The Bahamas could become the Mecca for financial services and other business in the entire Caribbean with opportunities surpassing those already afforded it presently if it joins the Caribbean Single Market and Economy, according to CARICOM Secretary General Edwin Carrington.
Mr. Carrington, who was a guest on the Radio Love 97 programme “Jones & Company” Sunday, said The Bahamas has a very strong financial sector a very strong services industry and could see a myriad of gains from being a part of the CSME.
Mr. Carrington said that the economic arrangements under the CSME deals with the trade in and production and development of goods and services as well as the movement of capital and gives its members the right to establish business throughout the region.
“One immediate benefit is that many Caribbean countries would find it more attractive, especially in today’s world to hold financial services out of The Bahamas if the Bahamas is within the Caribbean Single Market and Economy,” Mr. Carrington said.
“You are the leader of services in the region. You have a chance to lead the Caribbean economy in terms of attracting investment; in terms of attracting business in the area of services. We are talking insurance, financial services, professional services and tourism,” he said.
He pointed out that The Bahamas presently has responsibility for tourism matters at CARICOM under the purview of Prime Minister Perry Christie.
Mr. Christie has said repeatedly that when he attends the CARICOM Heads of Government meeting in Jamaica in July, he will have a clear-cut position as it relates to the Bahamas joining the CSME.
The Bahamas, up to now, has been noncommittal on participation in the CSME.
Mr. Carrington was here along with a team from the CARICOM Secretariat to discuss the implications of The Bahamas becoming a member of the CSME with members of the Bahamas Trade Commission, the body appointed by Prime Minister Christie last year to advise the government on matters that deal with international trade liberalisation such as CSME, the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA). Mr. Carrington said that he found there was an “information deficiency” as far as Bahamians understanding the CSME.
He said that in order to help disseminate information about CSME, he said that a mechanism must be established for a much more effective exchange of information between The Bahamas and the other CARICOM states. He revealed that in order to target public education in schools, the CARICOM Secretariat is in the final stages of preparing a book.
The book, he said, outlines the history of CARICOM and the CSME pointing out its successes and failures in all aspects.
Mr. Carrington said he hoped the book would be published this year and it will be primarily for the benefit of students between the ages of 14 and 24.
Dr. Peter Maynard, president of the Bahamas Bar Association, who was also a guest on Jones & Co., said that the media have to completely rethink their role.
He cited the recent election of Carl Hudson Philips, a judge who is a national of Trinidad and Tobago and president of his country’s Bar Association to the International Criminal Court (ICC).
He said that very few local media had this information.
The election of Judge Hudson-Philips is particularly important considering that the United States is pressuring Caribbean countries, including The Bahamas, to sign an impunity agreement that would preclude American military from being tried in an ICC hearing.
CARICOM foreign ministers will discuss their position on the U.S. request in May when they meet in St. Vincent. Foreign Affairs Minister Fred Mitchell says he expects The Bahamas’ position would be in line with that of CARICOM.
Dr. Maynard, addressing the issue of competition with other Caribbean countries and efficiency, said, “We do need to focus on improving the quality of service.”
He also said that other countries in the region are able to make an impact on trade and goods that The Bahamas does not presently have the capacity to attain, something he attributes to (in concurrence with Mr. Carrington) the Bahamas’ lack of participation in the Caribbean economic integration process.
“If we are going to look at CSME, we need the technical and financial assistance to give the investor [the opportunity] to work this thing from the ground up rather than from the top down,” he said.
By Julian Reid, The Bahama Journal
