One of the governmentﾴs point men in a national campaign to educate Bahamians on the CARICOM Single Market and Economy is concerned about the level of misinformation being spread on the trade agreement.
A. Leonard Archer, who is also the countryﾴs High Commissioner to CARICOM, said in an interview with The Bahama Journal on Tuesday that he was disappointed that much of the misinformation is being spread by highly regarded Bahamians who have been in the press lately.
Just last week, Chairman of the Financial Services Consultative Forum Brian Moree, in an address to The Bahamian Forum, voiced opposition to the CSME.
Mr. Moree said that, “In order to attract countries to participate in the process of integration they are initially allowed to move at their own pace and exercise independent discretion in deciding which aspects of the arrangement to accept.
“However, as the process continues, higher levels of coercion are introduced to achieve stated objectives. I have absolutely no doubt that as the CSME process continues to move forward it will create an almost irresistible momentum towards full integration and union between the member states. That is one of the features of this process which troubles me.”
But Mr. Archer said such statements are misleading.
Reading from the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas, he said, “ﾑReservations may be entered to this treaty with the consent of the signatory state,ﾴ meaning the governments of the Caribbean will agree to the reservations.”
One of the reservations, for instance, the government has said it would adopt is opting out of the free movement of labour and single currency provisions of the agreement.
Mr. Archer said that there is no way that The Bahamas down the road would be forced to change its mind about agreed reservations.
“Anybody who suggests otherwise is not being absolutely truthful to the terms and conditions of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas,” he said.
“Both Mr. Moree and [economist Dr. Gilbert Morris] have suggested that ﾑYes, well, you sign those reservations, but couple years down the road youﾴll be pressured into dropping your reservations. What theyﾴre in fact saying is that they have no respect for the current or future political leadership of The Bahamas.”
He added, “If The Prime Minister of The Bahamas says no [to dropping] the reservations the fact of the matter is it is still no and it would remain no as long as he or she is prepared to say no. Thatﾴs the way the reservations are and itﾴs a little disconcerting and a little disappointing when persons who know better will make those kinds of statements.”
Mr. Archer also pointed to statements made by the President of the Chamber of Commerce Winston Rolle on Love 97ﾴs “Issues of The Day” on Tuesday.
“He was mistaken,” Mr. Archer said. “He said he went to a meeting and some member of the [CARICOM] Secretariat team said ﾑWell, you know the reservations will only last a few years.ﾴ Now, the reservations will last as long as The Bahamas wants them to last.”
In July 2001, all Caribbean countries with the exception of The Bahamas signed the revised treaty agreeing to create the CSME by the end of 2005.
“This close cooperation in commercial activity is expected to raise the standard of living of the vast majority of the 14 million people who live in the CARICOM region,” Fred Mitchell, minister of foreign affairs, said recently in an address to The National Congress of Trade Unions on the CSME.
“It is expected that this close economic cooperation will lead to an increase in competition among the providers of goods and services in the region and thus cause a reduction in the prices of goods and services.”
But many Bahamians opposing the CSME feel differently and see very little benefit in The Bahamas joining the regional agreement.
Mr. Archer, however, reiterated that there are far more positives than negatives in The Bahamas joining the CSME and if it were left up to him, this country would have signed on a long time ago.
“We are part of a global economy. We applied to join the [World Trade Organization]. We have been negotiating the [Free Trade Area of The Americas]. Joining the CSME first provides us with certain advantages of going into WTO and FTAA,” he said.
“There are also the economic reasons: increased investments in The Bahamas and increased trade with the rest of the Caribbean.”
In fact, Mr. Archer again noted that opting out of the CSME would mean that The Bahamas would become a less competitive jurisdiction.
Minister Mitchell also pointed out recently that The Bahamas would emerge as a “less than favourable” place to do business because it would suddenly be outside a globally recognized trading bloc with a system of rules and regulations in conformity with the changing nature of the world economy.
“By being at the table, as a full member of CARICOM, with all the other regional state players, The Bahamas would always be in a position to have first-hand knowledge of new trends and developing issues, and would be able therefore to plan the necessary structural adjustments to deal with them,” said the Minister, who is actually leading the campaign to educate Bahamians on the CSME.
Yet, there are many people who are still not convinced. They want the opportunity to take the issue to a vote.
Despite calls from some Bahamians for the government to hold a referendum so that Bahamians would be able to decide on this issue, Minister Mitchell has continued to speak out against it.
Support of a referendum has come from many corners.
While on the Love 97 programme “Jones and Company” on Sunday, for instance, businessman Franklyn Wilson said he thinks there should be a referendum on CSME.
Mr. Wilson also said that he did not think that the government had yet made a solid case for the country joining the trade agreement.
Minister Mitchell, in his address to the NCTU, indicated that a referendum would not be a good move.
“The greatest move that The Bahamas ever took was the move to become an independent country in 1973. This move did not only affect the economic viability, but the political and social viability of the country,” he noted. “But there was no referendum on this issue.”
Minister Mitchell added, “The point being made is that a referendum is a precise, democratic process, required by the Constitution of The Bahamas for changing certain specific articles of The Bahamas Constitution. It was never intended for the referendum process to be abused by putting a myriad of questions to the Bahamian people.”
Itﾴs also a point Mr. Archer made in his interview with The Bahama Journal on Tuesday.
“I think itﾴs unfortunate that weﾴre elevating a trade treaty to the level of a matter of such fundamental importance that everybody has to say yes or no to it,” he said. “I think thereﾴs a danger too in this. Once you start doing these things by referenda then where do you stop? Thereﾴs a dispute about [liquefied natural gas] so should we hold a referendum on LNG?”
Asked whether the fact that various prominent figures have raised increased opposition to the CSME has created a setback for the government in its drive to push the agreement, Mr. Archer said this was not the case.
“I think it was an unfortunate happening,” he said, however. “I think whether we agree with the treaty or not, we ought to be speaking accurately in educating the Bahamian people.”
Candia Dames, The Bahama Journal
