hope for the regional body to deliver on a number of the objectives, there is much work to be done.

President of the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ) Metry Seaga shared the view that while Caricom is a good idea and has a place, “there is much room for improvement”.

“There are too many anomalies that exist in Caricom and we need to get them fixed,” he stated, citing a multitude of issues regarding trade and the general movement of goods and services between member countries among the most pressing areas of concern.

President of the Jamaica Manufacturers and Exporters Association (JMEA) John Mahfood voicing similar sentiments agreed that the regional body, to a larger extent, has not been successful and is operating at levels below that initially hoped. Like Seaga, Mahfood believes that while there is a place for Caricom, its structures have to become more functional.

“When you look at the English-speaking Caribbean, Jamaica represents about half of its population, yet as a country we continue to be discriminated in a number of areas. After 50 years we still do not have free movement of labour and as Caricom nationals there is still also the need to have visas for travel to countries such as Cayman and elsewhere and that’s bad,” Mahfood said.

“From what we see in terms of trade, more is being sold to Jamaica than what is being sold by us to the rest of the Caribbean. We therefore have a lot of work to do — as manufacturers we also need to be much more aggressive in going after more markets in Caricom for export,” he continued, calling for stronger positions from government to move forward some of the general agenda items to secure greater benefits for the country, other than just being a market for Caricom.

For Richard Pandohie, past president of the JMEA and CEO of Seprod Limited, a large manufacturing and distribution company in the region, he said that despite Caricom’s original concept of regional economic integration and the vision it had to establish a more unified approach initially having some merit, the entity after 50 years, while it has not failed, has definitely underachieved.

“The economic integration has been a clear failure and that needs to be removed as we look forward. What governments of the region should focus on is creating an environment that is conducive to private sector investment in each country as it is the private sector’s multi-country investments that will allow some element of economic integration,” he stated.

Pandohie pointing out the difficulties faced with taking a unified position on matters of regional importance, called for the removal of what he terms as the “ponderous, time consuming and crippling bureaucracy”of current decision making processes to be replaced by systems powered by majority vote.

“Going forward, I would like to see Caricom become more relevant to our people by enabling easier movement of all labour, easier travel, faster decision-making and utilising our combined resources to prepare for all challenges,” he said.

Meanwhile, head of the Caribbean Private Sector Organisation (CPSO) Dr Patrick Antoine, in giving the regional body a passing grade in some areas, said that while Caricom, of which his organisation is a subsidiary, has had some success, it can achieve a lot more irrespective of the challenges which continue to bedevil the entity and slow its progress.

“The next 50 years will have to be approached a lot differently, in terms of having a more concerted effort from member states as there remains a huge gap between the regional agenda and those of individual states,” he told the Caribbean Business Report.

Underscoring the role of the private sector as instrumental to creating that enabling environment for growth, development and investments, Antoine said that his organisation during its two-year existence has been playing a pivotal role in this regard, particularly in the areas of innovation and rapid expansion.

“For these areas we have been seeing some green shoots of change and we are very optimistic. As the private sector, we, however, remain disappointed about the areas of free movement and capital market integration.

“At this juncture, I therefore believe it is time for reflection, as we can no longer work in silos or going it alone as individual states — we have to begin to work in a concerted fashion all the time and on a sustained basis, taking a joined up approach. The private sector, at this time, is happy to be at the table as we want to work in building on the foundations of the past and on the underperforming pillars to catapult the region to where it really needs to be,” he said.

Caricom, which was established by the Treaty of Chaguaramas after being signed by Barbados, Jamaica, Guyana and Trinidad & Tobago, took effect in 1973. Purporting ambitious objectives to promote regional integration and functional corporation, the body, made up of approximately 15 member states and five associate member states, seeks to advance the economic, social and cultural development of the region.

The Commonwealth Secretariat, in commending the regional organisation on its golden jubilee, lauded its resilience for “consistently being at the forefront” to “tackle some of the most significant challenges of our time”. With some 12 of Caricom members also being a part of the Commonwealth, it further pledged continuous support of the organisation.

Speaking at a press conference following Caricom’s 45th Heads of Government Conference held in Trinidad and Tobago on Wednesday, chairman of Caricom and Prime Minister of Dominica Roosevelt Skerrit said that the organisation being cognisant of the numerous challenges before it, has been working aggressively to address a number of the issues in order to secure better outcomes for its member countries.

He cited the issues of corresponding banking and the black listing of some countries and the US embargo on Cuba among some of the foremost economic challenges on which the body, going forward will place heavy focus. He mentioned an upcoming retreat of Caricom heads to be held in his country this August as the start of some new initiatives which will allow for further reviews, discussions and contemplation on a number of “critical and core” issues including climate financing, trade barriers, agriculture and food security.

Speaking to some impending amendments to the current legislation, Skerrit said that a review is to commence in short order, which seeks to, among other things, facilitate the free movement of all categories of people and not just skilled labourers as previously provisioned. Currently under the Caricom Single Market and Economy (CSME) provision for the free movement of people, goods and labour, only certain categories of persons including media workers, creatives, sports persons, nurses, teachers and others bearing the requisite qualifications were allowed. The completed review, which Skerrit said is expected to be ready by the end of March 2024, will be followed by more definitive actions from Caricom.

“We are one Caribbean, we should not be skipping in dots around matters on which we should be unified. I believe that once we are united, we can take on any issue,” the chairman said.