Consult Kamla, Dr Rowley

Consult. This word means, among other things, “to seek information or advice from a person, refer to a person for advice; take into account, consider feelings, interests, etc.” (Concise Oxford). Venezuela provides an example of what cumulative political and economic mismanagement aggravated by external intervention could do. Civil strife replaced consultation. For us, mounting refugee and asylum intake is now a challenge requiring consultation to maintain our social stability and national security. All corners of society are affected.

More precisely, given the implications, it is a challenge for our politicians, both government and opposition. Can we rise to the occasion? The external pressures on our national security and sovereignty – from Europe, Britain, Latin America, the United States, Caricom, etc – are increasing in ways which require consensus beyond Westminster straits. Internal quarrels do not help our foreign relations.

But there is more. There are fallouts from troubled Haiti where Caricom (15 members) seems unable to go beyond “the need for dialogue and peace.” Bahamas refuses to join the CSME free movement. Following on the heels of the 2018 Caricom Review by former Jamaican prime minister Bruce Golding and his deadlined recommendations, Caricom heads of governments got a wake-up call. That report presented by Jamaican PM Andrew Holness to his parliament came from a nation-wide consultative process led by 17-members from major sectors of the country.

The report affirmed the expanded free movement of Caricom citizens subject only to security and health conditions. That is, "a single economic space where people, goods, services and capital can move freely and as such, it will require the harmonisation and coordination of social, economic and trade policies among participating states.”

Jamaica threatens to “withdraw” from the CSME if after five years, each Caricom state does not give “a clear, definitive commitment now to a specific time-bound programme of action for operationalising the CSME within the next five years.” Not all Caricom heads of government agree. For one, St Vincent and Grenadines Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves expressed doubt over Caricom’s capability to manage such deepening structure. Last year, he explained how a major impediment is the “islandness” of Caricom members. That’s close to saying “it’s better to remain big in small pond” than “to get small in big pond.”

He further declared that “Caricom is seeking to implement CSME but with a ramshackle governance and administrative apparatus” unlike the supranational executive of the European Union. Even before this, Caricom remains a shaky conglomeration for many reasons. One – bilateral arrangements by several states. Two – governance and trade arrangements already within the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States. Three – the significant gaps in exchange rates from Guyana, Jamaica, to the OECS states. Four – entry into Caricom lacks benchmarked criteria, example, debt percentage of GDP.

Given the scope and implications of this and related issues, and our current social and economic conditions, it will be helpful if Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley (23 seats) and Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar (18 seats) meet, as a start, to share ideas on moving forward. Each team will have at their disposal, apart from Caricom treaties, several helpful reports – Time for Action, UWI, 1992; Golding Report, 2018; Encounter with Haiti, Reginald Dumas, 2008. In other words, there is still a lot more serious work. It will be helpful if our PM and Opposition Leader show a good example. It lies at the heart of democracy to have the population, not half, behind the Caricom initiatives, including Venezuela.

Consultation and consensus in far-reaching national issues are now widely practised as a pre-emptive mechanism in modern democracy. Jamaica already did some of that. In any transnational free movement of people, security is a serious matter – especially for 15 Caricom island-states separated by large bodies of water and very vulnerable borders. Inter-regional crime (drugs, trafficking, laundering, etc) is already a serious challenge for police in the Caribbean.

Many governments – Spain, Britain, France, etc – have all been compelled to resort to consultation with opposing forces. But only when pressures from the streets and media became politically unbearable. Dr Rowley will be fortified at Caricom if he declares he has the backing of his entire parliament, including the opposition leader. Holness could say so. Consultation puts democracy in the front seat.

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"Consult Kamla, Dr Rowley"

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