Making Strides toward Improved CSME Access for CARICOM Nationals

(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana)     CARICOM nationals will now have more efficient access to the provisions of the CARICOM Single Market due to a recently concluded training exercise. Close to 300 public administrators and officials across the region have been trained in a new data management and work flow system that will make application processes under the CSME much smoother. The training initiative, a major component  of the CARICOM Trade and Competitiveness Project (CTCP) funded by the Government of Canada, commenced last November and wrapped up in early March 2015. It covered CARICOM Member States from Antigua and Barbuda in the north right through to Suriname and Guyana in the south of the region.   

The new system was conceptualized by the consulting firm, A-Z Information Jamaica Limited, and also conducted the training with support from the Secretariat’s staff. The system allows CARICOM citizens to apply online as skilled nationals, service providers or entrepreneurs and for administrators to process these applications, all in a virtual environment, and has been commended by stakeholders as very user-friendly and efficient in streamlining the various processes. It will harmonize and standardize these administrative processes across Member States as well as capture useful data on the use of the CSME regimes by nationals and commercial entities. A manual of these practices, now in the review stage, has been produced by the consultants and will be presented for the endorsement of the 40thRegular Meeting of the Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED) scheduled for late April. 

The Community Strategic Plan  2015-2019 identifies, among other areas for priority focus , the accelerated implementation of the CSME, building competitiveness and unleashing key economic drivers to transition to growth and  to generate employment  and the development of human capital.