Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) debate marijuana medical use... the decriminalisation of small quantities for recreational use ...and the economic benefits that might be derived from marijuana cultivation

Regional Commission to address the issues regarding marijuana use mandated by CARICOM Heads

(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) - Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) have mandated that a Regional Commission be set up to address issues identified in relation to marijuana use.
 
This announcement was made by Chairman of the Conference of Heads of Government, Dr. the Hon Ralph Gonsalves during a press conference that concluded the 25th Intersessional Meeting Tuesday in St Vincent and the Grenadines on Tuesday.

Dr. Gonsalves disclosed that the Heads of Government engaged in intense discussions on the issue. The debate, he said, covered its medical use and the decriminalising of small quantities for recreational use. He explained that the economic benefits that might be derived from marijuana cultivation was also explored.

The Community Chairman expressed that there were also concerns raised during deliberations about the repercussions that would come from legalizing or even decriminalizing marijuana. Particular apprehensions were raised regarding potential public and mental health aspects of its use.

Heads of Government also recognised the need for careful in-depth research of the various implications of the measures contemplated during the deliberations.

The mandated commission is expected to address the issues identified along with any others deemed relevant in providing clear guidance for the tough decisions that will need to be made in relation to this matter. The Commission is expected to report to the Regular Meeting of the Conference in July 2014.

“In relation to this issue we have obviously taken more than baby steps. We want the issue to be addressed in a serious, mature manner” Dr. Gonsalves said.

March 13, 2014

CARICOM

If value-added tax (VAT) is implemented on July 1, 2014 ...total chaos will erupt

Banker: ‘Total chaos’ without VAT delay

Top investment banker points to unanswered questions; says tax alternatives could take place in interim

By ALISON LOWE
Guardian Business Editor
alison@nasguard.com

“Total chaos” will result if value-added tax (VAT) is implemented come July 1 of this year, a top investment banker has warned, arguing that “too many questions remain unanswered” and the uncertainty surrounding the matter is causing major companies to hold off on investment plans.

Michael Anderson, RoyalFidelity Merchant Bank and Trust’s president, said that as far as he can tell, the current implementation date for VAT – given the lack of passage of legislation or significant public education – is “not viable”.

He suggested there should be a delay of at least six months to allow for a reasonable time to prepare for the tax to come into effect.

In the meantime, whether or not VAT is implemented in July, Anderson, who is involved with raising capital for many major companies in The Bahamas, said uncertainty over what will happen with VAT is “already showing up in the markets”.

Noting that there has been an “increased level of activity” of late with respect to companies taking an interest in coming to the market for capital raising, he said that whether or not VAT is implemented, and the potential financial impact of the new tax should it come into effect, is a “key issue they are trying to resolve” before making a final determination on moving ahead with investment plans.

“It’s showing up in the reluctance of people to do certain things. I’m involved with a couple of companies looking to raise capital and do projects that are basically on hold. I think the impact is seen in a lack of progress in various situations already. The question is, ‘how do I deal with this issue?’ They are holding off until that knowledge is available.”

The government has proposed VAT to be implemented at a rate of 15 per cent on July 1st, with the tax acting as a cornerstone of its efforts to plug its widening fiscal deficit and growing national debt. With the disclosure that the government now intends to regularize and tax numbers houses, Minister of State for Finance Michael Halkitis has hinted lately that the government may “relax” on this revenue-raising measure, but to date there has been no commitment to delay the implementation of the tax – or do away with it altogether – which many private sector stakeholders across a number of industries have called for.

The government has committed to paying attention to the results of a study commissioned by private sector group, the Coalition for Responsible Taxation, on the likely impact of VAT and possible alternatives. That study is due around the beginning of May.

Anderson said that there is a deficiency of information in the public domain which would allow companies to adequately prepare for the tax’s implementation, should it go ahead on July 1.

His comments suggest that whether or not the government decides to go ahead with implementing VAT at a rate of 15 per cent on July 1 or not, clarity would contribute to allowing the continuation of economic activity in the meantime.

“With the presentation on this there seems to be more questions that get raised and left unanswered. There’s a large number of unanswered questions. You’ve got the whole infrastructure, the reporting systems, and the testing of them; there are too many pieces of the puzzle that remain unresolved or incomplete.”

Such concerns were echoed recently in the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) Article IV Consultation report on The Bahamas. In that report, released last week, the multilateral financial institution said that first year revenues from VAT will come in at just 1.3 percent of GDP, almost a full percentage point lower than that forecast by the government.

This projection was attributed in part to delays in rolling out the public campaign on VAT and in the passage of the necessary legislation, along with a lack of local experience in managing the collection of such a tax. The IMF supports the implementation of VAT overall, pointing in the report to the negative fiscal effects of delaying its roll-out and calling for it to take place in a timely fashion.

However, its comments linking the delays in the public campaign surrounding VAT and the passage of the legislation to potentially detrimental effects on its ability to raise revenue for the government, suggest that it too might see the benefits of a delay in the short term.

If such a delay were to occur, said Anderson, the potential impact on government revenues would be mitigated by recently announced plans to ensure the regularization and taxation of numbers houses.

And like the coalition, Anderson also pointed to a payroll tax as relatively easy-to-implement, revenue-raising measure that could be put into effect in the interim.

“You may find it’s a number of taxes that take over and you don’t have to get the full impact of VAT,” he said, adding that whenever the government chooses to move ahead with the tax it will have a “problematic effect”.

“It’s not a simple tax,” he said.

March 13, 2014

thenassauguardian

Failing to implement Value Added Tax (VAT) would see The Bahamas Government’s fiscal consolidation plans “veer considerably off track... says the International Monetary Fund (IMF)

Gov't To Collect Just Over Half Initial Vat Goal

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

The Government will realise just over half of its projected Value-Added Tax (VAT) net revenue increase in the first year, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned, with forecast increases in Customs and real property taxes also over-optimistic.

The IMF, in its long-awaited Article IV report on the Bahamas, said the likely delays in implementing VAT, and this lack of nation’s inexperience in managing it, given the absence of an already-existing consumption tax, meant first year revenues from the new tax were likely to amount to just 1.3 per cent of GDP.

That percentage is almost a full percentage point lower than the 2.2 per cent net revenue gain the Government is forecasting. In dollar terms, assuming an $8 billion Bahamian GDP, the IMF’s 1.3 per cent is equivalent to a $104 million revenue increase - more than $70 million below the Government’s $176 million.

The Article IV report also suggested that the Government had over-estimated the revenue boost it would receive from ongoing Customs and real property tax reforms.

While the Ministry of Finance has pegged the improvement as equivalent to 0.5 per cent of GDP for Customs, and 1 per cent for real property tax, the IMF’s are 0.3 per cent and 0.6 per cent, respectively.

Collectively, the IMF’s projections are for revenue improvements that, in dollar terms, are $48 million below the Government’s for Customs and real property tax reforms.

The Fund, meanwhile, placed delays in implementing fiscal consolidation as among the risks likely to have the greatest negative impact on the Bahamian economy, alongside crime, a major hurricane, another US fiscal shock and “disappointing results” from Baha Mar’s operational start.

Apart from crime and a natural disaster, the IMF rated a delay in fiscal consolidation as the most likely of these scenarios to happen - something that could “pose risks to long-term debt sustainability and the country’s investment grade credit rating”.

This again shows the pressure the Government is under to make meaningful revenue and fiscal reforms, while at the same time doing nothing that would impair economic growth.

It also highlights the dilemma facing the Christie administration and private sector, which have agreed that reform must happen but are divided on the ‘what’ and ‘how’. In trying to ensure the Bahamas makes the right decision, neither can delay indefinitely.

Touting VAT as providing “a more efficient means to broaden the tax base, increase revenues and improve the effectiveness of tax administration more generally”, the IMF report said the proposed 15 per cent rate, based on experience, was likely to generate gross revenues equivalent to 7 per cent of GDP.

This translates into $560 million, in line with the Government’s projections, with the Christie administration’s VAT net revenue gain pegged at 2.2 per cent of GDP.

The IMF, though, cast doubt on whether the Government would hit that target in the 2014-2015 fiscal year, if indeed it is introduced in time, due to “capacity limitations in revenue management”.

“Other limiting factors in the initial year of the reform include delays in rolling out the public campaign and securing passage of relevant legislation in Parliament, which could complicate the timely acquisition and testing of IT systems needed in both the public and private sectors,” the Fund added.

“The absence of a consumption tax, and the lack of local experience in its management, would contain the initial revenue gains from the VAT as well. Because of these constraints, staff projects the net revenue gain from the VAT at 1.3 per cent of GDP for the initial fiscal year 2014-2015.”

The IMF warned, though, that failing to implement VAT would see the Government’s fiscal consolidation plans “veer considerably off track”, with the central government’s debt-to-GDP ratio “already above” 60 per cent by the time the next fiscal year starts.

“Staff underscored setting the VAT base as broadly as possible, and encouraged the authorities to ensure that adequate efforts and resources are deployed to secure the timely implementation of the reform,” the Fund added.

It also disclosed that, combined, the Customs and real property tax departments were generating revenues “below 50 per cent of the potential”.

“The Bahamian Customs and real property tax departments rely heavily on manual procedures and outdated information systems. As a result, revenue collection is currently estimated at below 50 per cent of the potential,” the Article IV report said.

“Envisaged reforms aim to bring management of the two revenue agencies up to international standards, involving extensive computerisation of revenue assessment and collection functions, and introduction of risk-based monitoring of operations.

“Staff concurred with the authorities that reform of the two revenue departments could yield significant revenue gains. However, given pervasive capacity limitations and the record of low tax compliance, staff urged caution in factoring the anticipated revenue improvements into the medium-term fiscal framework.”

Elsewhere, the IMF report showed that collective public corporation debt (guaranteed by the Bahamian taxpayer for the likes of Bahamasair, Water & Sewerage etc) had increased from 10.5 per cent of GDP in December 2008 to 16 per cent at end-June 20134.

“The Bahamian public corporations continue to face significant financial challenges, notably stemming from inefficiencies in operations (excessive staffing, aged facilities), but also reflecting these entities’ tacit social duty to provide affordable services to all residents including in remote Family Islands,” the Fund added.

The Government’s fiscal plan calls for tax revenue to increase by an average 0.8 percentage points of GDP over the next five years, with the debt-to-GDP ratio falling from a 59.5 per cent peak to 55 per cent by the 2017-2018 fiscal year.

The bulk of the revenue increase will come from VAT, with “only moderate savings achieved on government expenditures in view of limited spending flexibility”.

With Baha Mar and other projects set to boost private sector employment prospects, the IMF said 
“pressure on central government hiring should be manageable beyond 2014, permitting limitation of wage outlays to the last three years’ average of 7.4 per cent of GDP”.

But, despite government projections that the existing 1.9 per cent primary budget deficit will be balanced by the next fiscal year, the IMF warned that there were “downside risks” due to over-optimistic fiscal and growth forecasts in the past.

“The forecast track record shows a tendency toward optimism in staff forecasts of real GDP growth and the primary balance, pointing to downside risks to the baseline scenario. This underscores the need for rigorous adherence to the ongoing fiscal consolidation programme,” the IMF said.

March 10, 2014

Tribune 242

Fred Mitchell on CARICOM

Saving CARICOM, pt. 5

This commentary is taken from a lecture given by Minister of Foreign Affairs and Immigration Fred Mitchell on February 6 at the University of the West Indies, St. Augustine in Trinidad and Tobago. Mitchell’s address was on “Saving CARICOM”. This is the final part of the lecture.

 This brings me to my pet peeve, the nature and culture of our decision making around the region. It is manifested in the suggestions which The Bahamas advances each year on the length, for example, of opening ceremonies of CARICOM gatherings. Try as we might, those ceremonies continue to take far too long and interfere in my respectful view in the timely dispatch of the work of the body. That is just symptomatic of what I call the deliberative nature of our culture.

In other words, we like to talk.

Mr. Anthony in the chamber address again says: “The simple truth is that decision making, especially in the all critical area of trade when time is of essence, has become cumbersome, layered, and bureaucratic. For instance, it takes months to get a decision from COTED and by the time the decision arrives the reason for the request ceases to be relevant, or the situation which necessitated the request has so deteriorated that the initial solution is no longer the answer to the problem.”

Those who are familiar with the negotiations on the Carib/Can agreement will know of which the prime minister speaks.

In our meetings and visits, we are fond of invoking the Singapore model for development. However, we must realize as Sam Huntington, the Harvard professor, makes clear in his seminal work “Political Order in Changing Societies” that there is a trade-off between rapid development and growth on the one hand and democracy on the other. That trade-off seems to be that if you want rapid growth and development at the same time, then you have to move toward a more authoritarian model of governance. That may work in Asia but I dare say is inimical to the way we do business in the region. However, something must be done to reduce the amount of words expended and to increase the level of action and dispatch.

So now can I pull all of this together in some coherent way.

It is clear that The Bahamas, and I think that the CARICOM project, has much to recommend itself.

I have said in another context that if CARICOM did not exist, it would have to be invented. There is no more efficient way to conduct ourselves as small countries but in some sort of multinational supra-body that will deal with the old traditional world powers.

CARICOM for good or ill is that body. There has been too much concentration on the issues of market and economy and not enough on how we actually function and how our people actually succeed and work together.

Clearly in terms of institutional arrangements The Bahamas has some way to go in convincing its public that this is a good religion to adopt but I think we are mainly there. We have put our money where our mouth is.

As we say in our country: “Talk is cheap; money buy land.”

I want to borrow from the convergence model and suggest a couple of items that ought to be carried out with dispatch.

In this summary, I mention first of all the strengthening of the powers and human resources of the secretariat and more reliable and dedicated funding mechanisms.

Secondly, the closer coordination of the foreign policy of CARICOM to leverage the number of votes we have in international bodies for the benefit of the region.

I recall the recent visit to the region of a Canadian minister of state in the Ministry of External Affairs who came to remind The Bahamas and other CARICOM countries that they should not support a mooted push by Qatar to move the headquarters of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) from Montreal to Doha because of our traditional friendship. It was a very interesting statement given the difficulty our nations often have when seeking to get results in Ottawa, even a simple meeting with public officials or resolving the tortuous issues of visas for our students.

Leveraging in this context should become a fine art for CARICOM.

I also believe that we ought to have a more structured approach in our relations with the United States. One idea is for greater access of our young people into the tertiary level institutions of that country with a right to live and work there in pursuit of training opportunities.

Thirdly, I call for a specific focus on the development of young people including a commitment to double the investment in education over the next five years.

Fourthly, that our ministers of culture, trade and finance continue to build on ways to improve the ability of youngsters to use their raw talents to build wealth for this region.

I recall a 17 year old from Britain who was hailed as a genius because he made millions from an app, which he invented. I pointed out that we have that same genius in the Caribbean but perhaps we do not recognize it.

Did not Usain Bolt, a young man from Jamaica, come from poor and humble circumstances and using his talent, this genius, transform his life into one that is worth a fortune? And, in the process, he lifted the collective spirit of Jamaica out of despair. I worry about him and others who emulate him; that they are not taken advantage of by the commercial hucksters of this life. Encouraging the Bolts of this world, nurturing them, supporting them, educating them, protecting them; that is a role that governments can do by their policies.

Not only is this true in sports but in all cultural spheres including music, drama and the arts.

This is a mission which former Prime Minister Patterson speaks to with some urgency.

Fifthly, I believe that we ought to declare a state of emergency in relation to the development of boys and men. We cannot continue along the path of the dysfunctions which now obtain across our societies where so many men and boys are not participating in the society but instead embrace a life of violence and crime or a lack of “stickability”. I say this with the greatest of respect and honor to the millions of men and boys who do get it and who do succeed but we must reach back and help to lift our fallen brothers. Our women too should recognize the urgency of this problem even as they take their rightful place in society. They have an interest in resolving this issue as well.

I am asking that CARICOM embrace this as a priority in fixing our problems. We will not regret it.

Finally, we must all commit to telling the CARICOM story. This means people-to-people engagement, improved and increased travel and transportation links. The leaders themselves should travel and interact in the jurisdictions of the other. It is to build that chemistry about which Kenny Anthony spoke.

When I was opposition spokesman on foreign affairs during the period 2007 to 2012, I continued to travel to the region and pay official calls on governments and opposition leaders. There was a look of consternation often on the faces of many when I visited. There was apoplexy back in the capital by my political opponents at home. However, I wanted to lead by example. CARICOM must be a continuing project and enterprise in or out of government. The project is both formal and informal. What may be posited about that project is that its success is ensured by turning specialized functions into localized actions the region over.

Lastly, I mention again the need to revisit the charter and to reflect the broader embrace of the issues and begin the conversation on public policy and sexual orientation as one of the characteristics for which there can be no discrimination.

There are a number of other important public policy issues which require focus. Clearly these would include climate change and our continued dependence on fossil fuels, transportation and migration, which must be solved. The commonalities of dependence and vulnerability within the context of energy and climate change make these policy developments imperative.

However, I believe if we fix the problems of structure and decision making and human rights issues, our ability to resolve the others will follow. In any event, I have spoken too long and it is time to stop. In our country we say: “You must talk some and keep some.” The process of saving CARICOM is ongoing. Each generation is called to take the project further. I would not urge despair.

Kamau Brathwaite, the Barbadian writer, reminds us in Negus:

It is not enough to be free

of the whips, principalities and powers.

where is your kingdom of the word…

It is not enough to be free

of malaria fevers of the hurricane,

fear of invasions, crops’ drought, fire’s

blister upon the cane…

It is not enough to be able to fly to Miami,

structure skyscrapers, excavate the moon-

scaped seashore sands

to build hotels, casinos, sepulchres…

 

It is not enough

to be pause, to be hole

to be void, to be silent

to be semicolon, to be semicolony…

To which I add a loud hallelujah and amen!

Once again, I am deeply grateful for this invitation to speak here this evening.

Thank you and good evening.

March 10, 2014

- Saving CARICOM, pt. 1

- Saving CARICOM, pt. 2

- Saving CARICOM, pt. 3

- Saving CARICOM pt.4

thenassauguardian

The condition of women's equality in The Bahamas today

"Join me on the Bridge" 03-08-14 Remarks by Branville McCartney

Mr. McCartney was indeed humbled for the opportunity to address women on International Women's Day at the event "Join me on the Bridge" in Freeport, Grand Bahama. He was the first male to be chosen to speak at this event since its inception.

"A Celebration of Women"
The woman.
The better half.
The backbone of society.
The one behind every good and successful man.

Nature has, for the most part, made her physically less intimidating than man.  But although she may be, or appear to be, the physically weaker of the sexes, she is always the strength of a nation.

If her work is never done, it is because caring for current and future generations is a full-time, all-consuming, and lifelong work, in and out of the home.

As once expressed by Margaret Thatcher, "...if you want anything said, ask a man.  If you want anything done, ask a woman."

To my colleagues, to the organizers and patrons of Join Me On the Bridge, to our visitors, and to all of you here with me, it is my great pleasure to be with you today, and to speak to you, in celebration of International Women's Day.

It has been 51 years since women got the vote in our Bahamas, but, in many ways, they continue to fight for some very fundamental rights by way of activism in women's equality.  And these rights, in large part, are very slow to realize, because the basic tenet of women's equality begins with the perception of women's equality.  Changing a perception is - and has always been - more challenging than changing a law.

There are many facets of our society that continue to move us along in the antiquated ways of the past, never truly giving light and precedence to the importance of women's empowerment.  And there are many people who remain ignorant of, or negligent in, the ongoing pursuit of gender equality for Bahamian women.

So much that women have accomplished in business, in government, and in their home lives, goes unnoticed, or is taken for granted.  So much that is not right, but is considered tradition, is overlooked, disregarded, and continued, because complacency and status quo are easier than improvement.

To this day, a Bahamian woman's child, unless born to a Bahamian man, is not born a Bahamian citizen.  It is a frustrating, unfair, and sexist position, the origins of which are remarkably archaic and equally unbelievable.  But this is something passed down into our laws from centuries ago, in a world where men were even more boldly regarded and treated as more human and worthwhile than women.

And these laws were written by men, of course... men who, for all the good that comes their way when women are content, have never sought to rectify this injustice once and for all, by fully aligning themselves with women in the cause for women's equality.

It is now up to the men who stand strong in this era, to ensure that women who, of their wombs birth generations of brilliant men and women, can pass on their Bahamian citizenship to the children they give birth to anywhere in the world, and with a spouse who possesses any nationality.

Women are discriminated against, even in the workplace, with respect to their opportunities for career advancement and the equality of their pay for doing the same jobs men do.  This is a more subtle, yet still prevalent, occurrence of the inequality of the sexes.  But there is no reason, whatsoever, why a woman who has the same education and training as her male counterpart, goes to the same school that he does, has the same work experience that he does, should ever be considered unequal to him, or incapable of leading a company or a government (or a family) to success, at an income that is equivalent to the one he will be offered.

I have a wonderful, hardworking, and beautiful mother.  I have wonderful, hardworking, and beautiful sisters.  I have a wonderful, hardworking, and beautiful wife.  I have wonderful, hardworking, and beautiful daughters.  I have wonderful, hardworking, and beautiful aunts. They are all dear to my heart.  And as important as my mother, my sisters, my wife, aunts, and my daughters are to me, so are the issues of women's rights, women's equality, and women's empowerment.

I want my daughters to grow up in a country... in a world... which is fair to them, and does not assume that because they are beautiful, feminine, or female, makes them any less qualified to do important work. And the only way I can help them to live the lives they deserve is to do my part as their father, and as a man, to ensure that right is done by and for them.  And I encourage each of you - man, woman, boy, or girl - to recognize, respect, and advocate for the equal value and rights of the women of our country.

When the whole Bahamas does this, along with the whole of America, the whole of the United Kingdom, the whole of Europe, the whole of India, the whole of Africa, etc., it changes the world we live in for the better..... and for the long haul.

Men can, in support of all women, in their ongoing fight for full equality, be good, responsible, and fair fathers to their daughters, husbands to their wives, sons to their mothers, and bosses to their employees, affording women and girls the opportunities to dream and to realize their dreams, to grow and flourish in them, to stand firm in their convictions, and to express the ideas and sentiments that change nations.

"What would men be without women?" the esteemed author, Mark Twain, asked in his writing.  To his own question, he replied, "scarce sir... mighty scarce." 

The condition of women's equality in The Bahamas today, particularly the ill-conceived notion that a woman is a man's possession, punching bag, servant, or source of pleasure and nothing more, is a direct result of the fact that men (and women) have not sought to make it different, and ultimately better, for all women.

Let us not allow this to be the case, after now.

Ladies and gentlemen, I thank you for allowing me to share this special day with you.  I hope you will enjoy it and to all of you a good afternoon.

Branville McCartney on Facebook 

Fred Mitchell's Saving CARICOM

Saving CARICOM pt.4

• This commentary is taken from a lecture given by Minister of Foreign Affairs and Immigration Fred Mitchell on February 6 at the University of the West Indies, St. Augustine in Trinidad and Tobago. Mitchell’s address was on “Saving CARICOM”.

This is said against the backdrop of the much-publicized speech of the American Secretary of State John Kerry to the Organization of American States (OAS) on November 18, 2013: “... In the early days of our republic, the United States made a choice about its relationship with Latin America. President James Munroe, who was also a former secretary of state, declared that the United States would unilaterally, and as a matter of fact, act as the protector of the region. The doctrine that bears his name asserted our authority to step in and oppose the influence of European powers in Latin America. And throughout our nation’s history, successive presidents have reinforced that doctrine and made a similar choice.

“Today, however, we have made a different choice. The era of the Munroe Doctrine is over. The relationship – that’s worth applauding. That’s not a bad thing. The relationship we seek and that we have worked hard to foster is not about a United States declaration about how and when it will intervene in the affairs of other American states. It’s about all of our countries viewing one another as equals, sharing responsibilities, cooperating on security issues, and adhering not to doctrine, but to the decisions that we make as partners to advance the values and the interests we share.”

The proof of this declaration by Mr. Kerry will of course be in the pudding. The recent developments with CELAC where the sub-hemisphere has determined to meet without the United States and Canada is a most interesting development. It parallels the Organization of American States but is much more Latin focused. The United States remains in a state of antipathy with Cuba. Cuba, although now welcomed back to the OAS has said it will not take the seat at the OAS table. CELAC includes Cuba.

Mr. Kerry’s statements come against the bitter experience of CARICOM in its work with the democratic forces in Haiti during the presidency of Jean Bertrand Aristide. CARICOM was asked to help and then Prime Minister P.J. Patterson of Jamaica was in the chair. CARICOM was with U.S. and other developed country assistance helping with the dispute between Mr. Aristide and his opponents which was turning increasingly violent. Mr. Aristide had conceded all that the forces arrayed against him, including the developed countries, had asked. We went to the United Nations to ask for the protection of U.N. troops to save the elected government of Haiti. The U.N. equivocated and said no troops were available. Yet on February 29, 2006, Colin Powell called me at my home to say that Mr. Aristide had taken refuge behind a U.S. Security mission and had resigned and was on his way to a destination unknown. Following his departure from Haiti, troops were suddenly available to restore order. It has left a bitter pill in the mouths of many of our CARICOM leaders and the experience is less than 10 years old.

In The Bahamas we say: “You only know me when you need me.”

The other and more interesting public policy issue to watch in our relations with the United States is our policy both in the CELAC context and in the CARICOM context to marijuana. In the Mexican/CARICOM dialogue in Barbados last year, the then President of Mexico Filipe Calderon spoke to a new approach to anti-drug policy, one which takes a market approach rather than a law enforcement approach. It seeks the decriminalization or legalization of the use of marijuana with the appropriate regulation and taxes as opposed to the resources used to lock up young males and criminalizing them in the process without any hindrance to the use of drugs. The U.S. domestic market is also changing on this. CARICOM has the issue of medical marijuana on its next agenda for heads of government in St. Vincent. It remains to be seen whether the U.S. federal policy will change and what that will mean for the CARICOM region. I say this because the U.S. relationship and interest in this region seems almost entirely based on national security and in particular anti-drug interdiction.

The Latins are very much interested in the support of the Caribbean countries for their position on the islands they call the Malvinas, also known as the Falklands, against the backdrop of our being former British colonies in the main and the supposed automatic support for the British position. This new CELAC relationship will be very important going forward.

I would suggest also that it will be helpful to this region and hemisphere if Mr. Kerry is able to translate his declaration into a more normal relationship with Cuba, particularly given the moves toward market reforms which are now evidenced in that latter country.

It would seem to make sense given that the United States has no such diplomatic issues with China. At a recent meeting in Trinidad 2013, the American vice president made it clear that the United States had no objection to our relationships with China, and I believe the U.S. view is very important. China has been clear about its objectives in the region. For the Caribbean, a region which is starved for capital, and with the traditional friends the U.S., Canada and Europe either unable or unwilling to provide the capital locked into a cycle of low growth and high debt, China has been a savior.

The Chinese position was given in a paper policy paper on Latin America and the Caribbean. They are interested in acquisition of raw materials and in political cooperation to support the one China policy. In exchange, they will support Latin America and the Caribbean in their national development goals and have set aside significant capital for access by the hemisphere to support that development.

Paragraph IV (5) of the paper reads as follows: “The Chinese government will continue to strengthen coordination and cooperation on international issues with Latin American and Caribbean countries, and maintain regular consultation with them on major international and regional issues. The two sides will continue to support each other on such important issues as sovereignty and territorial integrity. China stands ready to work with Latin American and Caribbean countries to strengthen the role of the United Nations, make the international political and economic order more fair and equitable, promote democracy in international relations and uphold the legitimate rights and interests of developing countries, China supports a greater role of Latin American Countries in international affairs.”

Throughout the conduct of international relations there is this constant refrain which looks to this region with what is often called a bloc of votes. One after the next country comes calling. They crowd our Council for Community and Foreign Relations Agenda (COFCOR) with requests for support for that candidacy or the next. The question is always as far as The Bahamas is concerned whether or not we use the numbers that we have to our sufficient advantage. It is not a rhetorical question.

I think the answer is obvious that we do not.

It makes the case for reform more urgent lest the parade passes us by.

The distinguished foreign minister of Trinidad and Tobago has made an urgent case for the expansion of CARICOM to include all the countries and territories in a paper in which he describes a Caribbean Sea Convergence. This convergence would encompass some 40 million people and ultimately will include in the short term the Dominican Republic, the French Territories including French Guyana and the Dutch ones, and in the longer term the American possessions and ultimately Cuba.

The idea is that unity is strength or as the Haitians would say: L’Union Fait La Force.

These matters are not simple or cheap. P.J. Patterson led the way in bringing Haiti into CARICOM. Suriname is also a member. These nations do not speak English as a first language and CARICOM has not been able thus far to ensure that documentation and conversations are available in the native languages of those countries. Imagine then including a Spanish-speaking country.

Further, there continue to be tensions in relationships because Haiti is a source country for illegal migration. The Bahamas does not confer citizenship on people born in The Bahamas whose parents are not Bahamian. One consequence is that there are thousands of Haitians in The Bahamas who are undocumented and who have to be regularized in some way or fashion. Immigration enforcement in The Bahamas is becoming stricter. Our country is committed to working on a solution to this.

All of this makes the enterprise of fixing our internal arrangements at CARICOM a priority.

Here is what Winston Dookeran, the foreign minister of Trinidad and Tobago, said in his paper “A New Frontier For Caribbean Convergence”: “As noted earlier, CARICOM integration was narrowly defined in terms of trade and markets, which is not a very accurate measure. The new perception of convergence needs to be understood as ‘a new economic space’ where there is partnership not just across the Caribbean Sea space, but also between the public and private sectors. It is forging of ‘a right partnership toward productive efficiency. Convergence therefore implies a partnership (inclusiveness and cooperation) among public and private actors in the economies of the Caribbean sea emphasizing equality and equity as integral components.”

Minister Dookeran went on to list a number of arrangements and decisions which have to be taken, ought to be taken. I have mentioned already the inclusion of the new members. However, I want to parse some of his ideas and lead us into what I think is the inevitable conclusion.

He says in the chapter Policy Execution and Outcomes Institutional Drivers Caribbean Sea Convergence: “CARICOM Secretariat – is the principle administrative organ of CARICOM... recommend a fast-track decision to facilitate the entry...”

Anyone who knows CARICOM and its decision making will know that the expression “fast track ” and CARICOM in no way comport. Yet mandates are piled upon the secretariat which is the closest thing we have to an executive arm but which is resource starved and under-manned.

Prime Minister Kenny Anthony speaking at the Chamber of Commerce in Barbados in October 2012 said this: “We know that we have too often asked our secretariat to perform miracles without even the requisite loaves and fishes. Unable to deliver miracles, decisive action has been replaced by documentation – mountains of it – which most of us have neither the time nor the appetite to digest.”

So whatever reforms are contemplated for CARICOM and I agree the need for reform, amongst the issues: human resources and money.

Given the economic issues that face us, all treasuries and ministers of finance will be reluctant to agree to increases in subventions to CARICOM. Indeed many nations struggle to pay the existing duties. However, one suggestion is that there ought to be in each country a specific set aside, a revenue stream which goes straight to CARICOM and its agencies as a means of ensuring the funding at the appropriate levels. Further that the human resources issues can be helped by the foreign ministries and foreign trade ministries indeed the public service generally seconding officers to CARICOM as part of the public service careers for officers, which service would be part of the permanent and pensionable establishment in their countries as a means to ensure that the best talent ends up working there. Indeed, The Bahamas has led the way by already offering that possibility to at least two public servants per year on secondment to the secretariat.

In terms of the decision making, clearly nations will have to bite the bullet to give stronger powers to the secretariat to ensure that decisions are executed. Those who argue on sovereignty will do well to remember the saying of Dame Biller Miller of Barbados, that you cannot approbate and reprobate at the same time.

With regard to the convergence paper by Mr. Dookeran, I am also proud to say that we in The Bahamas recognize this need for convergence. Within our own country, the prime minister has embraced the three PPPs. In Bimini, the island in The Bahamas closest to the U.S. mainland there is an investment which will require a significant upgrade to the international airport. The private investor is doing the upgrade to the government’s specifications but the cost will be recaptured by credits given for taxes collected on the investment. It is this kind of creative financing that will invigorate economies around the region and is to be recommended for its efficiency and simplicity and speed, with minimum impact on the public purse but exponential benefits to the public good.

• Fred Mitchell is the member of Parliament for Fox Hill and minister of foreign affairs and immigration.

March 08, 2014

- Saving CARICOM, pt. 1

- Saving CARICOM, pt. 2

- Saving CARICOM, pt. 3

- Saving CARICOM, pt. 5

thenassauguardian

Fred Mitchell on Saving CARICOM

Saving CARICOM, pt. 3

• This commentary is taken from a lecture given by Minister of Foreign Affairs and Immigration Fred Mitchell on February 6 at the University of the West Indies, St. Augustine in Trinidad and Tobago. Mitchell’s address was on “Saving CARICOM”.

There were times when the project appeared to be imperiled. It seems to me that most people will say that this was the case during the seven years when the heads of government did not meet. It is interesting reading the 1982 speeches, the first of the conference meetings after a break of seven years. By that time, Eric Williams had passed away and while some of the founders of the project were there, there was a new world order.

By the time the conference took place in 1982 in Ocho Rios, Edward Seaga had become prime minister of Jamaica, with Ronald Reagan in the White House in Washington. Mr. Seaga was embraced by the new U.S. administration as a sign that a more conservative era had returned to the Caribbean after the work in democratic socialism under Michael Manley.

It is not clear why the conference had not met during those seven years. I sought to find the reasons. The best I could discover was that a row broke out amongst the leaders over some issue and they simply refused to attend.

It was left to the ministers in council to carry on the work and in 1982 the leaders met in Ocho Rios in Jamaica and conferences have met ever since then.

The Bahamas joined CARICOM on July 4, 1983. We had become independent on July 10, 1973. I am not certain why it took us 10 years to join, since we had been participating in the work of many of the institutions of the project from the 1950s. The main one being the University of the West Indies and then the Council of Legal Education and the Medical Council.

Several generations of Bahamians have been trained at the university, in the law school and in the medical school. Our first student was Dr. Cecil Bethel who enrolled in the medical school in 1952.

In 1983, I was then working as a special assistant out of the Bahamas Information Services in the prime minister’s office. I recall two things about CARICOM at that time. The death of Maurice Bishop, the prime minister of Grenada took place on October 20, 1983. The question was whether or not The Bahamas and other CARICOM leaders would support the decision of the United States to invade Grenada to restore constitutional order. According to a recollection by former Guyana Foreign Minister Rashleigh Jackson on guyanacaribbeanpolitics.com “... The Bahamas, Guyana, Belize and Trinidad and Tobago were against any military action, whereas Barbados and Jamaica were clearly in favor of the OECS countries issuing an invitation to the United States of America to join with them in an invasion of Grenada... ”

I am happy to have included that story because I have travelling with me two researchers and aides from the ministry in Nassau: Joy Newbold and Jamahl Strachan. Ms. Newbold was born in the year the coup took place in Grenada in 1979. Mr. Strachan was born in 1988 well after both the coup and the invasion had taken place. The idea that there had been a coup in a CARICOM country had been news to them and with this inclusion they were enlightened about the story. It led to a full discussion with the secretary general again on the need for a definitive narrative on how we have come to where we are.

That disagreement over Grenada did not break up CARICOM. In fact at the heads of government meeting in The Bahamas from July 4 to July 7, 1984, Nicholas Brathwaite, chairman of the Interim Advisory Council, Grenada was accepted into the conference as the legitimate representative of the Grenadian people and the representative of Jamaica Edward Seaga was also there at the CARICOM table.

The conference continues to meet, often in a most passionate form.

The second thing that I remember from that time with Sir Lynden was that a decision was made on the question of putting the Tourism School for the University of the West Indies in Nassau. He said that he had made it plain to his colleagues that since The Bahamas was then the leader of tourism in the region that was the best place to put the school and they agreed.

That was my introduction to CARICOM.

In 1979, as the director of news and public affairs for our Broadcasting Corporation, I got to meet for the first time one Percival James Patterson, otherwise known as P.J. He was then foreign minister for Jamaica in and around the time of the coup against Maurice Bishop in 1979. As fate would have it, I became minister of foreign affairs of The Bahamas in 2002 and ended up working closely with Mr. Patterson on perhaps the most contentious issue of our era: that of Haiti and the overthrow of Jean Bertrand Aristide as president of Haiti about which I shall have more to say later.

I turn now to a document that was adopted by the heads of government in 1997 which loomed very large when I became minister in 2002 but seems now to have lapsed into obscurity; but you will see why I am arguing now that it should become more central to what CARICOM is and should be revisited and updated. It is called the Charter Of Civil Society. It was adopted in 1997 and while it is not justiciable, or so it appears, in that it is not community law in so far as I am aware, the document says the following at XXVI: “The states declare their resolve to pay due regard to the provisions of this charter.”

As lawyers often say, at the very least then this charter is binding in honor. It forms the basis of a descriptive and normative set of values to which we all adhere and aspire and if any country does not agree with those values, then ipso facto they cannot be a member of CARICOM. Thus those who argue in favor of Cuba becoming a CARICOM member without changes in the conduct of the internal arrangements at governance in Cuba may have an uphill battle.

Certainly for The Bahamas, it was the pretext for us to implement consultations in our country through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs with civil society. That practice fell into disuse when the PLP lost office in 2007 and we have been seeking to revive it. Article XXV calls for reports to be sent to the secretary general periodically. There are supposed to be national committees reviewing the implementation of the charter.

I believe that it is time to put the words of this charter into action. I believe that while the CARICOM Single Market And Economy (CSME) is a valuable and valued project and aspiration, you will find that the emphasis on that aspect of our relations and the difficulties of harmonizing economies and market space have caused some of the negativity which we now see toward CARICOM. When you look at the successes of this region and the functional cooperation that has been engendered, the work of the specialized agencies, you will see that CARICOM has been a roaring success. It is time, therefore, to look to human rights issues.

Nothing is more contentious than this issue in our politics that I now raise, given the religious aversion and visceral reactions to discussion of LGBT issues in our region. Some people see it as striking at the very heart and fabric of our cultural identity. The Bahamas is not an exception to that aversion with many people seeing the discussion as a moral and religious one and not a human rights one. My own political career suffers because of my insistence that in this regard like all other aspects of human life, there must be tolerance at a minimum and we must uphold the principle that the general rights for which we fought as being rights for all people, particularly as a formerly enslaved and indentured people, cannot be derogated from because of someone’s sexual orientation. In other words, when the charter in article III says: “States shall, in the discharge of their legislative, executive administrative and judicial functions ensure respect for and protection of the human dignity of every person.” That in my view means literally every person and not just confined to what article V says: “No person shall be favored or discriminated against by reason of age, color, creed, disability, ethnicity, gender, language, place of birth or origin, political opinion, race, religion or social class.”

The charter is a 1997 document so orientation was not included and perhaps even in today’s atmosphere cannot be included, but the conversation has begun and the pressure from other societies with whom we deal is upon us to consider what our stand is on the rights of all people. Do we as a society for example condone violence against people simply because of their sexual orientation? The answer to that must be no. And if the answer is not no to that then the charter is not worth the paper it is written on.

The prime minister of Barbados, Freundel Stuart, and Dr. Denzil Douglas, [prime minister] of St. Christopher and Nevis, have begun public discussions of these issues in their societies. The prime minister of Barbados even challenged the Anglican Church on the subject at their provincial synod. That was right and just. The Bahamas has decriminalized behavior associated with sexual orientation.

We have available in aid and comfort to any change to amplify the discrimination provision in the charter the constitution of South Africa which admits to orientation as one of the named classes for which there can be no discrimination. There are profound changes throughout the United States and Europe, our main trading and cultural partners on this issue. It would be unwise to ignore it.

I often find that in drafting solutions to contentious problems that one solution is a generic one. One solution is that the charter can become justiciable with enforceable rights across the community. Less coercively, it can be open to the Caribbean Court of Justice as the final arbiter of community law to adjudicate upon the charter and declare the rights of individuals for any aggrieved individual seeking an opinion from the court declaring his rights and the wording of the provision at article V can be reworded to read: “No person shall be favored or discriminated against by reason of including but not limited to the following: age, color, creed, disability, ethnicity, gender, language, place of birth, origin, political opinion, race, religion, social class or some other characteristic which in the opinion of the court deserves special protection.”

Of course the short way to deal with this is simply to add orientation as one of the listed characteristics. I have no remit to pronounce on that, however, and I do not do so.

What is important is that our leaders have already begun the conversation and that conversation should continue. That conversation should be underpinned with the principles of tolerance and the protection of the law for another disadvantaged group.

Less contentiously I suspect will be the question of the extent to which the principle of non-interference in the affairs of another CARICOM state still applies given what happened in Grenada in 1979 and again in 1983. When a state disintegrates and is under threat because of natural disasters that is an easy question to answer, but not so easy when one faces the question of civil disorder over political and civic issues.

The experience of Grenada and the restoration of democracy there has perhaps set the precedent that a governor general or president, acting in his own deliberate judgment, can call for outside assistance, even military or policing assistance.

Perhaps the charter ought to be amended to make clear what the position of member states will be when the human rights of individuals in a member state are so violated that it begs the question of outside interference. This is dangerous ground I admit, one on which we tread carefully.

• Fred Mitchell is the member of Parliament for Fox Hill and minister of foreign affairs and immigration.

March 07, 2014

- Saving CARICOM, pt. 1

- Saving CARICOM, pt. 2

- Saving CARICOM pt.4

- Saving CARICOM, pt. 5

thenassauguardian