-Jamaica PM, his ‘guests’ and agenda
Analysis
WITH THE extradition of Christopher ‘Dudus’ Coke to the USA on Thursday behind him, after a month of gripping tension and spreading fear, Prime Minister Bruce Golding will settle down this week to finalising arrangements for his hosting of the 31st CARICOM Heads of Government Conference that gets underway in Montego Bay next Sunday.
By a strange coincidence, the same day Coke was being extradited to face trial in the USA on drug trafficking and gun-running charges, Prime Minister Golding was also leaving Jamaica for Canada to participate in a meeting of what used to be known as the G-8 Group, and is now an expanded G-20 bloc of nations.
Golding would have left Jamaica with an understandable sense of relief that the infamous ‘don’ of Tivoli Gardens in his West Kingston ‘garrison’ constituency has probably spared Jamaicans from the trauma of a court trial at home.
In a curious way, by evidently aiding his capture with the help of a well known pastor (Rev. Al Miller), subsequently waiving his rights to an extradition trial, and then appealing to Jamaicans to “pray” for him, Coke may well have paved the way for a more thorough battle by the security forces against other ‘dons’ and criminal gangs that have contributed to Jamaica’s unflattering profile as one of the world’s major murder and crime centres.
Terrorism and criminality were expected to surface at the G-20 Summit in Canada, in the context of how serious social and economic problems often provide the conditions that threaten national, regional and international security.
Prime Minister Golding, who has lead responsibility among CARICOM Heads of Government for external economic relations, will be expected to brief his colleagues in Montego Bay on the outcome of the summit in Canada.
The G-20 pledge to make available new financial resources to the poor and developing nations, among them CARICOM states, crime and security; updates on status of preparations for advancing CARICOM’s Single Market and Economy (CSME) as well as the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with the European Union; negotiations with Canada for a new trade and development accord and USA/CARICOM relations are some of the main agenda issues.

Likely absentees

At the time of writing, the Caribbean Community Secretariat was not in a position to confirm the full list of participating Heads of Government. It, however, said that all 15 member countries of the now 37-year-old regional economic integration movement were expected for the four-day summit that concludes on July 7.
Among likely absentees would be the outgoing President of Suriname, Runaldo Venetiaan, whose party was defeated at the country’s recent general election. The election, by the parliament, of a new Head of State is unlikely before August.
No confirmation could be obtained on the participation either of Barbados’ ailing Prime Minister, David Thompson. But his presence would certainly be a most pleasant surprise for his colleagues.
Thompson has lead responsibility for advancing arrangements for CARICOM’s flagship project — the attainment of a seamless regional economy by 2015.
Of course, the goalpost on CSME’s inauguration keeps shifting as a number of member states continue to falter in honouring their pledges to close the yawning gaps on implementation of treaty-based policies and programmes.
A few appear to be simply going through the motions of participation, but succeed only in fostering more cynicism with their stale platitudes — whether the issue involves the much-needed new management system to conduct the Community’s business, or sensitive people-oriented matters like even intra-regional free movement of nationals with contingent rights.
The time is long past for either disbanding the mechanism of a quasi-cabinet system in allocation of lead responsibilities among Heads of Government, since there are no audits of performances and, in the process, the Community suffers from moving forward.

PMs Skerrit & Spencer

One such portfolio that readily comes to mind in the quasi-cabinet structure is that listed as ‘Labour (including Community movement of skills)’ and allocated to Dominica, whose Prime Minister, Roosevelt Skerrit, appears to pride his silence on ongoing passionate public discussions on the subject.
Incidentally, Skerrit will be one of two Prime Ministers attending the coming summit in Montego Bay, with the awareness of returning home to face a likely by-election in his Veille Case constituency in the very near future.
That will be as a consequence of a court hearing last Tuesday over an election petition filed against him by the opposition United Workers Party following the December 18, 2009 general election.
A similar concern would also be difficult for Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer of Antigua and Barbuda to ignore, as he prepares for a hearing this Tuesday by the Eastern Caribbean Court of Appeal on a ruling last March 31 by High Court judge, Louise Blenman.
The judge had declared ‘vacant’ three parliamentary seats of Spencer’s ruling  United Progressive Party (UPP), including his own, on the basis of petitions filed by the opposition Antigua Labour Party.
Decisions in both the election petition cases against the Dominica and Antigua and Barbuda Prime Ministers and others are expected by August, if not earlier.
Among speakers for the ceremonial opening of the four-day summit will be the first woman Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, Kamla Persad-Bissessar, and host Prime Minister Golding.
What they have in common may not be flattering, when it comes to their rather cautious approach — if not disinterest at this time — in accessing the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) as their final appellate institution, in place of the Privy Council in London.
Prime Minister Persad-Bissessar happens to be the fourth woman Prime Minister of CARICOM (others being, first the late Dame Eugenia Charles; Guyana’s late President Janet Jagan; and Jamaica’s Portia Simpson-Miller).
In the context of CARICOM developments, she faces the challenge of encouraging thinking abroad in the region that her People’s Partnership Coalition administration will be more forthcoming to help move CARICOM forward with its major programmes than when she was a senior cabinet minister in the United National Congress administration of her former political guru and ex-Prime Minister, Basdeo Panday.