Posted August 7th 2002

SALUTATION

Forty years ago, a Caribbean Region, anxious to take its place among the nations of the world as sovereign states, began this momentous journey towards independence here in Jamaica. It was a journey that commenced with exhilaration and trepidation; but also with confidence and caution since others had floundered in the quagmire of internal conflict and disintegration. You, and with you, we all of the Caribbean, have surprised the gainsayers; disappointed the pundits; and confounded the disbelievers. For here, four decades later, you have created a nation out of the colonial past. Jamaica stands today a monument to the triumphant and overcoming spirit of our people.

As current Chairman of the Conference of CARICOM Heads of Government, I am pleased to bring you and all Jamaicans the greetings and congratulations of our member states.

Jamaica, through the resilience and energies of its people and its many accomplishments, inspires CARICOM with hope and a sense of purpose as we pursue our Caribbean destiny. The goal of this pursuit must certainly be the building of a society of peace, equity, and prosperity. A society in which care and concern for each other prevail over insularity and selfishness; and where innovation and industry lead to even greater achievements.

Madam Speaker and Members of Parliament, I consider it a great honour to be invited to address you, the elected representatives of the valiant Jamaican people. You are here, I am sure, because you are imbued with the sense that service to community and this beautiful country is a privilege of immeasurable proportion. Past and present Jamaican leaders and parliamentarians have helped to chart the course that we travel to forge an integrated Caribbean Community. We must continue along this path.

Madam Speaker, the Caribbean Community is an exceptional Region. Its contribution to our world far exceeds its geographic confines. Our sons and daughters are involved in every human endeavour with distinction. We have given the world the musical Pan, Reggae and Calypso; sportsmen and women; scientists and inventors. Our people are critical to the health systems of developed nations; our teachers nurture the children of many countries. We have Nobel Laureates. Our citizens occupy prominent positions in government and industry in every continent of our world. The reach of our influence and the measure of our successes belie our size but confirm our dynamism. I believe that there is hardly a place on this planet where a Caribbean citizen is not present. We must not forget this. It must inspire us when we are confronted by challenges - and there are many in the Region today.

The international environment is often unsympathetic to our cause and condition as small emerging states. We are unable to attract a fair share of investment and aid flows. Our economies are beset by low or negative growth and we are experiencing financial difficulties because of the large debt burden and shocks to our revenue owing to the changing international environment. We suffer high unemployment and attendant poverty. And there has been an increase in unsocial behaviour: crime, drugs, and senseless violence.

Apart from these problems, globalisation poses a serious threat to our way of life. Some of the advocates of this process are still stuck in the realms of speaking of its potential benefits. Yet, the cries of our farmers inform us that the possible benefits have not yet arrived. We in the Caribbean know what it means for the coffee growers, cane and banana farmers; poultry producers, small businesses, and fledgling industries. For us globalisation must be assessed not only from the point of view of its potential benefits, but also from the perspective of its impact on the people of our countries.

One would have thought that those who advocate globalisation based on the argument of an interdependent world would have promoted policies beneficial to all. However, a closer examination of many of their domestic policies reveals a proclivity to unilateralism and self-interest.

Some countries justly urge us to fight crime and to battle illicit drugs. However, they either do not see or do not care about the connection between these problems and the uncontrolled export of small arms to our Region and the thousands of criminal deportees who they continue to send back to our countries while they aggressively recruit our trained nurses and teachers.

Some exhort us to open our markets, remove subsidies but they openly subsidise their farmers and hinder access to their markets.

We are rightfully urged to reform our tax regime to attract investment capital and then unreasonably penalized for successfully doing so. The OECD harmful tax initiative is a case in point. The OECD seeks to solve the problem of tax evasion in its member countries through unreasonable impositions upon our countries.

Developing countries are urged to practice more environmentally sound policies yet some developed countries, who are the world's worst polluters, are currently withdrawing from many international commitments to safeguard the environment.

Madam Speaker, these are the realities of the world in which we live. And I ask, what should be our response? Let it be clear that we cannot successfully address these problems as individual countries. Therefore it is imperative that we subscribe to and strengthen our regional approach. It is only as a united Region that we will succeed.

On the international front, we must continue to advocate for trade regimes that respond to our situation and to our concerns. While we are committed to free markets, it is clear that unless special and differential treatment as well as infrastructure development funding are provided to allow us to participate meaningfully, we will not be able to enjoy the benefits of liberalization but instead will be condemned to remain on the periphery of international development.

We must continue to advocate for the establishment of a Regional Development Fund to enable the smaller economies in the hemisphere to compete effectively within the FTAA. Similarly within the WTO, we must fight for the early implementation of commitments made in the Uruguay Round as well as for special and differential treatment.

For us to be guaranteed some level of success in our trade negotiations with the European Union, within the WTO and for the FTAA, we must not only operate as a team but we must also strengthen our alliances with likeminded regions and countries based on the principles of common interest and international solidarity. Distinguished leaders of Africa such as our brother President Obasanjo can help in this process.

The Regional Negotiating Machinery, which is headed by a distinguished Jamaican, was established to help us to develop, coordinate, and advocate positions on behalf of the Region as we embark upon these critical negotiations. It must be given full recognition for the vital functions, which it has performed so far and should continue to receive our full support in the further execution of its mandate.

Permit me Madam Speaker, to recognize here the valuable role of Prime Minister Patterson as Chairman of the Prime Ministerial Sub Committee on External Negotiations and to record the appreciation of my Colleague Heads of Government for his wisdom and leadership in guiding the Community in this critical area.

We must also argue for a new financial system and for the democratisation of the international financial institutions. This will be a system that recognizes the vulnerability of small states and provides for those vulnerabilities through the development of new instruments and mechanisms for the delivery of loans and grants.

It appears to me that our interests will be best served if we can remain together, forge a common diplomacy, and speak with one voice, to represent our collective constituency.

While we are pursuing these changes on the international front to carve out a more sympathetic external environment for developing countries, there are also policies which we can implement at home to help us to resolve the problems facing the Community.

Madam Speaker, given the changing nature of the world and the high premium placed on education, we must ensure that our education system is refocused and is driven by a new philosophy. We have excelled in the Arts and the Humanities and the Social Sciences and must continue to do so but simultaneously we must produce Nobel laureates in mathematics, technology, and science.

Our schools must inculcate positive attitudes in our students. Our young people must leave these institutions with pride in their identity, positive values, tolerance and respect for others and the general preparation for survival in any environment.

Our small economies are incapable of generating sufficient capital needed to fuel our economic growth. It is true that the CARICOM Single Market and Economy will facilitate the movement of capital intra-regionally and this will augment local capital sources. However, our low saving rates will not allow us to generate enough resources to meet all of our investment needs.

Therefore we must make our Region more capital attractive. Governments can assist in this by providing incentives and a national regulatory framework. Our legislators also have a role in supporting and accelerating legislative changes. The media can help to project an image that would be more conducive to attracting investment and promoting tourism. Without any censoring intent, it is my opinion that some media practitioners must remember that they are also part of the society and that the unnecessarily negative images of the Region that are often disseminated will inhibit our ability to attract investment thereby diminishing our ability to resolve the many problems which face us.

Madam Speaker, we have a tendency to focus only on the negatives. May I say that many may have the erroneous impression that crime is the only thing that this wonderful country has. My experience and the facts prove otherwise. Just yesterday I visited Denbigh and witnessed an impressive display of the industry and enterprise of the Jamaican people. Unfortunately, this will never make the international press. We all have problems and crime and violence affect all the Member States of CARICOM but we also have much to be proud of and it is important that there should be a balanced portrayal of our Region.

I wish to submit that the Caribbean needs more, and a new breed of entrepreneurs to ensure its survival. However, we are presently not incubating enough entrepreneurs. The development of the entrepreneurial spirit is essential for economic dynamism, solving unemployment and reducing poverty. An empirical survey of the dynamic economies of the world will reveal that there is a high incidence of the formation of new companies. However, a casual survey of our Region will reveal that many historical companies continue to dominate our economic landscape, many untouched by change and operating inefficiently and at great loss.

The primary task now is for our universities, our private sector and governments to collaborate, and design programmes that will instil the entrepreneurial spirit in our citizens and prepare them to take calculated economic risks.

Our banks and other financial institutions must also do more to ensure that their credit system is responsive to the promotion of entrepreneurship.

Meanwhile the Caribbean private sector must respond to the changing times. With some exceptions, our private sector has often been too rigid and too slow to perceive and pursue economic opportunities. In many cases they are averse to risk-taking.

In the new environment our private sector must be willing to consider new forms of organization. It must abandon insular thinking and actions and perceive the synergies and advantages that flow from in-country and regional mergers. The Governments of the Caribbean must support these processes and must make a serious effort to become genuine partners with the private sector. Acting together will allow us to better face the threats confronting our Region.

Madam Speaker, it is common knowledge that many of our countries today are experiencing high unemployment. We all suffer from crime and senseless violence. We need to stop playing the blame-game and work together to find solutions to these and other social ills.

Additionally, we must recognise that strong family values, conflict resolution skills, responsibility for self and love for country are all important to the development of society and for remedying many social ills. We must therefore seek to include everyone in this process. Parents, teachers, churches, communities and other social groups all have a part to play in the moral advancement of our societies.

Madam Speaker, Honourable Prime Minister, Members of Parliament, we will have to create conditions to shift from inherited confrontational politics to politics that serve the interests of our people. Irrespective of whichever side of the House you sit, I believe our people want to see their leaders working together. They want to see them confronting and solving the problems that affect them. Government and Opposition must therefore be guided by what is good for their people rather than by partisan interests. They must work more closely with civil society to overcome common problems and to ensure that democracy grows stronger in our Region. If we cannot work together we would be more vulnerable to external forces. We must face our challenges as a united team.

Madam Speaker, more than a decade ago in the Grande Anse Declaration the determination was made and the decision was taken to establish an Assembly of Caribbean Community Parliamentarians as a deliberative body for deepening the Integration Movement. We must work to reinvigorate this body which could give the people of the Region a larger platform for advancing their views and enhancing their living standards.

As you are aware, the revised Treaty of Chaguaramas builds upon the foundation laid by Jamaica, Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, and Guyana towards regional integration. It reaffirms that our collective action in the face of detrimental unilateral actions by the developed world is the only hope of our survival with dignity. I do not believe that any of us in this Chamber needs persuading that the benefits of acting in consort outweigh those that come from acting alone.

Whatever our problems they should not be permitted to diminish our integration resolve or breed despair. For we are in a time of unprecedented opportunities when the efforts of our people, if properly harnessed through the CARICOM Single Market and Economy and other initiatives, can create more social and economic spaces for greater cooperation, solve many of our problems and lead to a better life.

My country has always believed that such benefits would naturally accrue through our Community. Consequently, Guyana has never wavered in its commitment to Caribbean integration. And I am unreservedly committed to CARICOM. We must all in the Community strengthen our resolve to completing the integration process.

Madam Speaker, Honourable Prime Minister, Members of Parliament, Distinguished invitees, Ladies and Gentlemen - In conclusion, I would like to wish the people of Jamaica a happy fortieth independence anniversary, and for the Caribbean Community, rapid progress towards the realization of the hopes and aspirations of all of its citizens.