Grenada today joined the rest of the region in observing CARICOM Day, July 4.
It comes with the understanding that CARICOM is a spirited movement focusing on the development of its many Member States.
CARICOM Day is synonymous with the historic signing on 4th July, 1973, of the Treaty of Chaguaramas, which created the synergy to advance development in the region.
It was the nucleus for a new economic block and an avenue for Member States to collaboratively speak with one voice and rally for a common cause.
The Treaty was signed originally July 4, 1973, by four of the Caribbean’s leaders…Errol Barrow, (Prime Minister of Barbados); Forbes Burnham, (Prime Minister of Guyana); Eric Williams, (Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago) and Michael Manley, (Prime Minister of Jamaica).
The signing was seen as laying the groundwork for a ‘Community for All’.
Forty-six years on, CARICOM has been up and down the economic spectrum tackling issues germane to its relevance on the local, regional and international sphere.
Today, it could well be said that the introduction of modern information technologies has sent a sporadic thrust for the region to move at a faster pace to accommodate development in line with the future of a more youthful population.
Over the years there have been many initiatives spearheading the regional oness…culture, travel, money markets, entertainment and sports, to name a few.
And, the latest initiative that needs a boost, more than any other, is the free movement of people, expected in talks on the CSME at the St. Lucia meeting.
Put together by the region’s intellectuals of all time, it’s fair to say they have left us (CARICOM) a flagship that needs remembering this day, July, 4, 2019, where it’s rudder was originally pointed for the benefit of the people of the Caribbean.
