The Caribbean Single Market and Economy (CSME) which has its roots in the Grand Anse Declaration of Grenada more than two decades ago, still has issues that bedevil the process.Speaking to the media at the Caricom Secretariat, yesterday, Caricom Secretary General, Edwin Carrington, said that while he acknowledges the shortcomings of the CSME, there are misconceptions that he needed to clear up.He said that the Grand Anse Declaration saw the formation of the West Indian Commission which was a body tasked with the setting up of the CSME.He noted that the CSME only came into force in 2006, and not at Grand Anse.He said that many times criticisms are levelled against the secretariat, because of a paucity of knowledge on the CSME, and the public and the media need to educate themselves on these before arriving at conclusions.Carrington said that the CSME has two components: the single market and the single economy. He stated that the single market is in full force with the movement of goods, services, capital, skilled labour and other aspects.He acknowledged that the implementation of these will have flaws but countries have committed to these and are working closely with the secretariat.One aspect of the CSME that has not gotten off the ground is the single economy.While the financial services agreement is about ready for signing, Carrington said that the investment code is still not ready. This he attributes to the global financial crisis and countries calling for greater flexibility in this area.Additionally, the other aspect to the single economy is the monetary cooperation that essentially speaks about the harmonisation of currency so that equal weight can be given to currencies across the region.Save for Suriname that has taken steps towards convertibility of its currency; there is little else that has been done in this regard. The Secretary General said that the region’s inability to move beyond this point is one of the difficulties facing Caricom.Carrington believes that another contributing factor to this problem is the cautious nature of the region’s people and the Central Banks that are not willing to take such risks in getting this aspect off the ground.He said that a picture of gloom and doom should not be painted about the CSME, but its failures should be juxtaposed against the successes, so that the public can come to its own conclusion.Making reference to the European Union,Jerseys NFL Cheap, Carrington said that body has taken almost thirty-six years to get its act together, although it has considerable resources at its disposal.He noted that the CSME that came into force in 2006 has made much greater strides as compared to the EU.The CSME has come in for many criticisms across the region, with Caribbean nationals questioning the potency of this arrangement and the ability to achieve related objectives.To this day, movement across the region is still restricted to certain groups. There was also talk of journalists needing to be registered to ensure unhindered movement across the region.
