‘Your Chairman stands with you at all times’ – PM Gaston Browne assures new CARICOM Secretary-General
Remarks by Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, Chairman of the CARICOM On the Occasion Of The Installation of the New Secretary General of CARICOM, Dr. Carla Barnett
Good Morning:
Today’s installation ceremony represents the spirit of continuity of the leadership of our Community, and the passing of the baton to new hands.
On behalf of all the member states, and on behalf of the CARICOM Heads of Government, and with my best wishes as Chairman, I pray for your successful term in office, and I welcome you to the position of CARICOM Secretary-General.
As you re-join this noble endeavour of Caribbean integration, I know that you bring vast expertise and experience to this position; your previous years as Deputy Secretary-General place you in an ideal position to hit the ground running.
As the first female CARICOM Secretary-General, I know that you will succeed in demonstrating to the world that talent resides in both sexes equally; and, that the leadership of our regional institutions is open to those talented sons and daughters who bring the requisite skills to the table.
As I welcome you to the position of CARICOM Secretary-General, I must also acknowledge the sterling contribution of your immediate predecessor, Ambassador Irwin LaRocque of the Commonwealth of Dominica.
Irwin’s unflappable spirit and quiet tenacity served us well, especially most recently in these Covid times when some decision-makers succumbed to panic and indecision.
I note in passing that both Ambassador LaRocque and you, Excellency, are from member states Dominica and Belize respectively, and that citizens of these states have never before held the position of Secretary-General. Congratulations.
I mentioned that your previous experience in senior leadership at the Secretariat places you in a position to hit the ground running. Well, given the varied challenges that confront governance in CARICOM and the wider world today, I am certain that you will have to hit the ground running.
As you tackle the urgent and impactful issues that confront our Community on a day-to-day basis, I want you to know that your Chairman stands with you at all times.
I look forward to your sage advice and I undertake to place myself at your disposal at all times. You will find that I am a very available and accessible Chairman.
Everyone in Antigua and Barbuda already seems to have my phone number, and I regard the CARICOM Secretariat as a piece of Antigua and Barbuda in Georgetown. Please feel free to call whenever you must.
Secretary-General:
Starting today, our first order of business and our top priority will be Haiti, now suffering under the most recent humanitarian crisis brought on by Saturday’s earthquake.
The earthquake and the attendant massive loss of life are painful reminders of the political, economic and social tragedies that have beset Haiti since its new history began in 1804.
As Chairman of CARICOM, I believe that the time has come to change the trajectory of Haiti, and we must establish measures, in collaboration with Haiti’s political directorate and the international community, that will allow Haiti to make a fundamental change of direction.
That is a longer-term goal, but for now we must bind up the nation’s wounds and mobilize assistance to meet the immediate humanitarian needs.
I have been in contact with Haiti’s Prime Minister, H.E. Ariel Henri, in recent days and as a member-state of CARICOM, the Haitian leaders are looking forward to CARICOM’s support and solidarity.
In addition to Haiti, many other challenges for the Community lie ahead.
We are still in the middle of the global Covid pandemic, with countries all over the world experiencing their third, fourth and fifth waves of infections. In the region, we have to tackle the twin contradictory issues of access to vaccines as well as vaccine hesitancy among our populations.
We are compelled to triumph over this murderous pandemic.
In many of our member states, the percentage of our population that has been fully vaccinated is still unacceptably low, and there is a great risk that we will not reach herd immunity in very many months. We need to correct this.
We need to re-float our economies while keeping our people safe, and to place ourselves in a position to take advantage of the spike in tourism demand that several members are evidencing.
The work of finalizing the terms of the CSME remains to be done, and it must be done quickly if CARICOM is to retain the confidence of the people in our member states.
I am also of the view that we need generally to re-assess our methods of work at the level of the Conference of Heads of Government, and at other levels as well, always looking for peak efficiency.
It is my intention to raise these matters with you and to strive for ways in which we can make the machinery of CARICOM run more smoothly.
At the earliest opportunity, I wish to invite you and your senior team to St. John’s for deeper consultations on the serious work that lies ahead.
I have never shirked hard work, and I believe that energy unused is energy wasted.
As we get down to the business of managing our regional integration process, let us remember that the work is hard but the rewards are great for the people of our region, who deserve no less.
Welcome, Secretary-General!
Source: CARICOM TODAY