Caricom leaders at the signing ceremony for the CSM Agreement in Kingston on January 30, at the University of the West Indies, Mona, from left, are Owen Arthur, Barbados; Patrick Manning, Trinidad and Tobago; Sam Hinds, Guyana; P.J. Patterson (standing), Jamaica; Dr. Denzil Douglas, St. Kitts and Nevis, and Dr. Kenny Anthony, St. Lucia. Patterson and Anthony have since demitted office. - File

So far, more than half of the member states have complied with the new travel requirement: Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, St. Lucia, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago, and most recently Grenada.

Passports

Countries have up to 2008 to phase in the new Caricom passports, which are expected to identify carriers by both their country of origin and as Caricom nationals.

But there are still some wrinkles to seamless movement, for example, Barbados must still set up a free movement committee, said Steven MacAndrew, regional specialist for the free movement of skills and labour.

Other member states were also lagging but, like Barbados, he added, free movement is still being facilitated, even though from time some problems arise.

The main hiccup, appears to be in Port of Spain.

"The main issue with free movement at this point in time is that Trinidad and Tobago must still implement the decision of the Conference of Governments taken in July 2005 in St. Lucia that Caricom nationals who are entering with skills certificate can work immediately," said MacAndrew.

There were still too many complaints from Caricom nationals going to Port of Spain and being "told that they cannot work immediately," he said.

The six OECS countries that signed on to the regional initiative in June after being given firm commitments that they would not be placed at a disadvantage are also actively engaged in creating an economic union of their own.

Special interests

But Dominica's Foreign Affairs Minister, Charles Savarin, said the two processes were in no way contradictory nor was it a duplication, adding that while OECS states remain committed to the CSM, they still needed to safeguard their own special interests.

"What is good for Trinidad is not necessarily good for Antigua, for Dominica; Jamaica may have a different opinion as to where Jamaica's interests lie," Savarin said.

"So that decisions, which are in, say the best interest in what is normally referred to as the MDCs (middle-income developed countries) which do not pay specific attention to the interest and the peculiarities of the small island states of the Eastern Caribbean, may in fact not work to our better interest.

"So I think it is important that we can pool our interests together and give us the ability to be able to represent those interest more forcefully within the CARICOM organisation," he added.

Governor of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) Sir Dwight Venner says the OECS economic integration should serve as a model for Caricom and other regions.

"There are things that we are doing there that are very interesting not only to ourselves but the international community," said Sir Dwight.

Sir Dwight said that over the last six months the World Bank has been conducting various studies within the OECS, including a case study on the 40-year-old court system, "because you see in these things, some very viable arrangements can be transported to other small states."

- CMC