OECS/T&T political union set for 2013

By Stanford Conway
Editor-in-Chief-SKNVibes.com

(L-R) Prime Ministers Patrick Manning, Dr. Denzil Douglas and Tillman Thomas

News coming out of St. Lucia states that leaders of the nine-member sub-regional grouping met last Thursday (Sep. 11) at the Bay Garden Resort in Gros Islet for a one-day Special Meeting and gave their full backing to establishing the political union, but indicated they would further discuss the plan with T&T’s Prime Minister Patrick Manning at a meeting to be held in St. Kitts on Thursday, October 23.

According to Caribbean360.com, the OECS member countries of Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, St Kitts and Nevis, Montserrat, Anguilla and the British Virgin Islands will, however, first complete their own economic union by 2009.

This decision follows a mini summit held in Port-of-Spain on Thursday, August 14, where the PMs of Grenada, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and T&T signed a Joint Declaration to establish a framework for closer cooperation towards the

St. Vincent’s Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves

Subsequent to the mini summit, Manning and Grenada’s PM Tillman Thomas visited a number of CARICOM countries to hold discussions on proposals of the new initiative and for the Heads of State to affix their signatures to the Joint Declaration, especially for T&T to be part of the OECS’ economic union.

Both the economic and political integration initiative are open to all CARICOM member states, and Caribbbean360.com reported St. Vincent’s Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves as saying the initiative is a win-win situation for all involved.

“Anytime you have a strong economy and it is deepening its integration with its neighbours, it further strengthens it,” Dr. Gonsalves told reporters after the one-day Special Meeting last Thursday.

Professor Vaughan Lewis, a former PM of St. Lucia and T&T diplomat Dr. Cuthbert Joseph were asked to prepare a study on the new initiative. However, Jamaica’s PM Bruce Golding has called for a summit of CARICOM leaders to discuss the new initiative, especially with T&T knocking on the OECS door for entry. He noted that his government would evaluate Jamaica’s position on the proposed union on completion of the summit.    ~~Adz:Left~~

And in the South, President Bharrat Jagdeo said Guyana would have to see the model being proposed and consultations held before any commitment is made. Jagdeo told reporters that he has told Manning he has to see the technical work done and what model of political union was being proposed before he makes any commitment.

Jagdeo said there are different models including a federation, confederation or “a union with the union responsible for some aspects of community policy and or national states or member states retaining jurisdiction over other kinds of policies”.

He also indicated that it would be premature to speak definitively on Guyana’s participation in any political union before the technical work was completed and national discussions were held.