In Disagreement with Edward Seaga
After thirty-five years of existence, Edward Seaga, former Prime Minister of Jamaica and now Distinguished Fellow of the University of the West, Mona Campus, believes that CARICOM ‘has still not gained sufficient traction’. In an article published by the Jamaica Gleaner on Wednesday, February 13th, 2008, Mr. Seaga was further credited with saying the following:
1. CARICOM should push for greater cooperation as opposed to integration;
2. The CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) will not come to pass due to the difficulty with establishing a single regional currency;
3. The region needs to find new approaches in moving forward; and
4. Opportunities for cooperation lie in marketing the region as a health tourism destination, the development of music and fashion design, sports, agriculture and biotechnology.
While I agree with Mr. Seaga that CARICOM has not gained ‘sufficient traction’ after thirty-five years of existence, I fundamentally disagree with him on just about everything else credited to him in the article. I shall now examine the four points highlighted above in greater detail.
Cooperation versus Integration
One of the successes of CARICOM over the past thirty-five years has been its ability to deepen and maintain a high degree of cooperation in areas such as health and education and foreign policy and trade to a lesser extent. However, given the realities of the current global context, I dare say that CARICOM can no longer be comfortable with the sort of superficial existence it has thrived on over the past three and a half decades. It is ill-advised at this moment in history for CARICOM countries to further their functional cooperation agenda in the absence of strong and meaningful economic, social and political integration. This lack of integration is certainly one of the huge factors contributing to the lack of traction rightly identified by Mr. Seaga. For small countries, the majority of which are small island territories, to continue to exist as separate economic and political entities at a time of growing global uncertainties is definitely folly. What CARICOM needs right now is a set of leaders who have the political will and the urgency of action to move beyond the current level of cooperation and piece-meal integration efforts to a sound economic and political integration platform. The Member States of the European Union are much bigger and wealthier than CARICOM countries and will be able to thrive outside of the current European integration framework. However, these states have recognised the value of integration and have therefore taken numerous steps toward deepening their levels of integration over the years. One must wonder why the CARICOM region has not demonstrated the same or similar kind of urgency as Europe.
The CSME
The CSME is much more than a currency union. Whilst a single currency will no doubt be a great symbolic and practical gesture within the CARICOM space, one cannot cast doubt on the move towards establishing the CSME simply because there will be difficulty in moving towards a single currency. The CSME is supposed to be an exercise in which the region will harmonise its fiscal and monetary policies; create a single seamless economic space which will allow for the free movement of people, goods and capital as well as an exercise designed to carry the region further along the path of sustainable economic growth and development. Most Member States have already made the necessary provisions through national legislation for the realisation of many of the different components of the CSME and while one acknowledges that it has not been smooth sailing and there have been delays galore; one must nonetheless applaud Member States for demonstrating some intent where the CSME is concerned. However, as I have always maintained, the CSME should not be pursued in the absence of serious political integration. It is probably this lack of effort towards political integration that will hamper the chances of success for the CSME in the long run as opposed to any difficulty in establishing a currency union.
Finding New Approaches
I agree with Mr. Seaga that CARICOM needs to be revisited and that there is a need to find new approaches supposedly in moving the region forward. I am not sure what Mr. Seaga means by new approaches, but CARICOM does not need new approaches as much as it needs to do a great deal of what it is doing a whole lot better. There must be greater efficiency, there must be less bureaucracy and there must be less insularity. Probably a more resolute exercise in political integration is one of the new approaches we need to move CARICOM forward.
Opportunities for Cooperation
Mr. Seaga also outlined a number of opportunities for cooperation as previously mentioned. However, the fact remains that there has been cooperation in many of these areas before CARICOM and since CARICOM and without CARICOM, such cooperation will continue. The region has been cooperating in sports for much longer than CARICOM has been around and the West Indies cricket team is testimony to this. Furthermore, institutions such as CARDI indicate that there is already cooperation in agriculture. There has also been some cooperation in culture on a whole throughout the region. However, while cooperation in these areas can certainly be improved, the region needs much more than this if it is to endure beyond mere survival in this era. Moreover, deepened levels of integration will not negate further cooperation in these areas and will even advance such cooperation.
Conclusion
Edward Seaga represents the ‘old guard’ as far as Caribbean politics is concerned. Whilst one respects seniority and experience, the fact remains that Edward Seaga had his opportunity both as Prime Minister and as leader of the Opposition in Jamaica to advance the cause of CARICOM. However, after so many years in the political life of Jamaica and the Caribbean by extension, Mr. Seaga has very little by way of a track record to show where CARICOM is concerned. In fact, Mr. Seaga and the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) which he once led have traditionally been viewed as anti-CARICOM and regional integration on a whole. It is this very JLP that campaigned against the West Indian Federation and it is the same Mr. Seaga and the JLP that more recently demonstrated utter contempt for the Caribbean Court of Justice, another instrument of regional integration. Therefore, for these reasons and more, I will continue to view with suspicion any pronouncements made by Mr. Seaga with respect to regionalism within the CARICOM space.
