The optimism of Dr. Douglas, the incoming Caribbean Community Chairman and host for next week's 27th Heads of Government Conference, resonates with that of both outgoing CARICOM Chairman and Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, Hon. Patrick Manning and the Community's Secretary General, His Excellency Dr. Edwin Carrington.

They will be among the speakers at the opening of the conference at the Official Opening Ceremony at the Sir Cecil Jacobs Auditorium in the headquarters of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB).

Top Caribbean journalist Ricky Singh said Prime Minister Manning, whose government is the single largest contributor to the initial US$120 million Development Fund - US$30 million, (including US$20 million allocated from T&T's Petroleum Fund facility) - is confident that the necessary mechanisms will be in place for "the full consummation."

That's the date to which the six independent countries of the nine-member OECS sub-region had committed themselves last January to joining the first batch of countries to access the CSM - Barbados, Belize, Guyana, Jamaica, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago.

Douglas, who was last week basking in the sunshine politics of 25 years of functioning of the OECS, told Ricky Singh in a telephone interview from the Prime Minister's Box at the new Warner Park Stadium in Basseterre:

"Let there be no questioning of our (OECS) resolve to unitedly stand in cooperation with the rest of our CARICOM partners in singing together from the same page. And we in St. Kitts and Nevis are proud to once again be the venue for this exciting partnership development for both the CSM and the Development Fund...."

The 53-year-old doctor noted "a particular development of significance" for next week's 27th Summit in Basseterre, has to do with Haiti.

~~Adz:Left~~It was in Haiti, in October 2004 when at an Inter-Sessional Meeting of CARICOM in St. Kitts, Caribbean leaders had denied a request from then interim Prime Minister of Haiti, Gerard Latortue, to attend and participate.

The denial was consistent with CARICOM's concern over the apparent forced removal of President Jean Bertrand Aristide. Consequently, Haiti's seat in the councils of the Community was declared vacant pending the return of a legitimate government in Port-au-Prince.

Turning up in St. Kitts, possibly on July 2 to occupy Haiti's vacant seat in CARICOM, will be His Excellency President Rene Preval.

In the telephone interview, Prime Minister Douglas proudly declared: "St Kitts and Nevis, currently in the transition phase of moving out of 350 years of a sugar cane-based economy to a more promising and quite relevant hospitality and tourism-based economy, feel particularly honoured at this time in its contributions to regional development...."

The twin issues that have been causing much difficulties among the six independent OECS countries - Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St.

Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines - must now be finally settled next week in Basseterre - accessing CSM membership and participating in the CDF.

The contribution formula has been a major sticking point in resolving differences over operationalisation of the CDF, even as much haggling was occurring on likely amendments to land holding legislation in order to ensure a level playing field in the granting of licences for the establishment of business enterprises to all nationals of Caricom.

~~Adz:Right~~By finally arriving at a position that makes a distinction between "granting access" to land and the "ownership" of such land for establishment of businesses, the OECS governments seem to have overcome a major hurdle in their journey to climb on board the CSM while still arguing in favour of a licensing fee for administrative purposes.

Singh wrote that less apparent, at the time of writing, were the factors that would have driven them, finally, to a consensual position to participate in the Development Fund for which, unlike T&T's "petroleum financing facility," they must contribute to its capitalisation.

Singh wrote that the region is yet to learn of an official response to the argument advanced by the economist Havelock Brewster, in a paper to CARICOM, on whether the Fund, in its present form, makes "economic sense," or is more a matter of "political expediency."

Brewster's alternative approaches includes creation of an interest subsidisation fund (ISD) that could benefit from the accumulated experience of, for example, the Intermediate Financing Facility (IFF) of the Inter American Development Bank (IDB).

Prime Minister Douglas said: "We have deliberated, we have had divergent views and positions, now we are ready to go forward together in charting a new milestone in CARICOM's (33 years) history in economic integration and functional cooperation."

Singh wrote taken together, the expressed optimism of Manning and Douglas suggest that, finally, CARICOM leaders are set for "full consummation" of a 12-member CSM, and inauguration of the CDF.