Reflections: A Viewpoint from the Diaspora

• Author: Kenrick Hunte
• Pages: 489-495

REFLECTIONS: A VIEWPOINT

FROM THE DIASPORA

Kenrick Hunte

While CARICOM countries can pride

themselves on their strong democratic

traditions since independence, it is clear

that these countries have not delivered on

important promises made over the last 36

years. Many CARICOM citizens have become

less optimistic about CARICOM’s future and

its effectiveness. Success has been diff‌icult to

measure and quantify, and even more so, has

been the lack of an effective communication

system with CARICOM citizens, including

those in the Diaspora.

One area of limited success, however, has

been the decision-making mechanism at the

level of Caribbean Heads of Government; but

thereafter, only fragmentation and uneven

implementation of those decisions have been

observed across CARICOM. Opposition

Members of Parliament, civic groups, academics

and non-governmental organisations complain

of being excluded from the process, while

the promised benef‌its and welfare enhancing

attributes of being a CARICOM citizen

have been elusive. Likewise, unanimity in

CARICOM appears to have been constrained

by the fear of the loss of sovereignty. These

and other constricting elements, when taken

together, have stymied progress, encouraged

cynicism and retarded the ability to build

supranational institutions that are so necessary

for an effective, accountable and a cohesive

CARICOM.

Yet, in our fragmented environment, we

have seen the workings of a few supranational

institutions that have experience in collective

governance and have accountability lessons

that can be replicated across CARICOM, with

appropriate modif‌ications. These institutions

include the OECS, CXC Education, the

Caribbean Development Bank, West Indies

Cricket, and religious organisations that

train and educate, and provide member

services. A detailed examination of how

these institutions function must be a priority

task in ‘the way forward’ for CARICOM,

as they provide the basic elements of what

works in our geographically dispersed

environment. Specif‌ically, attention must be

paid to ascertaining information on how these

supranational institutions work in relation

to specifying representation, transparency,

decision-making and implementation,

accountability, and how communication is

organised. Completing a comparative analysis

of these institutions may provide useful

information on how CARICOM can proceed

to improve its governance mechanisms and

improve the eff‌iciency in delivering services to

the public, especially in relation to facilitating

business transactions with government

agencies.1 Consequently, welfare-improving

initiatives must begin with a cohesive and

parliamentary-ratif‌ied CARICOM Foreign

Policy that integrates the preferences of all

Member States in a regional public good

that brings tangible benef‌its to CARICOM

citizens.2

Globalisation and the general slow-down

in economic growth worldwide have forever

changed the way in which north-south trade

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