ROSEAU, Dominica-AS the chosen representative to deal with Labour in CARICOM’s quasi-Cabinet, Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit has stated that the CARICOM Heads of Government are dragging their feet on enacting the Caribbean Single Market and Economy (CSME).

“At every CARICOM meeting I provide a report as to where we are as it relates to the movement and what are the new decisions that we need to take in order to get it going. Aside from urging my colleagues to honour the decision taken at the conference of Heads, there is nothing else that I can do,” he was quoted as saying by Dominica News Online.

He also stated that the free movement of skilled nationals from CARICOM must be high on the agendas of member states, who he said often create “unnecessary barriers whether perceived or otherwise” that prevent the CSME from gaining traction.

“It is outrageous to say the least, for you to be the holder of a CARICOM passport, and you go to a sister CARICOM country and they give you 24 hours or two, three days to stay. To me that will cause the CARICOM national to have certain reservations about the CSME and then it overshadows all the wonderful things that we have done over the years to get to the point of creating the CSME.”

The cancellation of the meeting of Heads of Government scheduled in Barbados came as a blow to Skerrit, as he said it would have been a good chance for policy makers to meet face-to-face and better work out the details of the CSME.

“There are no divisions in CARICOM, but I will not engage another colleague Head in confrontation. Shouting across the Caribbean is not going to help anyone of us. We have to discuss the matter in a dispassionate manner and reach a common consensus,” he said.

The CSME is a result of the Grande Anse Declaration from the 10th Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government held in July 1989.

Its main objectives are to deepen economic integration through trade, encourage competitive production, widen the use of regional resources and improve the Caribbean’s position in the global trading market.