EDITORIAL
Our Relationship With CARICOM
Wednesday, April 7, 2004
Cayman Net News contributor Barrie Quappe had
some interesting things to say in her recent commentary column about the
Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM), not the least of which was
that the Cayman public deserves a formal statement of policy on this important
issue from the current and would-be governments.
The Cayman Islands appears to have considerable latitude
in the degree of desired association with CARICOM, and the issue of
independence does not seem to enter into it if one follows the Montserrat
precedent.
Despite being a sister British Crown colony in the
region, Montserrat is also in the anomalous position of not only being one of
the fifteen full members of CARICOM, but also one of its founding members. The
remaining fourteen full members are all independent countries.
According to CARICOM Secretary-General Edwin Carrington,
"Montserrat is not just a member of CARICOM, it has been a builder of
CARICOM."
For Montserrat to achieve this, it has been necessary
for Britain to grant formal entrustments to the territory, allowing it to sign
the original Treaty of Chaguaramas, which created CARICOM, and the subsequent
revision and protocols. The point of all this is, of course, that should the
Cayman Islands wish to go the same route, presumably Britain would accommodate
us in this respect.
The question is, therefore, not so much can we, but do
we want to? For there to be any kind of consensus on this issue in the Cayman
Islands, there would have to be a programme of public education and clear
policy statements from the various political parties. We do not want to wake
up one morning and discover that we are suddenly full members of CARICOM.
In its current and projected form, CARICOM is designed
to be as integrated as possible, short of political union. To this end,
CARICOM has, since 1987, been working towards the creation of the Caribbean
Community Single Market and Economy (CSME).
A 'single market' is an area within which goods and
services, people, capital and technology freely circulate. When different
countries participate, it involves the complete removal of physical, technical
and fiscal frontiers. Thus, for example, moving goods or services, capital or
people from Jamaica to the Cayman Islands would be no different from moving
them between Grand Cayman and Cayman Brac.
However, the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas goes further:
to establish a 'single economy.' This requires unified economic and monetary
policies, including related legislation, executive instruments and
institutions. One of the most important instruments of a single economy is a
single currency – just as there is a single Cayman Islands currency for all
three islands.
Another vital component of the CSME is the Caribbean
Court of Justice (CCJ) which, as the final court of appeal, will provide legal
certainty within the Community. However, this will entail many of the former
British territories giving up access to the Privy Council as the final arbiter
of justice.
The original target date for the CCJ to begin
functioning was mid-2003, but this has been delayed by funding shortages and
political differences within the region over the abandonment of the Privy
Council.
Similarly, the single market requirements of freedom on
movement of goods, services, capital and people have been running into
objections and derogations from countries concerned about loss of revenue from
import duties and an influx of regional workers.
All in all, it’s going to be very much like rounding up
a bunch of cats and there must be considerable doubt as to whether the Cayman
Islands should get involved at this particular stage, which is why there needs
to be full and open discussion before someone has the bright idea of
committing us to something which is less than perfectly understood.
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