THE CSM was officially signed off last week, with the larger six Caribbean territories coming immediately aboard and the remaining ones making pledges to join in six months.
While I believe that regional development is the only way to go forward, an interesting issue that will have to be settled soon is to develop a timeline towards the establishment of a Caribbean currency, as it is obvious that this has to happen if the region is to see itself as a seamless region of goods, services and opportunities.
The issue will become even more pressing when the Cricket World Cup comes to our shores in March 2007 and we face the prospects of visitors having to use several different currencies as they travel around the islands and Guyana. There are now several national currencies being used in the various CSME- destined territories: the Jamaican dollar, the Trinidadian dollar, the Barbadian dollar, the Guyanese dollar, the Eastern Caribbean dollar, and even more currencies.
CSME CURRENCY
Does the cricket lover, who decides to move between islands, carry U.S. dollars or will a special CSME currency be created for that purpose, with all its attendant difficulties in doing so? What would be the rate that is used in that case, given the wide differences in regional exchange rates? Would the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank be given the central role in this currency operation since it has the most experience in operating a multi-country-use currency?
The onus is, therefore, on the region to ensure that such issues are sorted out well ahead of February so that all visitors can enjoy themselves, to be able to travel hassle-free and not have to worry about the inconvenience of changing currencies according to the territory they happen to be visiting. What I would not like to see is the U.S. dollar become the designated currency of choice, as is likely to be the case in the absence of the steps I have indicated, since this would send a powerful message about the CSME financial unity.
TAKEN FROM THE FINANCIAL GLEANER, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2006
