CMC—Dominica’s Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit says he does not support the criteria for a selected category of persons being afforded the opportunity to move and work freely within the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), insisting that such a privilege should be given to every Caribbean national.
Caribbean Community (CARICOM) leaders will open their three-day summit in Barbados on Wednesday. Skerrit, speaking at a news conference here, said that the issue of free movement under the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) will be an agenda item.
Under the CSME, which allows for the free movement of goods, skills, labour, and services across the region, only university graduates, artists, musicians, media workers, sportspeople, nurses, teachers, artisans, holders of associate degrees, and domestic workers benefit from the provision.
“.At this conference of heads we would be discussing many issues including the free movement. As you know I have been advancing the cause of the free movement of all people in the CARICOM.
‘It should not be an elitist…it has to be about everybody. Integration has to be about everybody benefitting, participating in this project and so we are stuck on the issue of Contingent Rights, whether people are entitled to education and if so to what extent.”
Skerrit said that the situation also extends to health care “and we are hoping we can make some progress in Barbados and get the full free movement.
“I have made it clear to them because they now want to add pilots and flight attendants. I am not prepared to support this because this is just convenient and I think that if we are truly committed to the CARICOM project which I think we are, then we should show it tangibly.
“The best way to show it is for people to move freely in the Caribbean and this notion that people are going to flock into this country or another country, the evidence does not show that”.
Skerrit told reporters none of the economies in the Caribbean “is as strong as it is so that people are going to flock to countries for opportunities.
‘We do not have enough people in the Caribbean, we do not have enough critical mass in any of these countries outside of Haiti with 11 or 13 million people and so we need to be able to have the movement of people so that we all can benefit from the skills and talents and opportunities that exist within the Caribbean space.
‘Free movement is central to this,” Skerrit said, adding that “the thorny issue of the cost of living and the cost of goods and services to our citizens is on the agenda and I am hoping we can spend some time on this”.
He said there is no “clear strategy that one can use ” given the region is dealing with imported inflation and the prices “are landed in our countries.
He said the summit should provide for an exchange of ideas among the leaders to help countries “cushion” the impact of the increased cost of living.
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Not people who commit crimes and running to escape justice in their country of birth
In the US, there’s no restriction on relocation of any resident or citizen of this country, albeit some states are considered A-listed to D-listed. It doesn’t disallow free movement. So, I can subscribe to the thinking of PM Roosevelt Skerritt. I believe that Barbados will be hardest to convince.
I wonder if Roosevelt Skerrit has plans with his Pal to send the deportees to Antigua that’s why he doesn’t want any restrictions when it comes to free movement. Just a thought
@ Dr. Ray
The nonsensical things you write hoping to impress only makes you look stupid and pathetic.
Why ?
It’s the United States of America: one nation. Why would they restrict the movement of it’s citizens across state lines
For someone who wished to be in a diplomatic position your writing shows your ignorance of the application of the word “state”
Antigua and Barbuda is unified state. That’s why when you get in the Ferry to Barbuda you need to show ID only not a passport.
Dominica is a separate country from St. Lucia and like wise Barbados.
They may be Caricom states but separate countries.
Why should even consider Skeritts and allow free movement of Dominicans into and out of Antigua and Barbuda?
What has Dominica done to deserve the so called free movement?
PM Skeritt has done nothing to improve the economic situation in Dominica other than selling passports
The Dominican economy is stagnant, burdened by bureaucratic incompetence and corruption.
Antigua would have been worse off if was not for its tourism industry.
Dominica benefits from the currently
situation.
What’s in his proposal to benefit Antigua and Barbuda? I hate to sound so selfish, but CARICOM is a failed experiment.
I await your mombo jumbo’s
COME AGAIN & FAITHFUL NATIONAL #2, When I read the nonsense that Madame Dave Ray posted I was though to myself that someone who went to St. Joseph’s Academy should know the USA in on nation much different than what obtains here, but that’s what you get from the LICKSPITTLE BRIGADE
My concern with this idea is that I believe some countries will be at a disadvantage.
Some islands could use the extra skill, but what happens if we have some countries taking in more persons than it’s infrastructure can handle? I’m thinking of the possibility of shortage of jobs, overpopulation over a period of time.
This is something that really needs to be properly considered
@Dr. Dave Ray
I was not aware of A listed and B Listed states in the US
Please inform me which states are A Listed. I want to make my home and that if my adult children are in A Listed states, for the like sounds interesting thing in case we are in B Listed States.
Turning back to Skerrits agenda item. The single market put the smaller islands at st disadvantage.
What products produced or manufactured in Dominica have goes into Trinidad and or Guyana ?
The Caricon single market only benefits Trinidad and Guyana
Dominicans moving to Antigua will by and large be migrants plain and simple with little or no education. If PM Skeritt wants free movement then he focus on improving the education and skill standards of his people.
Antigua and Barbuda is already burdened by our fellow Caribbean people. We have already agreed to a group with identifiable skills.
The unskilled and semi illiterates migrants from all over the Caribbean are currently creating havoc and altering our way of life.
Use a system similar to Canada and Australia – If a job exists then it should be advertised to locals first. If there are no qualified locals who want it, then the business is free to hire migrants. In order for a migrant to enter the country for long, they must have a legitimate job offer then they are free to enter no matter the sector. If a migrant does not have a job offer, they should have enough money in their bank account to sustain them for maybe a year while they look for employment or start a business. It should also help if they already have family in the country. In sectors where there is a high shortage of qualified locals or locals willing to do particular jobs then persons with that skill can also be allowed to enter without first having a job offer. This system limits the movement of criminals etc because every individual should show that they have a job or enough money to start a business. So, people will not relocate where they can’t find employment and then end up turning to crime. The different countries should put their job openings online so people can find the right island for them. They should also try to help newcomers quickly find housing etc. in the country. I am okay with some movement, but it should not be completely free because people don’t always go where is good for them. E.g. instead of coming to Antigua to commit crimes, try going to another country and working in agriculture for a while if you cannot find a job. People should go where the jobs are.
Hmm, thinking about it, With the cost of living being so high in Antigua, I would like to be able to easily purchase a piece of land in a cheaper more agricultural country such as Dominica so I can start a backyard garden and do a bit of homesteading. Or, it’s so expensive building anything decent in Antigua, I would love to build a cheap vacation home in another island such as Dominica, rent it out as a timeshare when I am not there and then move into it when I am retired. Would the PM of Dominica, allow citizens of other Caribbean countries to easily purchase land and build there while living and working abroad? If so, then sure, free movement, let’s go.