(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana)       The CARICOM Secretariat has convened three regional consultations to discuss the findings of a major consultancy on government procurement in the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME).  The consultations are being facilitated by the European Union under the Tenth European Development Fund (10th EDF).

Country missions to 13 CARICOM Member States (excluding Haiti and the Bahamas) were undertaken from April to June 2014 by the consultants, Analysys Mason Ltd. This consultancy was to provide the CARICOM Secretariat and its Member States with the recommendations on required IT infrastructure for the establishment of a fully functioning Regional Integration Electronic Public Procurement System.

The broader objective of this project is the liberalization and integration of the regional market for trade in goods and services. This is to establish and maintain a regime for the free movement of goods and services within the CSME.
The consultations will involve two-day meetings with both the public and private sectors in the host countries. The first consultation kicks off in Jamaica on Wednesday, September 3 for that Member State and Belize. Barbados will host the following consultations next week from September 8-9, and the final set of consultations will be held in Saint Lucia for the OECS.
These consultations will be preceded by a meeting of the CSME Task Force on Government Procurement from 1-2 September 2014 at the Pegasus Hotel in Kingston, Jamaica.