(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) will be overseeing the change process of the CARICOM Secretariat as it begins to implement recommendations accepted by the Leaders arising out of the report of the independent consultants on restructuring the Secretariat.

Speaking after the two-day Inter-sessional Meeting in Paramaribo, Suriname on Friday, the Chairman of CARICOM, His Excellency Desiré Bouterse, President of Suriname said that given the importance of this exercise, the Bureau of Heads of Government would form the core of the group of leaders having oversight of an internal team from the Secretariat in drafting the outline of a five-year strategic plan for the Community in time for consideration at the next meeting of the Heads of Government in July.

“We had originally identified a team to spearhead this effort but after further consideration, it was felt that the Bureau of Heads of Government was best placed to facilitate this exercise, with additional assistance from other leaders if they wished to participate,” the Chairman said.

The report was considered in the context of an agenda item which looked at the reform process in the Community including the organisational review of the Secretariat and the strategic direction for CARICOM.