BASSETERRE, St. Kitts -- THE Prime Minister of the Federation, Dr. Terrance Drew, has refuted suggestions that he and his administration have signed onto the yet-to-be-completed framework for the CARICOM Free Movement initiative.
Concerns have been expressed by citizens over the initiative, which will allow nationals from all across the region to travel and live freely within member states. However, these concerns primarily revolve around fears of an influx of people to the Federation, potentially straining health and education infrastructure.
Rumors have been circulating that Prime Minister Drew signed onto the initiative, paving the way for its implementation, despite announcing at his roundtable that he is awaiting more information on the framework.
On Saturday (Mar. 16), Dr. Drew once again addressed the concern head-on, telling the WINN FM ‘Inside the News’ Programme that, “We have not signed on to this and secondly, the ambassador has been out speaking to it and thirdly, the task force is put together to bring this as a broader discussion with respect to our country and society.”
This clarification comes as the lead prime minister, Mia Mottley, has been vocal about the initiative, leading many to believe that the Federation has signed on. However, concerns were expressed against the backdrop of Antigua and Barbuda unequivocally stating that it will not sign on to the initiative at this time.
“...St. Kitts and Nevis has not taken that step with respect to free movement, because again, we would not do anything that we think would affect St. Kitts and Nevis, negatively,” Dr Drew said.
The discussion of free movement was thrust into the spotlight following the recently concluded 46th Heads of Government Meeting in Guyana. Dr. Drew noted that CARICOM Free Movement has benefited the Federation in many ways but reiterated that the territory has not signed on to the initiative.
Ambassador Larry Vaughn has been making the rounds on the media across the Federation to explain the initiative, including the fact that the government will establish a task force to review the initiative, weighing the pros and cons of possible implementation.
Meanwhile, he recently noted that based on current discussions, the initiative may not meet the March 31st deadline for implementation. Regional leaders and Attorneys General met recently to further discussions on the program.
