The perception is heightened just as the 30th Heads of Government conference is scheduled to start in Guyana on Thursday, and is to continue for four days. As is to be expected, the authorities are in high alert, busily preparing to host the much-anticipated event and it is the hope that maturity will prevail, contributing to the all important future destiny of a strong united CARICOM.

It is difficult not to be aware of the separative stature being adopted by some principal players in the desired surge towards unity, and which noted columnist, Ricky Singh featured, as he styled it, “Threats to CARICOM unity?” in his weekly written intervention (published in the Chronicle), in which he cited Prime Ministers Bruce Golding, Patrick Manning and Ralph Gonsalves, but for some strange reason neglected to mention Prime Minister David Thompson, whose measures of deportations from his Barbados is causing so much tension and is in clear violation of the free movement of nationals in keeping with the provisions of the Revised Treaty of Chagauramas.

Surely there will be contentious debate on this aberration, as well as the other irritations resulting from varying conflicting views being expressed by the leaders of Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago and which conveys more concern about individual sovereignty, rather than the need to pursue the interests of building a vibrant CARICOM.

Boldly confronting these truths and dispensing with resulting irritants must be satisfactorily resolved. This 30th conference in Guyana will redound to the maturity of action by the participating Heads.

Their workload will be quite heavy. It is expected that the packed agenda will include items on climate change, development of the tourism sector, agriculture and food security, the global economy and financial matters, impact on regional trade and the ever problematic issues on Single Market & Economy.

We naturally wish that success will follow all the deliberations and that the future of CARICOM will once again be piloted towards an assured future