Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne has described as “interesting” the discussions on the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Development Fund (CDF) during the just concluded CARICOM summit here on Friday.
The CDF is an institution of the CARICOM with a mandate to provide financial or technical assistance to disadvantaged countries, regions and sectors in the Community.
According to the CARICOM website, in this capacity, the CDF is central to addressing the disparities among the member states of CARICOM, which may result from the implementation of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) that allows for the free movement of skills, good, services and labour across the 15-member grouping.
CARICOM sources told the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC) that Jamaica had stormed out of the caucus meeting last night as the issue was being discussed with Prime Minister Andrew Holness apparently disagreeing with his regional colleagues on the position adopted on the contributions to be made by the so-called more developed countries of CARICOM.
Browne told CMC “we had an interesting discussion on the Caribbean Development Fund and the obligation for the MDC’s (More Developed Countries) to contribute to the fund to ensure that there are some compensatory mechanism”
He said with regards to Jamaica, he believes that the country “has a better understanding of the importance of the Caribbean Development Fund.
“They expressed they had an issue in terms of a fiscal problem and they are unable to meet the second tranche and you know we were very empathic to the situation because the reality within all of CARICOM is that we all have fiscal challenges.
“So Jamaica was given some reprieve on the payment of the second tranche but the Prime Minister of Jamaica indicated that they remain totally committed to the CDF and to ensure that the CDF becomes a truly functional institution within the overall CARICOM architecture”.
Browne said it was also important for the MDC to recognise that they are benefiting more from the trade within CARICOM.
“A lot of products that we actually consume in Antigua they are produced in CARICOM, but we have had to introduce the CET (Common External Tariff) in order to protect CARICOM products.
“In that case, you would have seen an artificial increase in prices because there are some goods we can get cheaper outside of CARICOM and having to apply the CET would have made those goods more expensive.”
Browne contends that by importing those goods into the lesser developed countries within CARICOM “we would have literally lost revenue and it would have also made our domestic manufacturing industries less competitive.
“In fact what we have seen in the case of Antigua and Barbuda, St. Kitts-Nevis over the years would have been the closure of those industries because they no longer competitive, cannot compete, for example, with those from Trinidad and Tobago with its cheap energy.”
The Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister sought to underscore the importance of the CDF, noting that it is important to “help build capacity within the LDC’s so that we do not end up as losers…
“We have a very frank discussion because there are some who believe that the contribution of the MDCs to the CDF is a gift. It is not a gift, in fact we also contribute to the CDF and the grant component that we get is literally the money that we put in”.
“Outside of that any funds we get from the CDF is a loan we have to repay, “ Browne said, adding “it is not free money, it is an investment and I think we were able to ventilate that issue to the extent that the MDCs understand clearly hat it is a very important compensatory mechanism as enshrined in chapter 7 of the treaty”.
Browne said that it is a” fundamental institution that is the CDF that ought to function to even out, let’s say the asymmetries…benefits as a result of the CARICOM Sagle Market and Economy” Prime Minister Browne told CMC.
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Good catch Gaston.
http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/Jamaica-s-Brexit–Remembering-the-West-Indian-Federation_65023
We should always learn from the past in order not to make the same mistakes again. Democracy is not easy. especially when you are the minority and your opinion are constantly voted down.
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