Drew presses ‘One CARIBBEAN Community’ at CARICOM HoG

RHETORICALLY, CARIBBEAN LEADERS TRUMPET THE REGION AS A SINGLE ECONOMIC SPACE. Practically nothing much is done to make travel within the space economic for ordinary citizens.

“It is difficult for us to extoll the virtues of the CSME (Caricom Single Market and Economy) without addressing the proverbial “elephant in the room” – intra-regional transport,” complained St Kitts and Nevis prime Minister, Dr. Terrance Drew, at another high-level meeting since his victory at St Kitts and Nevis August 5^th polls last year.

“The reality is that it is too difficult and too costly for the people of the region to move and enjoy the benefits of true integration within the single space which has been created for them to do at optimal levels,” Drew reminded his Caribbean Community (CARICOM) colleagues during his inaugural address at the Forty-Fourth Inter-sessional Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of CARICOM.

As the ‘new kid on the block’ at the CARICOM HoG, Drew reiterated his twin-island Federation’s commitment to the regional integration thrust.

“St. Kitts and Nevis remains committed to strengthening the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME), which we regard as the training ground for engaging with the wider global economy. We believe in the free movement of skills, services, goods, capital, and all the other key elements of the CSME,”; he reiterated.

The three-day CARICOM HoG meeting ends today at the Baha Mar Grand Hyatt in the city of Nassau, in The Bahamas.

PM Drew’s attendance comes seven months after his St Kitts and Nevis Labour Party (SKNLP) swept to power in the 2022 August 5^th polls. While there, he congratulated his colleague, Bahamas PM, Mr. Phillip Davis on his assumption of the chairmanship of the Conference, expressing confidence in his stewardship.

“I am conscious of the mantle of leadership and the strong mandate given to me by the citizens and residents of St Kitts and Nevis, and pledge to do my best to ensure that our decisions at this level redound to their benefit, and by extension, the people of our Caribbean Community,” Drew promised.

He said CARICOM stands at the crossroads and must focus on the myriad challenges confronting small island developing states (SIDS) and low-lying coastal communities in an ever-increasingly volatile global environment.

“Our challenges are well known to us:

1. Vulnerability to external economic shocks
2. Heavy dependence on a few products or services

• Frequent and more intense natural disasters

1. High cost associated with debt and climate change adaptation and mitigation.
2. Economic recovery from the COVID-19 Pandemic
3. Disruption in supply chains and steady increases in the cost of imports and production, exacerbated by the ongoing war in Ukraine, and

• Limited access to grants and concessional financing mechanisms to enable us to recover from external economic and environmental shocks,” Drew explained.

He continued, “These overlapping challenges are cross-cutting in their effect. They impact all sectors of the economy, forcing us to play catch-up as we advance our respective development agenda”.
Drew noted that CARICOM has remained an effective forum for its members to carve out a space for dialogue in the international community and to seriously address the structural challenges faced by SIDS.

He believes greater consideration should be given to the Multi-dimensional Vulnerability Index (MVI) as a more holistic metric for addressing the complex issues highlighted earlier.

“The MVI Matrix is more closely aligned with the ever-present dangers we face on an annual basis, having to endure the ravages of natural disasters, including hurricanes, droughts, volcanic eruptions, and rising sea levels,” he reiterated.
“The time has come for international financial institutions to take positive action to address the realities we face and enable us not only to recover from national disasters but adapt to the existential threat of climate change by building stronger, more resilient communities to benefit the lives of our people,” PM Drew emphasised.