Prior to leaving Nassau on Wednesday, after two days of promoting the Caribbean Single Market Economy (CSME), Mr. Arthur, noting that the United Nations had rated Barbados’ technological achievements at a higher level than that of The Bahamas, also expressed confidence that he had significantly contributed to Bahamians’ understanding of issues related to the country joining the Caribbean Single Market Economy.
Mr. Arthur, the principal spokesman for the CSME, arrived here on Sunday, and left yesterday after two days of meetings in Nassau and Freeport with legislators, members of the clergy, trade unionists, businesspersons and other interested parties – including a spirited town meeting Monday night at the British Colonial Hilton Hotel, on the pros and cons of The Bahamas becoming a party to the regional initiative.
Among other things, the CSME would “legally” open the door for a “free flow” of certain categories of workers within CARICOM countries.
Noting that the talks were the beginning of a process and not the end, Mr. Arthur said during a farewell ceremony in the VIP Lounge at Nassau International Airport, that CARICOM countries do not intend to force the CSME idea “down the people’s throat,” or set a deadline for The Bahamas to make a decision.
“We understand that the issues pertaining to the Single Market and Economy are complex issues. The creation of the single market and single economy, if it were to be obtained, would be the most ambitious single endeavour ever undertaken in our region since Columbus landed in The Bahamas,” he said.
“A matter of this tremendous complexity cannot be entered lightly. It could only be entered if it is both the perception and reality of ownership of the process for everyone who will affected by it,” he said.
The United Nations Development Report rated Barbados 27th among other countries in order of technological advancement, which was above The Bahamas, and said much of Bajans’ “high quality of life,” Mr. Arthur advised.
He quickly added, however: “I make the point to indicate to you that, where Barbados is concerned, we want to be a part of a successful region. We want to be partners of a single economy, but a single growing, dynamic economy in the region that can offer the opportunity to improve the already high quality of life that we already enjoy.”
Mr. Arthur, who first became Prime Minister in 1994, and is presently in his third term, after his Barbados Labour Party, in a landslide victory in May won 23 seats to the opposition Democratic Labor Party’s seven, said that he looked forward to continuing discussions with The Bahamas, and expressed the belief that both countries would continue to achieve success within the CSME.
He urged The Bahamas to keep its borders open to legal and justified Caribbean migration, as has been the case over the years.
After a six-month review, and yet to make a formal policy statement on whether The Bahamas should become a part of the CSME, Prime Minister Perry Christie said during the ceremony, that he was “satisfied” that Barbados Prime Minister Owen Arthur now understood why The Bahamas decided to reserve its decision on the matter.
He said he was hopeful that Bahamians had gained a “deeper” understanding of the various issues involved.
He thanked Mr. Arthur for his visit, for addressing Bahamians’ various concerns, and for taking “pains to show us that in his judgment, The Bahamas had a lot to gain.”
“And so, it is my hope,” he said, “that we are able to take those views, broaden them and deepen them, so that the average Bahamian would have a full and true appreciation of the way ahead for us as we move to expand our own economy, never ever, moving away from our own standards of trying to not ever to agree to anything that amounts to a net disadvantage to The Bahamas.
“Based on what I heard from Prime Minister Arthur, I am satisfied that he leaves The Bahamas with a deeper appreciation of the concerns Bahamians hold with respect to certain issues involving our entry into the Caribbean Single Market and Economy,” he said.
During the various meetings, Bahamians expressed their views on a variety of concerns, including the free flow of workers, tariff laws, economic integration, tourism, and the establishment of a Caribbean Court of Justice.
The Nassau Guardian
