“Why is CARICOM silent where there is corruption in a member state?” This was a question raised by a participant in the discussions that followed the fifth Patrick Emmanuel Memorial Lecture delivered by the University of the West Indies’ Professor Brian Meeks at the Cave Hill Campus.
A clear response to this question, though diplomatically avoided by Meeks, is that CARICOM is set up too much as an implementing arm of government, devoid of its own legitimate political existence, to feel emboldened to say and do the things that should be said and done.
It is ironic that in the early federation discussions, one of the strongest arguments made for regionalism was that it would provide a safeguard against governmental abuse and corruption.
It was an argument famously advanced by W.A Lewis who had asserted that “if the government in island “C” misbehaves, it will be criticised openly by the citizens of island “E”. The Federal government must be responsible for law and order and for redress of financial or other abuses”.
Beyond the criticism by the “people”, however, what is required is criticism by CARICOM itself, and the leadership of the political parties both in government and opposition. The closest CARICOM has come to engaging in governance oversight is in the announcement of “charters” which regional heads sign on to from time to time as acts of good faith.
These, however, are no different from the election “codes of conduct” which our political parties sign in broad daylight but violate under the cover of darkness on their political platforms, sans consequence.
Similarly, the announcement of a “quasi-cabinet” with one of the portfolios being “governance and democracy”, provided some hope that such an office would have had the independent capacity to both reprimand and rectify in cases of democratic violations. This has proven a pipe dream.
This is the basis upon which Caribbean citizens view CARICOM as “a waste of time”. It is a reaction borne out of the frustration of CARICOM’s inability to make itself relevant to everyday concerns.
Whilst CARICOM can claim immunity from guilt due to its existence as a “regional civil service”, regional political leaders have no such defence. Has a leader from island “C” ever raised his voice in condemnation of violations in island “E”? Instead, they behave like a lodge offering protection to each other.
Indeed, many a leader who has found his reputation in tatters at home has often used CARICOM as a place to restore his legitimacy. His regional comrades willingly assist in such rehabilitation.
It is a telling fact that the few instances when CARICOM leaders were moved to interfere in the internal politics of member states, all occurred during the period when containment of communism was a priority. A similar energy is now required for the containment of corruption, and for good governance.
Tennyson Joseph is a political scientist at the University of the West Indies Cave Hill Campus specialising in analysis of regional affairs.
