To blame the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretariat for the gaps in implementation of the Single Market and Economy was unfair, a former Prime Minister of Jamaica has said.

Mr. Bruce Golding, former Jamaica Prime Minister, addressed the matter frontally as a member of a high level panel that discussed the CSME during a stakeholder consultation in Georgetown, Guyana on Friday.

The two-day Consultation, hosted by the CARICOM Secretary-General, Ambassador Irwin LaRocque, with support from the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), continued on Saturday at the Ramada Princess Hotel.

Mr. Golding gave credit to the CARICOM Secretariat, the Community’s administrative arm, for the considerable effort it was making to push the process and its assistance to Member States. He said it was unfair that the Secretariat and the Secretary-General were being made scapegoats for the lack of implementation of the Region’s flagship programme.

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Implementation, he pointed out, was primarily the responsibility of national governments.

“… credit must be given to the Secretariat for the considerable efforts it has made to push the implementation process and assist Member States to fulfill their obligations. The Secretariat is often made the scapegoat for CARICOM’s failures. It is unfair to the Secretary-General and his staff. I would not want his job for five times his salary; the frustration that it must certainly cause would be hazardous to my health.

Implementation is primarily the responsibility of national governments. The Secretariat dare not even appear to be inserting itself in the decision-making or implementation process of Member States”, he told the well-attended session which was live-streamed.

He added that “hardly any excuse or explanation”had been proferred by Member States on their tardiness with respect to implementation.

“What is the primary cause of this malaise? Capacity or resource constraints? Lethargy? I think not! Is it lack of political will? That would suggest acceptance of the merits and necessity of doing something but an absence of the courage to do it. I think not, as well.

“We continue to be deceptive to each other and to the  people of the community if we conceal doubts and fears of honouring our commitments while we speak so passionately about the CSME”, Mr. Golding said.

He advised, however, that there had to be an acknowledgement that implementation action required of Member States, in some cases, were complex and required far-reaching policy changes, legislative processes and executive action. He pointed out also that many Member States were challenged by resource and capacity constraints.

He recommended on Friday that “we need to delve deeper than the quantitative and qualitative assessment of the progress or lack thereof of the CSME implementation. It seems to me that among most – if not all – member states (including my own), there are deep misgivings about some of the CSME provisions and requirements. It seems to me that some Member States are of the view that full implementation of the CSME is likely to do them more harm than good”.

The matter of perception and the benefits of the CSME also resonated with other participants at the Consultation. From the floor, questions were raised, for example, about whether Member States wanted to cede their financial independence; conflict of interest positions that may occur in the area of national interest versus regional obligations.