by RICKEY SINGH
PRIME MINISTER Ralph Gonsalves of St Vincent and the Grenadines has blamed the regionâs bureaucrats for stealing the âpowerâ that belongs to the heads of government of the Caribbean Community.
He has called for an urgent decision to âstop the slideâ into meetings of the community leaders being diminished into an âadministrative bureaucratic enterpriseâ to avoid further âwasting of timeâ. {{more}}
The claims by Gonsalves, outlined in a lengthy letter to CARICOM Secretary General Edwin Carrington, have provoked concerns among some community leaders, with one of them deeming the letter as reflecting âan unjustified attack on Carringtonâ.
Another prime minister, while sharing some of Gonsalvesâ views, thinks it âregrettableâ that the Vincentian leader should have chosen to make them known in the âtone he has doneâ and ahead of next monthâs CARICOM Summit in Castries, St Lucia.
Particularly, he stressed, as there was already âagreement in principleâ to discuss changes in the format of Heads of Government conferences . . .â
Perhaps anticipating differences at the coming 26th CARICOM Summit in Castries, slated for July 3 to 6, Gonsalves told Carrington in his letter -a copy of which was obtained by the SUNDAY SUN:
âI regret sincerely if I offend anyone with these views, or the robust language in which I have expressed themâ.
But he said he was âpained that a great cause – Caribbean unity – was not likely to be served, as well as it ought to be, if we continue on our current path.â
Carrington, currently completing his third term as the longest serving secretary general of the now almost 32-year-old community, yesterday said he would âprefer not to offer any comment to the media on this matterâ.
However, it was learnt that Gonsalvesâ letter to Carrington, would be one of the ânew issuesâ to be discussed in a caucus session of Heads of Government at the forthcoming Castries Summit, in the context of âstructureâ of meetings of the communityâs leaders and âagenda preparationâ.
The letter was copied by Gonsalves to all his fellow Heads of Government.
One leading regional technocrat, who did not wish to be identified, observed yesterday: âWhatever may be upsetting to Prime Minister Gonsalves, he would at least be aware that, ultimately, it is not regional bureacrats but the community leaders themselves who determine the shape of agendas and who have the right to prioritise, reject or include issues for consideration and decision, even after receiving recommendations from the Community Council of Ministers,â he said.
News
July 1, 2005
PM writes CARICOM