Most Honorable Andrew Holness, Prime Minister of Jamaica and Chairman of CARICOM, distinguished colleague heads of government and ministers representing their countries, members of the Cabinet of Jamaica, distinguished guests, all.
It was in 2018, July. That I first addressed the CARICOM heads of government meeting as Prime Minister of Barbados in this very room, in this very town. I did so as a young, romantic, idealist, and a fervent believer of the regional integration movement.
Today I stand to address you with scars and bruising, but still as a young, romantic, idealist. And I say so conscious that over the course of these seven years, our community has perhaps seen.
more challenges than we have ever seen since attaining independence. Indeed, some may argue more challenges than we have ever seen since the famous September 1947 Montego Bay Conference, which called for a regional integration movement such as we have to be able to allow us to more effectively navigate our development journey. We live in a very different world from 1947,
but if ever there was a time for regional solidarity, it is absolutely now. And Secretary General, I thank you for outlining some of the concerns that we face. When I addressed the heads of government meeting in Barbados a few months ago, I made the point that this was a time, For us to lay bare our hearts and to be able to speak frankly, to build the institution that we want.
I note that immediately as I finish speaking, there is going to be a song from Ramon Watson, from that great Caribbean icon, Jimmy Cliff. And the song that they’ve chosen is that I can see clearly now. But I would mind, I wouldn’t mind if they added to that, not just the power of vision, because I think across this region we have that, but the power of trial and effort.
And there is no better song, I call myself in fact a Jimmy Cliff girl, there is no better song than you can get it if you really want, but you must try and try. you’ll succeed at last it is against that backdrop that i ask us to reflect on a few things today we, met and understood that our region like every other region across the world is suffering from.
the vicissitudes of cost of living issues that are making it more difficult for ordinary caribbean people to make each day and to go through each day and night and the question for us as heads of government and heads of state is how do we make it easier for people to sleep, and how do we allow them to be able to undertake that task of taking care of themselves and their families in the most easier ways in spite of what has been triggered globally.
through geopolitical issues and wars and conflict and disruption, We have determined that our agricultural commitment, 25 by 25, even if we have not met it fully, has put us in a better place than we were five years ago. But what we must not do is to stop, because if we try and try again, we’ll succeed at last. Against that backdrop, a number of persons on a trade delegation week before last went to Boa Vista in Brazil to begin to open up the trading relationships that will allow us also to access food and meat at much cheaper prices than we are currently doing so.
It is true that the actions of the United States government in their promise to impose tariffs on all Chinese-made shipments, and that the United States government in their promise to impose tariffs on all Chinese-made shipments, created a catalyst for movement in a way that we could not find on our own. And if anything, we must thank President Trump and the U.S. Trade Representative for that. Mercifully, there was a stay of execution on the imposition of that tariff a few months ago.
And I want to thank the Caribbean Private Sector Organization for working with us as heads of government of the Caribbean community. An amazing 500 members of the private sector went on to a Zoom call showing that when our vital interests are truly challenged, we know how to find unity in this region. If we cannot open up greater supply routes,
if we can increase our domestic production cognizant how, However, that we are constantly at risk of the climate crisis, decimating that which we are trying to do in terms of open field agriculture. Then we can begin to recognize that we do have the capacity to feed ourselves more. The bottom line is, however, that there are still too many gaps. And the major issue of logistics, I am happy to report that there are at least two CARICOM member states that are now in the process of looking to acquire cargo planes to help us overcome the very difficult prospect of the movement of goods within this region.
Equally, I anticipate that at this meeting at Montego Bay, we will have the presentation on the Inter-Island Regional Ferry from the private sector. And at this point, it is up to us to determine whether we have the political will to finally ensure that we can democracy. through ships yet again in this region, knowing full well that with the federal maple and the federal palm, there were examples of it many decades ago and that we have allowed ourselves to become purely at the mercy of air travel without recognizing that as islands in the Caribbean Sea, we have the ability to reach each other in good time and at cheaper fares than if we only use air to connect our region.
Tomorrow we shall also receive the completed work on the CARICOM external tariff CET and the rules of origin and I want to thank all at COTED and Community Council for teeing it up. We did think that you were taking a little long but it is finally here. The political judgment that has to be made by heads now is what other items that will not compromise regional production that can have the bung rate. continue to be reduced so that we can see more progress on the reduction of cost of living, particularly of food and sanitary items. But this meeting will not only see these matters.
We have come before our region to speak specifically of other things that are threatening our existence as a region. We live in a world now where fake news, regrettably, is a key part of all that we have, and where the improper use of AI can sometimes stoke great fear and panic among our citizens. It is about time, therefore, that we as a region come up with a CARICOM validation mechanism in the absence of the providers of those platforms not taking the action to validate truth any further. And if we fail to do so, if we fail to do so, to do so, we put seriously at risk the stability of our democracies. In the last two weeks alone, my government in Barbados has had to put out as clear fake news, one that sought to ban President Trump from our country, one that sought to impose on Barbados travel advisories that didn’t exist.
And it is almost as if this is a daily exercise now for our countries, because those who have nothing to do, as we’ve learned as children, the devil finds work for idle hands. We need our own carry-on blue tick to validate truth in this community. In addition to that, I ask us equally to look at the issue of where we are with respect to citizen security.
Today, the Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community met with the Heads of Judiciary and, we did so as an absolute item of respect on the part of both groupings. It was a historic meeting and it was one that recognized, as your Chief Justice in Jamaica put it, that it is possible for the judiciary to meet, remain independent, but not isolated from the communities in which they operate.
This is so critical, not just for the development of Caribbean jurisprudence, but also for the stability of our democracies. There is no country in this region that is not facing some level of citizen insecurity. And regrettably, I’ve said over and over, we pay a high price for the Second Amendment rights of the United States of America’s citizens. But whatever the cause, the reality is this is where we are. If ever there was a time for us to cooperate as we discussed today on matters pertaining to this and Jamaica has put on the table a regional justice and security framework cooperation agreement which I believe the rest of us are ready to engage in because it is consistent with the Needham’s Point Declaration of 2023 that was settled by the Caribbean Court of Justice Academy and the judges of the region.
It is consistent with the George Bridge Declaration of November 2024 that was settled by the CARICOM heads of government and it is absolutely needed by our citizens if we are to see safety be the primary concern of our people from Jamaica and the Bahamas in the north to Belize in the west to Barbados in the east to Ghana and Suriname in the south. And of course underpinning all of that is that. Wonderful island chain of Eastern Caribbean states.
We have a duty to our citizens. It would be remiss of me not to salute Winston Anderson, the new President of the Caribbean Court of Justice, and may I say the President of my own Court of Appeal, Final Court of Appeal in Barbados. And you will forgive me, having been the one who was the Chair of the Preparatory Committee for the Establishment of the Caribbean Court of Justice, you will forgive me if I now make yet another appeal to the citizens of this region to allow their governments to know that there ought to be a singular purpose for the Caribbean Court of Justice to be truly the last Court of Appeal for the states of this region.
We are aware that there are some countries that have the requirement of referenda. But this, like everything else, ought to be, the subject of public education and if we can so do then I believe we can finally start to move the needle generationally for us recognizing that this ought to be our final court. Our reality as small states is not only to be taken into account when dealing with the WTO and the need for special and differential treatment or the international financial architecture that requires us to move away from the reality of assumptions with historic per capita GDP and not understanding, the the vulnerability of our countries as small states but our small vulnerable states are also to be taken into account with respect to our Caribbean jurisprudence and for how we treat to the issue of citizenship security particularly as it relates to sensitive matters that would not be taken into account with respect to our Caribbean jurisprudence and for how we treat to the issue of citizenship security particularly as it relates to sensitive matters that would not be taken into account with respect to our Caribbean jurisprudence and for how we treat to the issue of citizenship security particularly as it relates to sensitive matters that would not be taken into account with respect to our Caribbean jurisprudence and for how we treat to the issue of citizenship security particularly as it relates to sensitive matters that would see persons who have been charged, continue to move in our communities with impunity and take an action against other citizens with impunity.
Let me however also reflect that over the course of this last six months one of our major major concerns was the stability of Haiti. The world really needs a check on itself when it comes to Haiti. If ever we doubted that there were first class and second class citizens in the eyes of the world don’t doubt it anymore. In Haiti more people were killed last year in many months of last year than were killed in any other country on earth including those that were at war, and the subject of military conflict and in spite of that and in spite of the promises, The world has been unable to move beyond the promises and the platitudes that would bring help to the people of Haiti. I’m not only talking about the loss of life.
I’m talking about the displacement of citizens from their homes. I’m talking equally about the food insecurity of the people of Haiti. And let us be real, our capacity as a Caribbean community has limits, purely because of size and capacity financially. We can help as best we can as we must. But the world is what is needed as well at this point in time. Beyond simply the deployment of troops from Kenya, without the requisite support in terms of machinery that is necessary to ensure that those… Kenyan troops and others are not sent like lambs to the slaughter, along with the members of the Haitian police force. That Haiti is trying as best it can to be able to withstand the assault by gangs is to be commended, but at the same time, it is not enough.
And what is required more than ever is for a truth talk, both within the context of what is possible from Haiti’s perspective, but equally what is possible from the international community. And I fear that the absence of that realistic conversation will continue to mean that ordinary citizens will have their lives put at risk, and if not their lives, their limbs, and if not their lives and limbs, their ability to live as dignified human beings.
The pace at which progress is needed must be expedited if we are not. to see more and more people suffer at the same time in the last six months we have had the issue of the spectacle of near difficulties with the border security situation between Guyana and Venezuela I thank Prime Minister Gonsalves yet again for continuing to play a serious role along with Prime Minister Skerrit in ensuring that we could have the principles of the Argyle Declaration continue to be respected even if in a tenuous way and I recognize that this is going to require our continuous vigilance as we go forward because we are all committed to seeing the Caribbean as a zone of peace at the level of the state and equally at the level of the citizen with respect to citizenship security and insecurity we have unfinished business the Caribbean, Our Educational Transformation Commission must be established as a matter of urgency, for all of us continue to adhere to an educational system that is not fit for purpose for our citizens today.
We need to make those changes informed by data, informed by evidence, but the longer we take to put that commission in place, the longer we take to make the changes that are necessary to give our young people the best possible chance.
Equally, we are required at this time to recognize that there are actions outside of this region that will demand our solidarity. I speak specifically as early as this week of the actions of the European Parliament with respect to the failure to delist countries like Barbados and Jamaica, who have come off of the Financial Action Task Force list for more than one year, but for whom we remain on the European Union. Unions, enhancements, and more. delegated lists along with countries like Gibraltar and UAE that are the subject of their opposition, but because of a technical mechanism by which they remove countries, Barbados and Jamaica continue to suffer at the hands of the listing process when we have been deemed to be fully compliant with all of the obligations required of us from the Financial Action Task Force.
It is wrong, and if it was the shoe on the other foot, if the shoe was on the other foot, we would be told how to find ways of having our parliament change the manner in which we address this issue rather than grouping all of the countries in one basket to be the victims of any opposition on any country in spite of the progress made by our countries.
I raise these issues because, as I said at the beginning, if ever there was a time for us to celebrate. solidarity and to be able to work together, it is now. And I am not daunted whatsoever, by our failure to get it in one go. And that is why I said that at the beginning, I am a Jimmy Cliff girl. We can get it if we really want, but we must try and try. The CSME was, the subject of a dedicated conference when we left Montego Bay on the last occasion. And it resulted in the St. Anne’s Declaration in December of 2018. But there are some difficult issues that we must confront. And we have heard one prime minister and one leader of the opposition question the validity of this entity within recent weeks and months.
But, if we are to be honest with ourselves and with our populations across this region, and, we must start the public education process, it is largely because of our inability to find an appropriate mechanism for the public to be able to get education. The funding of the character, development fund. And even if every country in the region put money in it, it would still not be enough to finance disadvantaged countries, disadvantaged sectors, and disadvantaged regions, which are the consequence of any single market and single economy.
It is against that backdrop that I’ve asked that we look at taking some of the excess regional liquidity that exists and finding a way with the cooperation of those who can help us put the guarantees in place so that our region can start to finance our own development. There are only two countries in the region who provide interest rates in excess of 5% for savings. The majority of CARICOM countries have interest rates that are below 3%, and therefore we are in a position to be able to offer the opportunity. opportunity for the participation of CARICOM bonds to our citizens at rates of return that are competitive with private commercial banks, but are still lower than the lending being offered to many countries on the international capital markets.
At the same time, in the last six months, we have done significant work to advance for the first time a regional debt swap initiative. My own country, Barbados, has now done two debt swap initiatives, one for nature and one for climate. In both instances, we have increased our capacity in respect of the nature one for marine sustainability, trusts and with respect to the climate one for the construction of a new south coast sewage treatment plant without increasing our debt by a single cent. And that is simply through the use of the regional debt swap initiative. The President of the World Bank, the President of the Inter-American Development Bank, the President of the Latin American and Caribbean Development Bank, and the President of the Caribbean Development Bank have all come together to lead this region on the Regional Debt Swap Initiative. And so attractive has been the proposal that countries like the Dominican Republic and other Central American countries have indicated a desire to be part of this Regional Debt Swap Initiative.
In our own case in Barbados, we have determined that our next debt swap will not be for climate, but will be for the social sectors. And we look forward to other countries in the region joining us, such that this Caribbean community region will lead the world in having the first Regional Debt Swap Initiative globally. In addition, may I remind you that there is also the natural disaster.
Disaster clauses which ought to find primacy of place in all of our international and regional financial instruments. Our country just went to the capital market and raised 500 million US and included in those bonds are natural disaster clauses and pandemic clauses, ensuring that for the first time, if we should be hit, somebody knock some wood for me, please. If we should be hit by a hurricane of a certain threshold, that we are in a position to pause the payment of our debt, both principal and interest for two years and not have to do what befell the people of Dominica, who had to look for debt payments immediately after Hurricane Maria, instead of being able to focus on shelter and food for their citizens at the very time that a hurricane has hit.
And the notion that we are safe from a climate crisis can be immediately debunked because week by week, with the latest being the tragic circumstances befalling the children of the United States and Texas with the raising of the banks of the river, of the Guadalupe River, reminding us that none of us can escape the hands and clutches of the climate crisis. So, my friends, I ask us, please, to recall that there is much work to be done. I have not spoken to you today about the necessary work of the reform of the governance of this community and the funding of this community because I believe that the heads of government must confront it and not believe that we can continue to wear the garbs of 20 and 30 years ago as we live in a world that is completely different today.
And we must find the boldness, I believe our preacher told us today, Bishop Pitkin, when you said to us, let us have the boldness to move thought into action, because without that, our region will not be ready for the defense of small states. It is my view that in the absence of an international rules-based order, and we are seeing it being threatened day by day, in the absence of an international rules-based order, countries such as ours will find it difficult to survive.
And this, my friends, is the first real threat that we have had since becoming independent nations. The notion that others may want to conquer again is not beyond their imagination and not beyond our reality. But equally, the price of sovereignty is no longer simply that which we have started to do in the first two or three generations since independence. The price of sovereignty now extends to our ability to control our information. And to generate our content, we have to be able to own our own satellites and not be the victim of somebody pulling them on us because they do not like the position we took on a war across the world somewhere or someplace. To generate our own content because it is only us who know our reality and we cannot simply be the victims of other people’s judgment as to who we are and what we stand for.
And if we don’t do these things, then we will fail to recognize that the new armada and the new flotilla are not the ships that came and brought our forefathers here under protest. But in fact, the new armada and the new flotilla is that which will control our mind. And we know what Marcus Messiah Garvey told us about emancipating our mind from mental slavery. If ever there was a time for us. to listen to these entreaties it is now.
And as we do these serious things, let us not remember that we as Caribbean people have a flair that we know how to walk and talk that we know how to talk and dance that we know how to sing and move and reflect. And as we remember that, may I have the distinct pleasure and opportunity to invite you all to Carifesta 15 in Barbados from the 22nd to the 31st of August where we shall move from the big conversation to the dance and to the art and to the food and to the fashion and to all aspects of Caribbean creative presentation. But as we do that, let us also remember that those arts is what will give us the creativity to fight the battles against violence in this region.
To fight the battles for reparations that are so necessary and for which Haiti ought to be the moral epicenter. be able to also find the creativity that will allow caribbean citizens to access a global market while remaining rooted in this region so i expect to see you there and i look forward to ensuring that you have a wonderful time for that festival will only now be held on the 15th time in over 50 years and that tells us the importance of it but it tells us the seminal nature as to why we need to be reminded that even if cricket does not allow us always to be proud we remain committed but it is our culture ultimately our food our language our expression of creativity that will forever ensure that if politicians don’t get it right the people of this region will continue to remind us through that expression of creativity that they can always and only be caribbean citizens. local roots with global aspirations and ensuring that we can continue to be that humanizing influence on the global civilization that we live in, such that we can work to save both people and planet in this very, very difficult time for global civilization.
I wish you, Andrew, all the best as you take up this mantle of leadership of this regional institution at the very time when the region needs it more than ever. And I say simply to all of us that if ever there was a time for us to resume the public education on Caribbean civilization and the need for Caribbean integration, it is now.
Let not Brexit be our future. Thank you.