Peter Phillips and the Caricom agenda
By Maureen Denton
Sunday, December 25, 2005
I read with interest the Daily Observer editorial of December 14, on the matter of the People's National Party leadership aspirants and the Caribbean Community. Jamaica, like the rest of the Caribbean, finds itself at a veritable crossroads as it contemplates some of the most dramatic and consequential changes in the regional economic system in modern times.
Our country, like the region, continues to grapple with the dual challenges of achieving social and economic advancement in an inordinately complex and dynamic global environment while, at the same time, examining and employing strategies which will assist our nation to effectively reposition itself in order to assure its competitiveness and its economic survival.
Caribbean leaders signing the Treaty of Chaguaramas to establish Caricom
On a very fundamental level, Jamaica and other small developing states in the Caribbean, have been forced to examine traditional concepts of sovereignty especially in light of the phenomenon of globalisation and the continued dramatic evolution of the global economy, which has been characterised by significantly greater capital mobility but also, ironically, by greater asymmetric trade among countries, which has in turn served to precipitate increasing friction within the international economic system.
As countries in the region increasingly find themselves either being dragged along by the process or literally "going along to get along" in order to "avoid being left behind" economically, there is unquestionably a new urgency for a considered and rational approach and a demand for cogent leadership within Caricom, that will serve to address these unfolding changes and ensure that our response is strategic and proactive instead of merely reactive.
Notwithstanding the relative openness of our economies and the high quality of our human capital, as well as our strong regard for democratic principles and the rule of law, the region remains vulnerable to adverse phenomena, including external economic shocks and natural disasters. In addition, economic expansion in the Caribbean has not kept pace with other parts of the world, underscored by the reality that the region's GDP has increased by less than two per cent per annum in the past 25 years.
The assumption that the reduction of transaction costs spurred by new advances in technology would allow the Caribbean to increase its competitiveness, despite the small size of individual economies, has been proven to be largely illusory.
The fact is that size does matter and it is also without dispute that the Caribbean remains at a distinct disadvantage, particularly as it relates to economies of scale and economic diversification.
While the dismantling of preferential trade arrangements has served to force the region to reduce its dependence on single commodities, such as sugar or bananas, the fact is that size continues to impact the ability of several of our countries to realise the benefits of economies of scale.The Lome and successor Cotonou conventions prefaced the steady contraction of agriculture as a central component of many of our economies and in its stead our countries have become increasingly reliant on services to ensure our economic viability.
Jamaica's reality typifies the objective situation facing most of the Caribbean states at this time. These dynamic changes, by necessity, are demanding of a kind of dynamic leadership that will be critical to the near-term competitiveness of our country and will also have far-reaching implications for our long-term economic survival.
This dynamic leadership cannot only obtain within a strict national context, notwithstanding the fact that our own internal challenges are myriad and indeed serious. This leadership - Jamaica's leadership - is not only desired but in fact required, on a range of levels, by the Caribbean Community.
Our role, since the Treaty of Chaguaramas was signed, has by no means become less consequential. In fact, it is the very opposite. From the Caricom Single Market and Economy (CSME) to the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), from critical negotiations spearheaded by the Caribbean Regional Negotiating Machinery (RNM) to dealing with the spread of HIV/AIDS in the region, Jamaica's leadership has been central, capital and critically important.
Therefore, the issue of a prospective leader in Jamaica can never be discussed in isolation from the objective reality of Jamaica's very consequential and historic role in Caribbean affairs. Throughout the 1970s and indeed the 1980s, through the 1990s to the current period, Jamaica's leadership has been pivotal and elemental.
The candidates who have offered themselves for leadership of the People's National Party have all, within the context of their ministerial portfolios, had experience in focusing key issues of real importance to the Caricom agenda.
However, it is the current minister of National Security, Dr Peter Phillips, who on assessment, seems most equipped to provide the insight, the vision and the quality of leadership that this is required at a time of immense change within the Caricom system.
His familiarity with requisite Caricom priorities is manifestly deep and expansive.
The Minister's experience in working on issues directly related to the Caricom agenda spans a period of over 15 years, commencing with his contribution on matters relating to the so-called Single Integrated Common Market discussions in the early 1990s, which focused on fundamental issues central to an integrated regional economic space, including the Common External Tariff (CET), Rules of Origin and the Revised Scheme for the Harmonisation of Fiscal Incentives.
In addition to his literal immersion in issues which are now at the very centre of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME), Dr Phillips served as point-person for then Prime Minister Michael Manley on matters related to external trade during a critical period when key negotiations on the Caricom-USA Framework Agreement under the Enterprise for the Americas Initiative were underway.
Dr Phillips' leadership was pivotal to Jamaica's signing in July, 1999 of an amendment to the Treaty of Chaguaramas (Protocol VI) which deals with transport policy. His awareness of the importance of adequate, safe and reliable air and maritime transport services to the eventual success and utility of a CSME, as well as the continued viability and expansion of the region's tourism industry and the need for decreased dependence on extra-regional carriers, was central to his advocacy.
Additionally, his initiative and vision also led to the signing of the Draft Protocol Concerning Open Skies Freight Arrangement between Jamaica and the United States in October 2000, which allowed Jamaica to take advantage of new opportunities in cargo commerce and allowed for significant expansion in the island's trans-shipment capabilities, given Jamaica's strategic location in the Caribbean.
This also represented the first such agreement between the U.S. and any nation in the entire Western Hemisphere. It is important to note too that the signing of an agreement, on November 17, between the Port Authority of Jamaica and the Maersk Shipping Line is not unrelated to the Minister's earlier efforts to transform the Kingston Container Terminal into a regional trans-shipment hub and a true 21st century facility.
As chairman of the Caricom Committee on Resource Mobilisation for Crime and Security, Dr Phillips continues to work closely with his colleagues from the region to plan and implement security cooperation programmes involving the United States and Britain in particular.
He is also chairman for the grouping of regional security ministers currently devising a new architecture for crime and security in the Caricom region as well as planning security operations for Cricket World Cup 2007.
As the succession debate deepens and as the Jamaicans public, necessarily, examines his tenure both nationally and regionally, it is clear that his impressive record in fashioning and promoting important components of the CARICOM agenda must be given due consideration, even as our nation weighs his overall competence and his fitness for the rigors of national and indeed international service.
[Maureen Denton is a Jamaican lawyer who lives and works in New York]
Copyright© 2000-2001 Jamaica Observer. All Rights Reserved
By Maureen Denton
Sunday, December 25, 2005
I read with interest the Daily Observer editorial of December 14, on the matter of the People's National Party leadership aspirants and the Caribbean Community. Jamaica, like the rest of the Caribbean, finds itself at a veritable crossroads as it contemplates some of the most dramatic and consequential changes in the regional economic system in modern times.
Our country, like the region, continues to grapple with the dual challenges of achieving social and economic advancement in an inordinately complex and dynamic global environment while, at the same time, examining and employing strategies which will assist our nation to effectively reposition itself in order to assure its competitiveness and its economic survival.
Caribbean leaders signing the Treaty of Chaguaramas to establish Caricom
On a very fundamental level, Jamaica and other small developing states in the Caribbean, have been forced to examine traditional concepts of sovereignty especially in light of the phenomenon of globalisation and the continued dramatic evolution of the global economy, which has been characterised by significantly greater capital mobility but also, ironically, by greater asymmetric trade among countries, which has in turn served to precipitate increasing friction within the international economic system.
As countries in the region increasingly find themselves either being dragged along by the process or literally "going along to get along" in order to "avoid being left behind" economically, there is unquestionably a new urgency for a considered and rational approach and a demand for cogent leadership within Caricom, that will serve to address these unfolding changes and ensure that our response is strategic and proactive instead of merely reactive.
Notwithstanding the relative openness of our economies and the high quality of our human capital, as well as our strong regard for democratic principles and the rule of law, the region remains vulnerable to adverse phenomena, including external economic shocks and natural disasters. In addition, economic expansion in the Caribbean has not kept pace with other parts of the world, underscored by the reality that the region's GDP has increased by less than two per cent per annum in the past 25 years.
The assumption that the reduction of transaction costs spurred by new advances in technology would allow the Caribbean to increase its competitiveness, despite the small size of individual economies, has been proven to be largely illusory.
The fact is that size does matter and it is also without dispute that the Caribbean remains at a distinct disadvantage, particularly as it relates to economies of scale and economic diversification.
While the dismantling of preferential trade arrangements has served to force the region to reduce its dependence on single commodities, such as sugar or bananas, the fact is that size continues to impact the ability of several of our countries to realise the benefits of economies of scale.The Lome and successor Cotonou conventions prefaced the steady contraction of agriculture as a central component of many of our economies and in its stead our countries have become increasingly reliant on services to ensure our economic viability.
Jamaica's reality typifies the objective situation facing most of the Caribbean states at this time. These dynamic changes, by necessity, are demanding of a kind of dynamic leadership that will be critical to the near-term competitiveness of our country and will also have far-reaching implications for our long-term economic survival.
This dynamic leadership cannot only obtain within a strict national context, notwithstanding the fact that our own internal challenges are myriad and indeed serious. This leadership - Jamaica's leadership - is not only desired but in fact required, on a range of levels, by the Caribbean Community.
Our role, since the Treaty of Chaguaramas was signed, has by no means become less consequential. In fact, it is the very opposite. From the Caricom Single Market and Economy (CSME) to the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), from critical negotiations spearheaded by the Caribbean Regional Negotiating Machinery (RNM) to dealing with the spread of HIV/AIDS in the region, Jamaica's leadership has been central, capital and critically important.
Therefore, the issue of a prospective leader in Jamaica can never be discussed in isolation from the objective reality of Jamaica's very consequential and historic role in Caribbean affairs. Throughout the 1970s and indeed the 1980s, through the 1990s to the current period, Jamaica's leadership has been pivotal and elemental.
The candidates who have offered themselves for leadership of the People's National Party have all, within the context of their ministerial portfolios, had experience in focusing key issues of real importance to the Caricom agenda.
However, it is the current minister of National Security, Dr Peter Phillips, who on assessment, seems most equipped to provide the insight, the vision and the quality of leadership that this is required at a time of immense change within the Caricom system.
His familiarity with requisite Caricom priorities is manifestly deep and expansive.
The Minister's experience in working on issues directly related to the Caricom agenda spans a period of over 15 years, commencing with his contribution on matters relating to the so-called Single Integrated Common Market discussions in the early 1990s, which focused on fundamental issues central to an integrated regional economic space, including the Common External Tariff (CET), Rules of Origin and the Revised Scheme for the Harmonisation of Fiscal Incentives.
In addition to his literal immersion in issues which are now at the very centre of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME), Dr Phillips served as point-person for then Prime Minister Michael Manley on matters related to external trade during a critical period when key negotiations on the Caricom-USA Framework Agreement under the Enterprise for the Americas Initiative were underway.
Dr Phillips' leadership was pivotal to Jamaica's signing in July, 1999 of an amendment to the Treaty of Chaguaramas (Protocol VI) which deals with transport policy. His awareness of the importance of adequate, safe and reliable air and maritime transport services to the eventual success and utility of a CSME, as well as the continued viability and expansion of the region's tourism industry and the need for decreased dependence on extra-regional carriers, was central to his advocacy.
Additionally, his initiative and vision also led to the signing of the Draft Protocol Concerning Open Skies Freight Arrangement between Jamaica and the United States in October 2000, which allowed Jamaica to take advantage of new opportunities in cargo commerce and allowed for significant expansion in the island's trans-shipment capabilities, given Jamaica's strategic location in the Caribbean.
This also represented the first such agreement between the U.S. and any nation in the entire Western Hemisphere. It is important to note too that the signing of an agreement, on November 17, between the Port Authority of Jamaica and the Maersk Shipping Line is not unrelated to the Minister's earlier efforts to transform the Kingston Container Terminal into a regional trans-shipment hub and a true 21st century facility.
As chairman of the Caricom Committee on Resource Mobilisation for Crime and Security, Dr Phillips continues to work closely with his colleagues from the region to plan and implement security cooperation programmes involving the United States and Britain in particular.
He is also chairman for the grouping of regional security ministers currently devising a new architecture for crime and security in the Caricom region as well as planning security operations for Cricket World Cup 2007.
As the succession debate deepens and as the Jamaicans public, necessarily, examines his tenure both nationally and regionally, it is clear that his impressive record in fashioning and promoting important components of the CARICOM agenda must be given due consideration, even as our nation weighs his overall competence and his fitness for the rigors of national and indeed international service.
[Maureen Denton is a Jamaican lawyer who lives and works in New York]
Copyright© 2000-2001 Jamaica Observer. All Rights Reserved
