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Gonsalves Assumes OECS Chairmanship, Questions CARICOM Relationship
Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves of St Vincent and the Grenadines has assumed the rotating chairmanship of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), using the occasion to raise pointed concerns about the bloc’s relationship with the wider Caribbean Community (CARICOM).
Speaking at a recent meeting of the OECS Assembly, Gonsalves suggested it may be time to re-evaluate the sub-region’s engagement with CARICOM, particularly the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME), citing persistent inequalities affecting OECS member states.
“The OECS is far more integrated than CARICOM,” Gonsalves said, as he underscored the importance of deeper cooperation within overlapping regional frameworks.
He argued that the benefits of broader regional integration risk being eclipsed by structural disparities that leave smaller states at a disadvantage.
The Prime Minister criticised CARICOM for failing to implement special accommodations tailored to the OECS’s unique circumstances.
He recalled a study conducted prior to the OECS’s accession to the CSME, which found that CARICOM’s arrangements had negatively impacted the sub-region’s manufacturing sector.
Gonsalves called for fairer decision-making processes within regional institutions and reiterated the need for collective action among small states to ensure balanced development and shared prosperity across the Caribbean.
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Wait, what? OECS leaving CSME?
If OECS pull out, what happen to all the integration efforts?
Me wonder what push Ralph to even say that publicly.
CSME need reform, not abandonment.
What message this sending to the youth learning about CARICOM? SMH
Me hope other OECS leaders weigh in before anything drastic.
Great point Mr. PM, the larger islands are not doing what the caricom guidelines is all about. Time for the OECS member states to take a tough stance against the oppressors of the CSME
100% agree. The only thing we get from CARICOM is criminals.
He has his own personal political ambitions he is not thinking about the development of his country and the people its time he quits politics and allowed a young brilliant mind to take over global politics is changing rapidly he an his antiquated ideas there was a time when he was useful but now he is divisive and no longer sees the value of Caribbean integration as hopeful he wants to do his own thing it has always been said that he is a socialist and wants to dominate younger leadership Caricom is the flagship for Caribbean development and he wants to mash it up let him try he wants to do his own thing
CARICOM is for the benefit of the larger region with more people and not some small OECS states. The benefits to the larger population is considered more to the benefits of a smaller population. The smaller OECS states will have to be absorbed into CSME for the benefit of the Caribbean as a whole.
Caricom has always been a big boys club, not for the small islands. They are using the small islands as their dumping ground for their manufactured products while the smaller islands have difficulty entering their markets. I say that we should quit to give our manufacturers a chance.
Ralph is on his way out so he is free to say controversial things like Rowley.
This is not the time for fragmentation, if there is a problem in the CSME….FIX UM. This is the same OECS that couldn’t even unite to save LIAT. The PM of Antigua had to do it alone, seeking help from outside the region and getting it from Africa. Now that LIAT has been reborn into LIAT2020 they all jumping onboard. Always admired the PM of St Vincent but in this matter i am disappointed. FRAGMENTATION IS NOT THE WAY TO GO
Seems like Gonsalves is stirring up old debates again. We’ve known about these issues for years, where’s the actual action plan?
PM Gonsalves is absolutely right to question the fairness of CARICOM structures. The smaller islands often get the short end of the stick.
The Caricom Single Market was originally aimed at creating a unified economic space within the region by facilitating the free movement of goods, services, labour and capital. Caribbean leaders though they have signed on to the treaty in principle have cherry picked those aspects that their individual countries would adhere to, and those that they would ignore. The truth is, CARICOM over the years has been nothing but a “talk shop” where leaders meet from time to time, to enjoy themselves and socialize. The region have never really accomplished what the original treaty was set out to do. The recent spat and name calling and war of words between PM Dr. Ralph Gonsalves and PM Gaston Browne about differences in economic approach ( Citizenship by Investment Program) is indicative of the hostility that sometimes exists with their different economic approach. Every man to himself. It really do not surprise me that after so many years, everyone want to do their own thing and go their own way. Just when I thought that all these guys were regionalist and integrationalist……now this!
As long as the big Islands have this disrespect lookdown on the Small Islands mentality, things will not get better. And since nothing discussed in CARICOM is binding the big Islands will just do as they please. It’s because of the CSME treaty that CLICO was able to come to the OECS and take hundreds of millions of our hard earned US Dollars out of our economies. But when time came to salvage our debt, Trinidad just refused to do so. Leaving hundreds of our people holding een empty bag. That is why it was a good thing when our bold Prime Minister blocked the sale of our Scotia Bank Monies to Republic Bank of Trinidad. An action condemned by those that could not see past their nose. We should never let what CLICO did to us in the OECS happen again. CLICO had no assets here that we could seize. I understand Ralph frustration. But his hands are not clean either. The way they left Antigua and Barbuda with the LIAT 1974 debt hanging. Staff are still waiting to be severed.
Dr Gonzalez’s it’s about time someone says it and does somethings about it!!! Caricom has done absolutely nothing to help or enhance the smaller members… it’s a tasteless way of dictating what and how we should react to their needs…. The Caricom Criminal database, how many goods and services do we export to the larger islands? How many of the OECS nationals are employed in these larger countries??
The nationalist movement of the larger members is even more alive today the than it was in the 50/60s
The truth is the #truth, even if it’s offensive to some. IMMIGRATION is the first department which needs attention. However, in a Nation like Antigua & Barbuda, where the culture of #Garrison_PoliTRICKS have being introduced, into the Nation political culture, the FREE MOVEMENT, of people have benefited those poliTRICKtans who’re versed at manipulating the political system.
Antigua, Barbuda & REDONDA must bring IMMIGRATION in line with the times in which we are living. Fifty plus years and CARICOM is still grappling with what actually constitutes, a SINGLE MARKET ECONOMY. There’s nothing, to fix with the CSME, but there is something to demolish, salvage some aspects and build again.
Jumbee_Picknee aka Ras Smood
De’ole Dutty Peg 🦶🏽Garrat_Bastard
Vere Edwards
WHAT THE HELL…! …CAPACITY OF ‘…ROTATIONAL CHAIRMANSHIP OF OECS
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NOW:
WITHIN THE WIDER REGION AND THE UMBRELLA BODY CALLED: the
(a) ‘…CARIBBEAN COMMUNITY (CARICOM): and within which
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(b) …HAVE BEEN SEVERAL SUB-AGENCIES: and
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(c) …AMONG WHICH HAS BEEN THE CARIBBEAN SINGLE MARKET AND ECONOMY (CSME).
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BENEFIT OF KNOWLEDGE:
FOR THE ‘…BENEFIT OF KNOWLEDGE,’ THIS ‘…SUB-AGENCY ‘CSME,’ AN INTEGRAL PART OF ‘…CARICOM,’ HAS BEEN DESCRIBED AS:
(i) ‘…AN ARRANGEMENT: among
(ii) …THE 14-CARICOM MEMBER STATES: for
(iii)…THE CREATION: of
(iv) …A SINGLE ENLARGED ECONOMIC SPACE: and for
(v) …THE REMOVAL OF RESTRICTIONS THAT SHALL RESULT: in
(a) …FREE MOVEMENT OF GOODS:
(b) …FREE MOVEMENT OF SERVICES:
(c) …FREE MOVEMENT PERSONS:
(d) …FREE MOVEMENT OF CAPITAL: and
(e) …THE RIGHT OF ESTABLISHMENT’ [CARICOM WEBSITE].
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UMBRELLA BODY- CARICOM:
NOTWITHSTANDING THE UMBRELLA BODY- CARICOM,’ ONLY THE NAIVE OR THE FORGETFUL MAY NOT REMEMBER THESE GROUPINGS:
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(i) ‘…MORE DEVELOPED COUNTRIES (MDC’s) and
(ii) …LESS DEVELOPED COUNTRIES (LDC’s).
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QUESTION
ARE THEY ANY DIFFERENT BEING CALLED ‘…MEMBERS OF CARICOM?’
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WITHOUT A CLUE:
NOW, READ ALL THESE COMMENTS, THOSE ‘…WITHOUT A CLUE.’
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(i) ‘…EARLY-O-CLOCK: some begin
(ii) …SPEWING NEGATIVE VIBES: simply because
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(iii) ‘…THE NEW CHAIRPERSON,’ MAY WISH THE ‘…OECS MEMBERSHIP’ GIVES ‘…CONSIDERATION TO EXITING’ THE ‘…SUB-AGENCY’ WITHIN CARICOM- ‘CSME.’
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BREXIT:
CERTAINLY NOT DIFFERENT TO THE WAY THE BRITISH PEOPLE’ SAW IT WITHIN THE ‘…EUROPEAN UNION (EU),’
IT THEN OPTED OUT OF THE UNION'[January 31, 2020].
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MUST BE SOMETHING THAT ‘PRIME MINISTER DR. RALPH GONSALVES HAS SEEN.
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WHAT THE HELL…!
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TRUTH TO POWER:
THE ROTATIONAL CHAIRPERSON, HAD JUST BEEN SPEAKING ‘…TRUTH TO POWER:’
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LONG LIVE DR. RALPH GONSALVES:
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LONG LIVE, MY ESTEEMED FRIEND – AUDLEY PHILLIP.’
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WALK GOOD.
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