PM, AG travel to Grenada: Young appointed acting PM, Gonzales acting AG

ENERGY Minister Stuart Young will serve as acting Prime Minister while Dr Keith Rowley is in Grenada to attend the 47th Regular Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caricom.

Rowley left for Grenada on July 28, accompanied by Minister of Foreign and Caricom Affairs Amery Browne and Attorney General Reginald Amour.

Minister of Public Utilities Marvin Gonzales will act as AG in addition to his regular duties.

In a media release, the Office of the Prime Minister said the Caricom meeting will focus on several issues, including the Caricom Single Market and Economy, climate change, sustainable development, agri-food and nutrition security, and the impact of Hurricane Beryl on the region.

Caricom's incoming chairman, Grenada PM Dickon Mitchell, will chair the meeting.

The meeting was originally scheduled for July 3- 5 in Grenada, but was postponed after Hurricane Beryl swooped across the Caribbean days before.

The meeting was intended to coincide with the 51st anniversary of the signing of the original Treaty of Chaguaramas establishing Caricom on June 4, 1973.

The opening ceremony, hosted at St George's University, will feature addresses by Mitchell, outgoing Caricom chairman Guyanese President Irfaan Ali, and Secretary-General Carla Barnett.

The meeting also coincides with the 50th anniversary of Grenada's independence, while Caricom concluded its 50th-anniversary celebrations.

"These milestones serve as a crucial reference point for leaders to shape a regional integration agenda beyond Caricom's 50th anniversary," the body said.

"Against this backdrop, the issue of full free movement will be a central focus as they deliberate on critical steps to advance their mandate.

"Notably, Caricom heads of government made this landmark decision during the 45th Regular Meeting of the Conference, which coincided with Caricom's 50th anniversary.

"The agreement resonated across the community, carrying high expectations for enhanced integration through the Caricom Single Market and Economy."

Although Hurricane Beryl forced the meeting to adjourn, Barnett said Caricom had all agencies prepared for post-disaster recovery.

She also addressed the economic damage caused by the covid19 pandemic in recent years, exacerbated by the region's vulnerability to climate change.

"We are marking this 51st anniversary…as several member states are assessing the extraordinary damage and destruction caused by Hurricane Beryl, the earliest recorded category five hurricane in the Caribbean, and one of the most dangerous weather systems the region has ever experienced," Barnett said.

"The excessive heat experienced earlier this year has warmed the sea, threatening vulnerable marine ecosystems and fuelling storms such as Beryl and others that are likely to come during this hurricane season, which is still in its early stages.

"The urgency of keeping 1.5degrees C within reach is clear."

She said Caribbean states, though not responsible for climate change, "continue to bear the disproportionate burden of its consequences," adding that "socioeconomic destruction caused by the extreme intensity of the weather systems that are strengthened by climate change, results in devastating consequences on the lives and livelihoods of our people."