There is a call for all sectors in the Dominican society to take a vested interest in a five-year strategic plan for CARICOM.
A team from the CARICOM secretariat is here for a two-day consultation on the plan. It began on Monday and is part of a series of consultations which is being held across all CARICOM member and associated states.
Officer in Charge of Human and Social development in the CARICOM Secretariat, Myrna Bernard, said the reform is intended to recalibrate several areas in the community.
“That reform is going to allow us, or was intended to allow us, to recalibrate several areas of operation of our regional arrangements including the governance of the community,” she stated. “We recognize that we probably have been trying to do too many things and to be all things to all people, and so the reform you will find that we are looking for areas of priority. In addition to your experiences we looking for recommendations from you in terms of what really should we be focusing on in the next five years or so.”
Bernard explained that the plan came about after a review of the CARICOM secretariat and it was suggested that secretariat cannot be reformed without reforming the entire community and its arrangements.
“And so our heads of governments mandated that in addition to reforming the secretariat, that we have a strategic plan developed for the community,” she stated. “All of us are involved in doing things of the community, so whether as private sector or as private citizens we have a vested interest and we need to take the development of the strategic plan seriously and we need to be involved in it.”
OECS and CARICOM Ambassador, Felix Gregoire, said the forum will address the ‘burning issues.’
“To discuss the way forward for CARICOM and for ourselves we would like CARICOM to know the burning issues that we have so that in their programming for the secretariat and the community that our ideas are captured in there,” he pointed out.
The two day consultation will seek to dialogue with the private sector (Monday morning) and the public sector in the afternoon.
On Tuesday morning, the CARICOM team will be meeting with the Prime Minister, Roosevelt Skerrit and his Cabinet.
The team will also meet with opposition leader, Hector John, on Tuesday and in the afternoon there will be a session for civil society, with the aim of capturing a number of associations including women’s association, sports associations, the churches, the youth and a number of non-governmental organizations.
It is very unfortunate that the former cabinet secretary did not remember that the Caribbean got its name after the regions indigenous people, who forms an avrage 10% of the islands population, and is gradually taking their rightful place in society; our people need to be recognized by every eastern caribbean country since it all originally belonged to us indigenous people, for over 5000 years while the african caribbean population that forms the largest chunk of the Caribbean population cane here on an avrage 200- 300 years ago, we are still being looked down upon by these african people.it is more than high time that Caricum recognize the Caribbean indigenous people who live in Dominica St Vincent, Trinidad &Tobago and guyana to a larger extent but with small traces in most of the Caribbean islands and allocate a budget cut to assist these indigenous people who are being looked down as second class citizens in their own original landsand who are the poorest.
talkshop
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Missing an important detail… Where will the ‘meeting on Tuesday afternoon for civil society…’ be? What time???? These forums are poorly promoted sometimes. An ambiguous release today for tomorrow.. When there is poor attendance, they will quickly say the public is not interested.
Please Caricom, at least do an efficient PR job and don’t just show up and tell us last minute.
This two-day consultation appears to be a rush. Should they not have been notified a few days in advance to enable them to prepare for this consultation?
I would think more time is necessary to dialogue with the private sector, business and non-business, giving them the opportunity to provide their opinion and to meet with everyone possible.
If you criticize and out rule everything and plan to be implemented, you are of no help to your Dominican environment and society. You are not assisting to enhance Dominica.
Very Ironic! The article states that this consultation came about as being mandated by Heads of Government, yet they come here and the first person they consult is the head of goverment. Where on earth does CARICOM believe they are going or will get with this? They need to consult with the ordinary man in the street whom the whole concept will affect and get their views. Wake up CARICOM. One suggestion: Heads of Government should ban politicians from other countries from appearing on the platforms of political parties in other countries!
Do you not know, first the government and then the people? This is the appropriate step.
Your input is required. Therefore offer it appropriately.
very concerned Check this out.“That reform is going to allow us, or was intended to allow us, to recalibrate several areas of operation of our regional arrangements including the governance of the community,” she stated. “We recognize that we probably have been trying to do too many things and to be all things to all people, and so the reform you will find that we are looking for areas of priority. In addition to your experiences we looking for recommendations from you in terms of what really should we be focusing on in the next five years or so.”
The key phrase here is( suppose/intended to
That does/says it for me/us.
Good luck CARIGO
Did you even read the story properly? The Caricom team met with private sector,trade unions,they will be meeting with the public sector, NGO’s, the youth, churches (in other words, the ordinary man). They will be meeting with government and opposition on the second day of consultations….ahhh.. I really think we need to be informed before we make such comments.
waste of time…….n Caribbean taxes
Amen!
amen and amen