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Local Authorities and the Caribbean Single Market and Economy
Welcome Address
• Fay Housty, Director, Foreign Policy & External Relations, CARICOM
Salutations
I would like to express my appreciation to the organizers of this Workshop, Mayor Franklin and the people of this beautiful city of Atlanta for the warm welcome and hospitality that I have enjoyed since my arrival. I am looking forward to lunchtime, not because I will be hungry and therefore well prepared to enjoy your renowned southern cuisine, but to listen to Mayor Franklin’s address as I have been told that she is a very dynamic woman who gets things done and I anticipate that we will be given much ‘food for thought’.
Fay Housty with Ambassador Young.
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It was with pleasure that the CARICOM Secretariat accepted this invitation from UNITAR and CIFAL/Atlanta to participate in this Workshop. Before speaking to the subject that has been chosen, I would like to convey the warm greetings of the Secretary-General of the Caribbean Community Mr. Edwin Carrington and the Deputy Secretary-General Ambassador Lolita Applewhaite. They have both asked me to convey their congratulations on the initiative to convene this workshop and to wish you every success in the deliberations. Prior commitments prevent the participation of my principals, and the honour is mine to deliver this welcome address.
In preparing this address, my research revealed that, while some of you may have been involved in consultations at the national level, this is the first Workshop that has been organized for local government authorities in the Caribbean as a group, on the subject of “Free Trade and the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME)”. I would therefore like to congratulate UNITAR and CIFAL for your vision in organizing this Programme. I wish to assure you that I have drawn this oversight to the attention of the organizers of our CSME public outreach programme.
I am reminded of a statement made by the Honorable Prime Minister of Barbados in his feature address to American business and consulting group special symposium on 2nd April 2004 entitled “Implementing the CARICOM Single Market and Economy, and its implications for the US-CARICOM Relations, and I quote “it is still very much a fair charge that despite the efforts of a constant and valiant few, matters concerning the CSME continue to be regarded by a wide cross section of society as closely guarded secrets, best left to public officials, or to a handful of businesses which ply their trade in the region or to an even smaller and select group of academics who delight in dabbling in things that are incomprehensible to the ordinary mind.” I therefore welcome the opportunity of this Workshop to widen the scope of discussions and to encourage frank and open dialogue among representatives of local authorities.
Today the Caribbean Community stands at the cross roads of development. We could either be proactive in determining our own destiny or be swept away in the tide of unmitigated global changes. In 1998, in the Spice Island of Grenada, the Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community in recognizing the dynamic changes that were affecting the global landscape took the bold step to deepen the community arrangements and to establish a Single Market and Economy. The Heads feared that the fifteen Member States of the Community, “ a string of pearls in the Caribbean Sea” – to quote one of regional Prime Ministers, tiny in global terms, ran the danger of being washed away and marginalized in the global tidal wave. It was their expectation that the deepening of the integration arrangements, through the establishment of the CSME would strengthen and better position the countries of the Region to face the challenges and exploit the opportunities of globalization and increasing liberalization.
The process of globalization will continue to have an impact on all of our lives - men, women and children, in urban and in rural communities. It has highlighted the interdependence and the interconnectedness among people, communities, firms, nation states and regions around the world. One just has to think of the impact that the live television broadcast of the tsunami in Asia had on all of us around the world and the outpouring of support that was made possible by the real time viewing of the event.
While the process of globalization could provide the opportunity for growth in our communities, if not properly managed it also brings with it the threat of severe dislocations, marginalization and impoverishment of those on the periphery. The observation can be made that on its current path, too few share in the benefits of globalization and too many have no voice or influence in its design or course. There have therefore been consistent calls for a process of globalization which is fairer and which creates opportunities and tangible benefits for all. In other words one that takes account of the social dimension of globalization. One that is democratically governed and based on universally shared values, respect for human rights and individual dignities.
While there is a range of serious issues to be addressed at the global level, a better-managed global process has to be grounded at the regional, national and the local levels. The behaviour of nation states as global players is essential in determining the future. The Member States of the Caribbean Community have chosen regional integration as the optimal path for our participation in this global system. Caribbean countries are small and have very little influence as individual countries on the international stage. However as a collective group the Region can, and has, exercised influence on the hemispheric and international stages out of proportion to the individual size of the Member States. The recent demarches by a number of countries to seek the Region’s support or to influence the position to be taken by CARICOM in the hemispheric and international organizations demonstrate that small as we are individually, together we have a role to play in deliberations, the outcome of which can have an impact on the lives and well being of the people of the Caribbean Community. Yes, there is growing international recognition of the leverage and influence which the Community, acting together can exercise.
Similarly how nation states manage their internal affairs influence the extent to which the populations can benefit from globalization and be protected from its harmful effects. Governments need to have the policy space to provide the necessary framework and support to encourage investment and job creation and to provide the social services so vital for a well-educated, healthy and secure population. This is best accomplished where there is participatory democracy at the local level and where the communities claim ownership of the development process.
It is the proximity of the local authorities to the citizens and villagers that should allow for dialogue and encourage the finding of solutions which are not only for the people but designed by the people. It is therefore essential that local communities become full partners through the decentralization of power, the provision of adequate human and financial resources and the strengthening of economic capacities at the local level. In this process full cognizance must be also be taken of the culture of the communities and the rights of indigenous people.
In the Caribbean Community our local government structures are diverse depending on the size, historic and cultural backgrounds of the Member State. These range from countries like St Vincent and the Grenadines, which have no system of local government to Guyana which has a complex three tier structure of ten Regional Democratic Councils, six Town and Municipal Councils and 65 neighbourhood Democratic Councils as well as seventy five Amerindian Village Councils.
There are many other variations in the Region including in Trinidad and Tobago where there is a separate Assembly for Tobago and 14 municipal corporations made up of – two city corporations, three borough corporations and nine regional corporations. However despite the particular structure, the daily work of the local authorities as service providers and community leaders amply place them in the forefront of the fight against poverty at grass roots and local level.
Most local authorities, regardless of size, face the realities of improving unhealthy environments, managing water resources, finding pragmatic solutions to solid waste management, servicing domestic municipal or village markets and providing local maternal and child health care and in some case looking after the roadways and village streets and dams. These issues tend to dominate the domestic agendas of most Local Authorities but given the dynamic changes in the wider world and its impact on each of our respective local communities it is imperative that local authorities begin to address the impact of regional integration and globalization on their respective communities.
After all, people live their lives in communities within nations. It is at that level that the effects of regional and global decisions are felt. When the World Trade Organization took a decision to declare that the regime for the marketing of bananas in the European Union was illegal, it was the farmers in the communities in banana producing countries, such as Dominica, that felt the brunt of the adjustment. When a CARICOM investor decides to take advantage of the CSME arrangement and to build a cement plant in Guyana, it is the people in that community that benefit from the new jobs that are created. The local authorities collect the new taxes but they are also called to provide additional services and to deal with any environmental consequences.
When provisions in the CSME encourage teachers from Barbados to respond to the demands for their services in Belize, the children in that local community benefit. If inflow of cheap agricultural products destroy the livelihood of the particular farming communities and encourage a rural to urban drift, it is the local authorities in the municipalities and cities that have to deal with the impact on housing, demand for water and sanitation and the other municipal services as well as increased crime in the local communities. The impact of globalization is also felt in the management of the municipal markets as the imported commodities rival the local. It also has a direct effect on the income generating capacity of the local authorities.
This workshop is timely because 2005 has been designated the year of the Single Market in CARICOM and all our Member States have committed to finalizing the steps towards implementing the necessary legislation to create the Single Market by the end of this year. The new and creative element in the CSME is the removal of restrictions to facilitate not just the free movement of goods but also to enable the other factors of production - services, capital and people to move freely across Member States and the right of CARICOM entrepreneurs to establish businesses across borders into other Member States. This single economic space is expected to provide the springboard for the Region to face the process of integrating into the external world through the collective maximization of the talents and resources endowed in the individual countries and through more competitive production.
Three Member States have already indicated that they have completed the process and are ready to implement the rights and obligations necessary for the smooth operations of the CSME. The Single Economy dimension is targeted to be in place by 2008. It will require the implementation of coordinated policies and the creation of an enabling environment to support of competitive production and to encourage investment. It will also require the making space for more effective public-private sector partnerships.
This Workshop is also timely coming as it does, just a few days after the inauguration of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) in Trinidad and Tobago on April 16, 2005. The Caribbean Court of Justice is a critical governance institution of the Community. It will provide a predictable and stable legal environment to promote citizen and investor confidence in the operations of the Single Market through the uniform interpretation and application of the laws enshrined in the Revised Treaty of Chagauramas establishing the Caribbean Community. All efforts have been made to ensure the independence of the CCJ from influence by the governments of Member States by setting up an independent body to determine the appointment and removal of Judges and by creating a revolving trust fund to finance its operations.
The Workshop further comes at a juncture when recent decisions affecting some of our traditional exports of goods such as bananas, sugar and our newer financial services sector have caused the Member States to rethink their development strategies and plans. This process has already begun at the regional level. It also comes when ongoing trade liberalization negotiations are expected to open new vistas and markets especially for our emerging services sectors and to stimulate the flow of investment into the Region, as well as heightening competition for our exports and for local producers in our domestic markets.
These negotiations are being conducted between the Caribbean Community and a select group of countries in the western hemisphere. Free Trade Agreements have been signed with the Dominican Republic, Cuba and Costa Rica. The impact of these new Free Trade Agreements has not yet been felt since they are now in the early period of implementation. Exploratory discussions which could lead to negotiations with Canada and MERCOSUR (comprising Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay) are underway.
The Region has also actively participated in the negotiations for the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) with the expectation that if provisions that take on board the special needs of small economies in the Hemisphere are built-into the agreement, the welfare of our citizens could be enhanced. I am sure that we are all aware that FTAA negotiations are in hiatus since there has been no consensus on how to proceed to implement the decision of the Hemispheric Ministers to create a less ambitious FTAA or FTAA “lite” as it is called in some quarters.
In the meantime the campaign for the Headquarters has been proceeding full speed ahead and in recognition of the interest of the host city in the outcome, I am confident that with its large Caribbean Diaspora, Atlanta will graciously applaud the choice of Port of Spain. We, in the Caribbean are prepared to roll out the red carpet and welcome you with sweet pan music, calypso, reggae and soca when you come to the opening of the Headquarters in the twin Island State of Trinidad and Tobago.
Further, negotiations with the European Union for an Economic Partnership Agreement are in its second Phase and the Region is also involved in negotiations at the WTO. All these negotiations are aimed at creating a more stable, predictable and transparent framework for trade, improved access to markets and encourage an increased flow of investments to our Member States.
An emerging global trend has been the move towards the building of new alliances and partnerships at all level.
We need partnerships to make the CSME a success - partnerships among different actors and parties both within and outside of the Region. The creation of the Single Market is our most ambitious attempt at partnership at the regional level. Success will be recognised when new jobs are created in the Region, when the welfare of consumers is enhanced and a higher standard of living of our peoples is attained. It will not come overnight but through our collective efforts over the long haul.
Partnerships are also encouraged between local governments and central government. One of the major objectives in the integration arrangements and in our external negotiations is to create the objective conditions to stimulate the flow of investments into the various communities. Governments provide the legal and other incentives to promote such investment but that is not enough. There has to be a facilitative and conducive environment to encourage the financial flows to stimulate growth and development. The appearance of a community has a strong influence on where an investor will feel safe to place his capital. Which investor will want to put his money in a local community that is dirty, marred by improper disposal of solid waste, where the streets are not well maintained, where there are difficulties in obtaining a reliable supply of water, where the electricity supply is unreliable and where the level of crime raises the spectre of serious insecurity? At the same time the local authorities need to be properly resourced not only through income generating activities but also in collaboration with central government, the private sector and community citizen groups.
There is need for partnerships among private sector entities in the form of joint ventures or other such arrangements, between the private sector and the public sectors at all levels, partnerships between local communities within and across the Region and partnerships with likeminded countries and businesses and groups outside the Member States. It is in this latter capacity I welcome the partnerships that have been formed between the city of Atlanta and the two sister cities in the Caribbean - Montego Bay and Port of Spain and I look forward to similar initiatives with other cities in the Caribbean Community. It is also in that vein that the Community would welcome partnerships between businesses in Atlanta and the Caribbean private sector as well as partnerships between the academic institutions in the two communities. Caribbean Diaspora in Atlanta can also play a major role in promoting some of these partnerships.
The partnership that we are witnessing today between the institutions- UNITAR, CIFAL, the OAS –bears testimony of how much can be achieved when we collaborate.
This workshop will provide a useful forum to discuss how these partnerships can be built, you will also learn from each other’s best practices and I hope that we would have make concrete proposals on how the local communities can become equipped to meet the challenges and take advantage of the benefits of free trade and globalization.
I thank you and look forward to a lively two days of discussions.
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