This region is at the crossroads. It is patently clear that this has been so for sometime now, but within recent times several specific problems have arisen which have not been attended to; and this inattention has over time bred a sense of crisis reminiscent of past failure.
It is a serious breach of faith with our future generations that there should be this sense of uncertainty because they are in a very real sense the first generation of truly free West Indians. Up until 50 years ago, none of these islands was free to totally manage its own affairs and we relied on the benevolent dictatorship of the Colonial Office to give us some sense of “doing our own thing”.
But armed with our individual grants of Independence, we have since assumed control of our affairs, and sought by one means or another to embrace regional ventures to cement what might be called our different similarities. We appear to be failing just now, and there is a clear case for regional leadership which is not being met.
The recent dispute about the alleged mistreatment of a Jamaican national at our airport is partially a symptom of our regional inability to understand that we are one people separated only by water and that our economic well-being must first be cemented by a clear understanding that we treat each other as we would wish to be treated, and that freedom of movement becomes more than a convenient catchphrase.
What are we going to do about the future of the Caribbean Court of Justice? This premier regional institution is a marvel of applied regional brainpower and ingenuity, especially in the integrity of its financial structures which were designed to remove any semblance of political control however indirect over the court.
Yet its future is under an uncertain cloud because of political inaction of one kind and political reaction of the worst kind by regional administrations which have contributed to the financial foundations of the court. Its appellate jurisdiction has so far attracted no more than three of the region’s countries. That is a clear case of lack of leadership and political will!
And then there are the problems concerning the law faculties in the region. Contrary to the original intent, full-fledged law faculties are now being established in Jamaica and in Trinidad to the possible detriment of the faculty at Cave Hill. It must be clear that regional institutions established by agreement to foster the regional effort are so established for good reason, but Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago have forged ahead.
The CLICO issue dramatically highlights the problems facing the region as far as cross-border investment goes. One of the realities of the present day is the investment across regional borders by companies incorporated in one country doing business in other countries, through subsidiaries which they control and from which they may make intra-company loans.
There may be need for greater oversight in the country where the subsidiary is located in these situations, so that the relevant controls and permissions requested may be examined against the background of the true financial position of the parent which has taken the loan.
It may be propitious to deal with the immediate problems thrown up by the relations and control between the parent and its subsidiaries, but with increasing commercial activity across the region, this is a matter that should attract the most careful study by regional administrators and policymakers, especially after the 2009 collapse of CLICO.
The issues raised are just some of those which directly affect the growth and integration of the regional effort. They require the attention of the region’s people, and especially the region’s policymakers. The resolution of each of these issues matters greatly to the regional integration effort, but a critical injection of political leadership is needed to accelerate a solution.
