Is the architecture on which the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) was built appropriate today? Is the CSME overly ambitious? Is there political will and courage to continue the progress on the CSME? Why is there a deficit in the implementation of decisions?

Is the Region taking account of the global context? Are we ready for the changes that are coming? Is the capacity of Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Member States adequate to put in place the infrastructure necessary for the CSME?

These were some of the questions that were raised on Friday as the Stakeholder Consultation on the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) began at the Ramada Princess Hotel in Georgetown, Guyana.

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CARICOM Secretary-General, Ambassador Irwin LaRocque, and Director, Economics Department at the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) Dr. Justin Ram set the tone of the two-day Consultation. They positioned the CSME as critical to the sustainable development of the Community and honed in on implementation as one of the major elements that needed to be tackled.

“The major focus should be on implementation”, Dr. Ram advised.

He added that new ways and a greater level of accountability needed to be found to tackle the implementation deficit. There also needed to be planning laboratories, and plans and budgets had to be communicated to the regional populace to elicit feedback and buy-in, he underscored.

Ambassador LaRocque said that while there was progress on the regional flagship programme, the agenda needed to move along much faster.

The time it was taking to get things done was a cost to the Region’s private sector and to the credibility of the Community, he pointed out. He advised that regional positions had to be adopted rather than national stances. He said the Consultation needed to produce concrete recommendations to put to Ministers and Heads of Government

A high level discussion on fixing the CSME featured presentations by Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Dr. the Hon. Ralph Gonsalves and former Prime Minister of Jamaica, Mr. Bruce Golding. (More details to follow).

The Consultation is being held with the support of the CDB.

The well-attended opening session that was live-streamed drew reactions from persons across the Region and in the Diaspora who weighed in on what they considered the challenges to the CSME and regional integration.

Panels throughout the day examined matters such as what the CSME objectives and priorities should be and the private sector and labour. Tomorrow, the Consultation will focus on free movement of persons and public awareness.