- Norman Grindley/Staff Photographer
Prime Minister of Barbados, Owen Arthur, left, in conversation with Byron Blake, right, Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Assistant Secretary-General for regional trade and economic integration and Minister of Finance and Planning, Dr. Omar Davies at the Jamaica Conference Centre in Kingston yesterday. At right, Deika Morrison.
STATE MINISTER in the Ministry of Finance, Deika Morrison, is to assume overall responsibility for Jamaican matters relating to CARICOM.
She is expected to provide a more effective assessment of Jamaica's position on key issues as well as identify those which can be implemented immediately and the timetable needed for those which have lapsed, Minister of Finance and Planning, Dr. Omar Davies, said at yesterday's opening ceremony of the Eighth Meeting of the Council For Finance And Planning Ministers (COFAP) at the Jamaica Conference Centre, downtown Kingston.
"I would urge other countries to do the same in terms of assigning someone at a senior rank with such responsibility," Dr. Davies said.
Ministers of Finance from eight of the 15 Caribbean Community countries participated in the one-day meeting, planned as a precursor to this week's annual summit of regional leaders in Montego Bay.
The COFAP is a key CARICOM organ which deals with a number of critical macro-economic and other policy responsibilities relating to the Caribbean Single Market and Economy (CSME).
Dr. Davies hoped that the meeting would produce results in areas where definitive action can be taken as well as those where members can outline the road towards finalising some of the decisions which have long been taken.
"There are certain issues that I would like to guide us through our deliberations. One relates to a realistic assessment as to whether the present regional arrangements are adequate to overcome the challenges which we face both in terms of domestic problems and those which originate from abroad. Are the present institutional arrangements adequate to ensure the effective implementation of the CSME," he said.
The 24th meeting of the Conference of Heads of Govern-ment in Montego Bay, will run from July 2-5. CARICOM is also celebrating its 30th anniversary.
CARICOM Secretary-General, Edwin Carrington, also urged the region to recapture its share in the tourism market, which has been affected by a fallout from fears about travelling. This is a direct result of the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States and by the recent Iraq War.
"Special measures are required to recapture market share by a region that has been gradually losing its competitiveness within the last decade or so," he said.
Finance ministers from at least eight countries are attending the meeting along with central bank governors; representatives of international, hemispheric and regional organisations; representatives of the private sector and the CARICOM secretariat.
They were expected to report on a number of new initiatives, including a draft of the Caribbean Economic Performance Report 2003, the first annual review of its kind; the expected launch on July 1 of a TT$100 million CARICOM Support Programme and the now completed 'Feasibility Study for Establishing a Regional Credit Rating Agency for the Caribbean'.
They are also expected to discuss various unresolved issues relating to the establishment of the Regional Stabilisation Fund.
"It would be most fitting if, during the 30th anniversary celebrations of the Community, it could be announced that agreement had been reached on the financing, management structure and other modalities relating to the Fund," Mr. Carrington said.
There was also need to reach speedy agreement on the cruise ship levy issue with respect to financing the Tourism Development Fund so that a Sustainable Development Strategy for the sector can be effectively implemented, he said.
