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Wake Up To the CSME
Hello St. Lucia,
I am actually abroad attending to the business of the OECS as I speak to you,
today. This time, I am in the UK meeting representatives of the British
Government and the Office of the Chancellor of the Judiciary. Our talks are
about the decision by the British Government to abolish the post of Lord
Chancellor of the Judiciary. You see, the Lord Chancellor plays a key role in
the appointment and discipline of our Chief Justice.
Earlier this month, I also attended the 25th Caricom Summit in Grenada, where,
along with other Heads of Government of our regional community, we deliberated
on several matters of importance to the future of the Caribbean Community. One
of the important issues discussed in Grenada had to do with the Caribbean Single
Market and Economy, otherwise known as the CSME. So, every time you hear the
CSME, it means the Caribbean Single Market and Economy.
A Most Significant Development
When the CSME is established, it will be one of the most significant
developments in Caribbean regional integration in recent years. It will have a
major impact on regional economies, as well as on regional economic development.
The CSME will bring dislocation, but it will also bring new opportunities and
benefits to the people of Saint Lucia. It will also bring unparalleled
competition in goods, services, manufacturing and trade. It is important,
therefore, for us to try to understand it and prepare for it, as it will be a
fact of life for each and every one of us from very early next year. Our lives
and our economy will be changed by the CSME. We must prepare!
One Regional Economy
When it is established, the CSME will lock all our national economies together
and turn them into one economy. The CSME will remove all restrictions and
barriers to trade and economic activity between member states for nationals of
the region. This larger, unified economic space will make a positive difference
to our economic growth. We will therefore have to stop thinking of economic
opportunities in terms of Saint Lucia alone. Instead, we will have to see the
entire CARICOM region as a common economic space to be exploited by us all.
Free Movement of Goods
The CSME will allow for the free movement of goods within the community. Goods
produced in the CARICOM region, for example in Jamaica or Barbados, will not be
subject to import duties, tariff and quantitative restrictions in any member
state. Equally, our products will be able to enter other Caricom markets on
similar terms. That means our producers and manufacturers in St. Lucia will now
be able to sell their products more easily in the regional market. Greater
penetration of the regional market by Saint Lucian entrepreneurs will lead to
greater economic activity here at home.
Free Movement of Capital
The CSME will allow for the free movement of capital. Our people will now have
the right to move capital from one member state of the community to another --
from Saint Lucia to another member state and vice versa -- to invest in any
member state, to buy shares in companies in any member state without having to
obtain permission to do so or having to be subject to restrictive requirements.
A wider capital market will now be available for our businessmen and business
places to raise funds for investment. In other words, businessmen will be able
to raise loans in Barbados or Trinidad & Tobago if better rates of interest are
offered in those islands. Just imagine, it will become possible for a Barbadian
or Jamaican to use a Charge Card at a store in St. Lucia and have his or her
account debited immediately in his or her home country.
Our nationals will now have the right to acquire land, and other property in any
CARICOM member state without the restrictions that currently exist, such as
Aliens Landholding Licences. Nationals of other Caricom states will have similar
rights in Saint Lucia.
Free Movement of People
The CSME will provide for free movement of people across the region. This has
already involved the removal of work permits across the region for University
Graduates and Media Workers. It will be extended to musicians, sportspersons,
artists, other skilled service providers, businessmen, self-employed persons,
thereby allowing such persons to be employed in any member state of the CARICOM
community. Procedures are already in place to recognize degrees and
certificates. The free movement of persons will, in time, be facilitated by a
common travel document that will do away with the current hassles that many
CARICOM nationals now encounter when travelling through the region.
Complementing the free movement of persons and workers is a social security
agreement that allows for the transfer of social security benefits from one
CARICOM country to another. St. Lucian graduates who are unable to find
employment in Saint Lucia can now move freely to another Caricom country in
search of employment. Likewise, graduates from other islands will be entitled to
seek employment here in St. Lucia. We have to put our dislikes and prejudices
aside.
No Discrimination
Under the CSME, we cannot discriminate in favour of our local people. We have to
treat Caricom businessmen and companies the same way we treat our businessmen
and companies. So, for example, we cannot compel CARICOM companies to obtain a
trade licence to do business in Saint Lucia if we do not require Saint Lucian
businesses to obtain a trade licence. Likewise, we cannot exempt locally
produced or manufactured goods from consumption taxes and charge or levy
consumption taxes on CARICOM goods. All domestic and CARICOM products must be
treated identically. While these arrangements will present a challenge to our
local entrepreneurs to be competitive, opportunities will also abound, as there
will be a wider economy in which they may trade.
Our State of Readiness
In terms of Saint Lucia’s readiness for participation in the CSME, there are
approximately forty pieces of discriminatory legislation that must be repealed
or amended. Administrative measures will have to be put in place for Saint Lucia
to be part of the CSME. Saint Lucia has already started to take action on these.
A Task Force on the CSME has been established by the Cabinet of Ministers under
my Chairmanship to finalise the process of Saint Lucia’s participation in the
CSME, and that Task Force has already begun its work.
Over the course of the year, the Task Force will be accelerating its programme
to make Saint Lucia CSME-compliant by 2005. Public education programmes will
also be undertaken to ensure that our people fully comprehend the CSME and what
it will mean for us.
A New Vista of Opportunity
We must not be afraid of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy. It will be
challenging, but it is a challenge we must confront. If we want to compete in
today’s global market, we must prove ourselves in the regional arena and form
regional partnerships and alliances for the international stage. The CSME is the
platform for this. We must go boldly forward and seize the advantages that it
can bring us.
We Are Part of the World
Having said all that, let me say that I also know that as a people we sometimes
pretend that the rest of the world does not exist. But the rest of the world has
news for us. We simply cannot expect to exist as if we are in a world of our
own, on our own. The experience with our bananas should always remind us that we
cannot hide from the rest of the world.
The tasks we face in the weeks and months ahead are many. We have lots to
prepare for, including the Cricket World Cup 2007. But the CSME comes much
earlier, before the World Cup. Indeed, according to the schedule, it will be
here in just five months time, in January 2005.
We must put our shoulders to the wheel as we move from one phase of national and
regional development to the next.
Once again, do have a nice day and enjoy the rest of the week. But please take
care until next Monday.
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