CARICOM, CARIGONE ?

-
We present and encourage progressive Caribbean views of Caribbean and world affairs


Caribbean Heads of  Government
We are not surprised that the recent CARICOM heads of government meeting in Trinidad and Tobago has come and gone with just passing notice. CARICOM seems to be the least passionate of all Caribbean political interests at this time. We are convinced that our Caribbean leaders are so hell bent on remaining in political office, that they see CARICOM as nothing more than a show window. We go “window shopping" but we are buying absolutely nothing.
The historical path of Caribbean integration, stretching from the failed West Indies Federation, to CARIFTA and the present CARICOM does not need repetition here.  We are concerned about the failure or lukewarm approach, to using CARICOM, as a vehicle for transforming Caribbean economies. We see an abject lack of vision and unless we collectively pressure our governments to quicker and more decisive leadership, our future would be twice as difficult as we now envision.
 The Caribbean economies continue to reel from externally driven economic crises. At present, from Port of Spain to Bridgetown; from Kingston to Kingstown; from Castries to Basseterre, we are all being economically savaged by a crisis engineered in London, Wall Street and the struggling economies of other European countries. Every decade to fifteen years, we are forced into “international recessions” that are essentially not of our making.
In the meantime, we await directives from the International Monetary Fund and our economies are rated by agencies such as Standard and Poor. We are constantly suffering the embarrassment of absentee economic leadership, similar to the absentee plantation ownership that we endured during slavery and colonialism. The absentee directors deploy their agents to enter the Caribbean and deliver instructions. We are then told that failure to execute will lead to severe hardship, increases in unemployment, currency devaluation and all the attendant maladies. 
In the midst of this reality our Caribbean leaders apparently have no plan or interests in abandoning petty party politics and winning five year spectacles called elections. They are prepared to allow the IMF and other international predators to manage our economies, while they allow us to suffer the consequences of their inaction and lack of vision.
 Another CARICOM heads of government has come and gone. CARICOM, CARIGONE.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Killing of Dr. Rodney

-
Image
The killing of Dr Rodney By Rickey Singh NOW that Carnival 2014 is over, perhaps the people of Trinidad and Tobago could spare some time to reflect on developments in other Caricom states. One such country is Guyana. An issue currently in sharp focus in Guyana is a probe into the killing, decades ago, of the internationally famous historian and crusader for freedom and social justice Walter Rodney. Thirty-three years after this intellectual and writer was killed in a bomb blast in his car on the night of June 13, 1980, in Georgetown, a three-member team of Caribbean legal experts has been established to begin an enquiry into the circumstances surrounding the killing of Dr Rodney.  “Assassination” has always been the unofficial verdict of the Working People’s Alliance (WPA), the party of which Dr Rodney was a founder-leader, as well as from thousands of its supporters across Guyana. They continue to blame the administration of late president Forbes Burnham for the murder.
Read more

Respect Hatians' Rights

-
Image
                                                          The Caribbean Is One Nation. President Danilo Medina We call on the Government of the Dominican Republic to repeal the nefarious rulings of the DR constitutional court and return the dignity to those Haitians born of Hatian descent in the Dominican Republic, by restoring their rights to be citizens.    We further make it public that we will oppose the Dominican Republic becoming a member of CARICOM  unless this blot is removed from its affairs. The Haitian people seem to have been identified, as the one people in our region, who must suffer indignity after indignity; be it political, natural or man made.  Haiti has been treated, not as the most progressive post slave society in our region but as an unwanted step child by the entire region. Yet in the face of betrayal and ruthless internal and external political machinations, the Haitian people, whenever given the opportunity demonstrate an inherent resolve, not so rea
Read more

Gays and Scouts

-
Image
The Mahogany Coconut Group stands firmly in support of Mr. Darcy Dear, of the United Gays and Lesbians Association of Barbados (UGLAB), in relation to the recent statements of Dr.Nigel Taylor, Chief Commissioner of the Barbados Boy Scouts’ Association. Dr.Taylor stated that the Boy Scouts’ Association of Barbados has a “closed door policy” in granting membership to openly gay men. The historical purpose and contribution of the boy scouts movement needs no repetition here. We cannot understand,  why at this time, the leaders of the movement in Barbados would want to make the inclusion of openly gay members an issue.  We do not believe that the charter of the movement was concerned with the sexual orientation of its members but more so with the good deeds they render to their fellow citizens. This alarming witch hunt needs to be strongly protested. Discrimination of all forms is to be forcibly opposed by all freedom loving citizens. There can be no compromise on this position. We
Read more