BASSETERRE, St. Kitts, August 12, 2010 (Foreign Affairs Ministry of St. Kitts & Nevis) - The people of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), of which Kittitians and Nevisians are integrally a part, are no stranger to the concept that working together in unity is a far better strategy than going it alone.
This principle is so fundamental to the ethos of our civilization that even the most irreligious amongst us would be able to quote, from memories of Sunday School past, the sage advice of 1st Corinthians 12: “And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee; nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you.
“Nay, much more those members of the body, which seem to be more feeble are necessary:
“And those members of the body, which we think to be less honourable, upon these we bestow more abundant honour; and our uncomely parts have more abundant comeliness.
“…That there should be no schism in the body; but that the members should have the same care for another.
“And, whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or the member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it.”
From the street corner to the boardroom, everyone knows that “many hands make light work” and “one, one full dung basket”.
Bringing together the people of Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, the British Virgin Islands, Anguilla and Montserrat, the OECS represents the interests of some of the smallest micro-states in the world. Collectively, it has a total land area of only 1000 square miles and a population of fewer than 600,000. Despite our small size and the vulnerabilities and limitations that come with this, the OECS has been living proof that a more integrated response to challenges best serves the purpose of improving conditions in whatever the area of concern.
It is this guiding principle that compelled the OECS, despite the feebleness and uncomeliness of its members, to rise from the ashes of the West Indies Federation to forge its own path and create its own destiny that today has put it at the vanguard and not the rearguard of the regional integration movement. Today, the OECS stands out as a model of economic unity that is studied and emulated the world over. Amidst the gloom of recent events – the crippling effects of global financial crisis, the heartbreak of Haiti and the flaming rage of Kingston – we shine as a beacon of hope for the region.
The proud legacy bequeathed to us has been more successful than even our Founding Fathers (and one mother) – Bird, Charles, Bishop, Tannis, Simmonds, Margetson and Cenac – could have foreseen when they affixed their signatures to the original Treaty of Basseterre that set us on this improbable journey.
Many of these successes have become such a natural part of our everyday landscape that they are often overlooked and taken for granted. Every day we drive past the headquarters of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank without pausing to recognize the fact that this is one of the flagship institutions of our sub-region as the single authority that regulates and manages our entire banking system and, even more significantly, our much coveted and stable EC Dollar!
Over the last seven months, in the aftermath of one of the most contentious elections in the history of St. Kitts, how many times did we whisper a prayer in gratitude that the separation of powers principle enshrined in our Constitution could be guaranteed and upheld without fail, largely because we are a member of a regional judiciary, free from the influence of local partisan politics…and politicians? We owe this to the OECS Supreme Court, an institution that finds no parallel in the world, except perhaps with the European Court of Justice.
As with our landscape, so too do we fail to notice the many ways that our day-to-day activities and customs are determined, affected, constrained or managed by the work of other sub-regional institutions. The Eastern Caribbean Civil Aviation Authority has managed and regulated the airspace and civil aviation within the OECS for decades. Many of us participate directly or indirectly in the Eastern Caribbean Stock Exchange (ECSE), one of the most technologically advanced in the world.
Every Monday afternoon, our women (and a few men) head down to the Basseterre Market, to purchase the week’s produce for our cooking pots. We all know that on this day you can buy one whole week’s worth of food, for the price of a few imported items! This privilege – access to healthy, OECS-grown, chemical free, organic fruits and vegetables – has been brought to our shores courtesy of the enterprising hucksters and higglers who for decades have taken advantage of Free Movement among OECS countries.
How many times do we remember, as we juggle our Lime, Digicel and Chippie cell phones, that such options are available to us through the work of the Eastern Caribbean Telecommunications Authority (ECTEL) which is responsible for the liberalisation of our Telecommunications sector?
When we go to the drug store and are able to pass over the expensive brand items for more affordable and equally effective generic medications are we even aware that our ability to choose is made possible because of the OECS Phamaceutical (Joint) Procurement Service? These are just a few examples of the numerous successes of which the OECS can boast.
This is not to mention many other pursuits such as joint diplomatic representation in major international capitals and institutions, or policy harmonisation and coordination in various critical areas such as energy, tourism, air transportation, health, education and trade negotiations, all of which allows for significant cost-saving to our government through the pooling and sharing of resources.
The tremendous work undertaken by the staff of the OECS Secretariat, located in St, Lucia, and headed by its Director General, Dr. Len Ishmael, is worthy of high commendation. One of the primary functions of the Secretariat is cultivating and maintaining relationships with Development Partners in order to secure additional funding for its programme of support for its Member States.
From 2008 to 2010 alone, the OECS Secretariat has secured approximately EC$28,302,469 of funding towards the implementation of programmes and projects that directly benefit the citizens of Member States. During this period, St. Kitts and Nevis alone received about EC$3,456,949 in assistance that funded projects in key sectors such as Communication, Trade, Export, Social Development, Environment, Foreign Service and Health.
The Secretariat has projected that as at April 2010 it has already secured a commitment from its partners to an amount of approximately EC$38,544,047 towards projects to be undertaken from April 2010 to December 2011. Hence, the OECS not only represents a triumph of common sense by pooling the resources of its Member States to eliminate waste and duplication, but the benefits of Union also translates into dollars and cents by providing focus and force behind our development goals and attracting the necessary support.
Is it not then a small wonder that the Member States of the OECS would want to deepen integration in the face of ever more pressing global and domestic challenges? The pressure and urgency of external events have made the time ripe for close examination of OECS prospects and plans in order to avoid the real danger of becoming a regional backwater in a time of historic and rapid change. In the face of growing frustration with the pace of progress, resentment about current social, economic and security conditions, concern about future prospects and ever increasing doubt that advancement in life can be best assured by remaining within the sub-region, the pressures and urgency of the people’s needs call as insistently, indeed, demand such a review!
In response to these imperatives Heads of Government of the OECS agreed in 2001 that the time had come to advance toward Economic Union. It was recognized that the original Treaty of Basseterre was no longer adequate to the achievement of its own stated aims and these stated aims may no longer be adequate to the aspirations of the people of the sub-region. It was time to venture beyond the original Treaty and formulate new terms for a successor Treaty. The time had come for renewal and expansion!
Stay tuned for our next article entitled “OECS Economic Union…in a nutshell”.
