NASSAU, Bahamas – St. Kitts-Nevis Prime Minister Dr. Terrance Drew says CARICOM “stands at a crossroads” with a myriad of challenges including adequate transportation within the region.
Prime Minister of Saint Kitts and Nevis, Hon. Dr. Terrance Drew delivered his address at the Opening Ceremony of the Forty-Fourth Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), at Atlantis Nassau, Bahamas.Addressing the opening ceremony of the 44th CARICOM summit here on Wednesday night, Drew, one of three newly elected heads of government, said it is difficult for the Caribbean countries to extoll the virtues of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) that facilities the free movement of goods, services, persons, capital and technology “without addressing the proverbial “elephant in the room” – intraregional transport.
“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 so at optimal levels.”
He said coming to this meeting in the Bahamas is an example of a disconnect between the countries, noting that a number of delegations had to transit through Miami, and perhaps overnight there before flying to a sister CARICOM-member destination.
“It should take less than 24 hours to move from country to country within our region. Compared to developed countries with highly developed transport means and modalities, the Caribbean remains at a disadvantage in realizing the benefits of the CSME that the framers of the CARICOM Treaty envisaged”.
Drew noted for example that moving from New York to Washington in the United States “takes a mere four hours by car, and less than two hours by aircraft,” adding “the contrast is a stark reality of the challenge we face on an ongoing basis.”
Since the demise of the Antigua-based LIAT (1974) Limited, which entered into administration in July 2020 following increased debt and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, travel between the Caribbean has become a significant headache.
The airline is owned by the governments of Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica and St Vincent and the Grenadines. A downsized version of the carrier has been operating a reduced schedule with a limited workforce since November 2020.
The airline, prior to entering into administration had been servicing several regional destinations, has scaled down its operations and is now servicing Anguilla, Antigua, Barbados, Dominica, Guyana, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Martinique, San Juan Puerto Rico, St. Kitts, St. Lucia and St. Maarten.
At their last summit in Suriname in July last year, regional leaders agreed on a new modern Multilateral Air Services Agreement (MASA) that will allow for a new framework within which air transportation will operate in the region.
St Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves said then that countries, particularly those in the Eastern Caribbean, and even Trinidad and Tobago were being severely affected by the loss of thousands of seats “because LIAT as it was is no longer before us”.
Media reports last week noted that representatives of regional countries who met in St. Lucia, failed in their latest attempt to revive the airline.
In his address, Prime Minister Drew told the ceremony that CARICOM stands at a crossroads, “where we must focus our attention on the myriad challenges confronting us as small island developing states, and low-lying coastal communities in an ever-increasingly volatile global environment”.
He said the challenges are well known, including vulnerability to external economic shocks, heavy dependence on a few products or services, frequent and more intense natural disasters, high cost associated with debt and climate change adaptation and mitigation as well as economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and the disruption in supply chains and steady increases in the cost of imports and production, exacerbated by the ongoing war in Ukraine.
In addition, Drew said that limited access to grants and concessional financing mechanisms to enable the region to recover from external economic and environmental shocks was another factor.
“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,” he said, acknowledging that CARICOM has remained an effective forum for its members to carve out a space for dialogue, in the international community to seriously address the structural challenges the region faces as small island developing states.
“We strongly believe that greater consideration should be given to the Multi-dimensional Vulnerability Index (MVI) as a more holistic metric for addressing the complex issues,” he said, adding that 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 disaster, including hurricanes, drought, volcanic eruptions, and rising sea levels”.
Drew said addressing the high gross domestic product (GDP) does not adequately consider the region’s vulnerability to economic and climate related shocks.
“The global development agenda demands the pursuit of a holistic approach to addressing vulnerability, and the provision of solutions that are consultative, effective and sustainable. The time has come for the 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.”
He said the twin island Federation remains committed to the strengthening of the CSME “which we regard as 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. We view the region as a single space for the people of our region to live, engage in robust economic activity and advance the economic, social and cultural prospects of our region,” he added.
