T&T PM on 7-member CARICOM governance review team

CARICOM has set up a seven-member committee to review of the governance structures of the movement.

The move is aimed at addressing frustrations regarding the pace of the implementation of decisions taken at regional summits.

Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar of Trinidad and Tobago is one of the members of the team, which is headed by CARICOM Chairman, Jamaican Prime Minister Bruce Golding.

Other members are Guyanese President Bharrat Jagdeo and the prime ministers prime ministers of Dominica, Grenada, St Kitts and Nevis and St Vincent and the Grenadines.

The leaders conceded at the end of their 31st meeting of Heads of Government in Montego Bay, Jamaica that they had failed to reach agreement on governance structure which had been a major talking point.

St Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister Dr Denzil Douglas told reporters, "We have basically agreed for a body of people to come together…do a quick assessment based on what they have sent to us as a recommendation and see how far we can get in determining what model to go forward with."

The governance models on the table are those of the Organisation of American States, the European Union, and the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States.

Douglas said the team would determine whether CARICOM can adopt any aspects of those models.

The committee is expected to present a report to a special meeting of regional leaders in September, ahead of the next CARICOM Inter-Sessional meeting in Grenada next year.

According to Douglas, "If we were to have this permanent structure, that will continue to work, whether you have a change in government or not, the work continues."