BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – FOLLOWING yesterday’s (Nov. 23) launch of the CARICOM Trading and Competitiveness Project, work has begun in the harmonisation and standardisation of the Federation’s administrative policies and practices.
The first phase of the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA)-funded initiative will address component 100 of the Trading and Competitiveness Project. This component seeks to create an improved harmonised administration system that will allow single market beneficiaries to access their rights and thus promote a single unified CARICOM region for the future economic and social development of the people.
Two consultants, Legal expert Jaseth Jackson and Administrative Reform expert Dr. Gale Archibald, have been retained to carry out this purpose. They were contracted by the CARICOM Secretariat and will examine all of the administrative departments and units within government ministries, statutory bodies and non-state institutions involved in the administrative process.
According to Senior Technical Officer of the CARICOM Trade and Competitiveness Project Wanya Illes, the consultants would assess the nation’s administrative procedures identifying all the restrictions that may exist. They would in turn propose a list of measures the Federation needs to undertake in order for the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) to be smoothly implemented.
“There is a need for the project to identify what regulations should be in place to ensure that the laws are working effectively. They will not draft the regulations but they will make an inventory of what needs to be drafted, and they will come up with a priority list to see the areas in which St. Kitts and Nevis needs to do work in,” Illes noted.
A similar extensive exercise was carried out by the CARICOM Secretariat in 2005 when the regional body made a move in its 12-member state to remove restrictions to the implementation of the CSME. Since then, it remains critical to “iron out” some of these existing issues.
“Even in removing the restrictions in 2005 and 2006, there are a number of obstacles still to be dealt with. Also, it is one single market so we need to work toward standardisation of all of the different regimes because you don’t want to be in a single market and have 12 different regulations.
“We will also come up with a list of regulations that are unique to the member states. It is the start of the work but it is critical,” she concluded.
The launch of the project and the concentration on Component 100 have been welcomed by Senior Trade Policy Officer Samuel Berridge who described the launch as “extremely critical”.
“The project is very useful and timely and it will assist us internally to improve our administrative procedures. There are some gaps, and where these gaps exist we need to first identify them and we need to consider the policy recommendations by the consultants,” Berridge told this media house.
The contracted consultants are expected to submit their draft report in January 2010 and the next phase would be for the National Coordinating Committee to work on the recommendations therein.
