APPROXIMATELY 23 DELEGATES from across the region will be meeting in Barbados tomorrow and Wednesday to review the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA).
The delegates, drawn from the English-speaking Caribbean as well as Haiti and Dominican Republic, will be meeting at the Accra Beach Hotel.
Executive Director of the Caribbean Policy Development Centre (CPDC), Shantal Munro-Knight said, “At this meeting, we are hoping to get a report from the five-year review of the EPA. One of the agenda items for discussion will be the experiences of civil society with implementation. This meeting then will allow us to hear from civil society what are the issues and the challenges and also the benefits.”
The EPA was the subject of much controversy during its negotiation as civil society was doubtful the agreement would achieve the benefits which were touted.
Munro-Knight said the CPDC and its affiliates had not been lobbying in relation to the EPA, stating that “from our perspective implementation is somewhat hobbling along.
“Hopefully this meeting will provide some firm evidence that will allow us to properly assess (what’s happening). It will give us an opportunity to hear from both the policymakers and civil society themselves,” she added. (ES)
