–urges his colleagues to defend CARICOM
(CARICOM Secretariat)     Guyana President, His Excellency Bharrat Jagdeo, has issued a sober charge to his colleague Heads of Government to defend fiercely the Caribbean Community and to recognize how far the Community had come in spite of the plethora of struggles “that no other region has experienced.”
President Jagdeo,  who inches closer to the end of his second term as President of Guyana, was speaking during the closing moments of the 32nd Regular Meeting of the  Conference of CARICOM Heads of Government in Basseterre, St Kitts and Nevis on CARICOM Day, Yesterday. He is one of the youngest Heads of Government in the 15-Member grouping.
In bidding farewell to his colleagues, President Jagdeo reiterated his passion for the regional integration movement and expressed his conviction that he was leaving the fate of the Community in safe and committed hands.
The Guyana President said he was satisfied that the Community, in its 38 years, had made remarkable gains, which had assumed even greater significance because of how far the Region had travelled – from slavery, through emancipation, to crown colony government,  to stable democracies.
“We must never ever forget that!” he emphasised.
He added that the Community was relatively small “but had always packed a punch bigger than our size in world affairs.” However,  “if we want to continue to do so, we have to keep our thinking fresh and be creative in the way we try to safeguard prosperity in our region or else we may lose that distinct historic advantage,” the Guyana President cautioned.
President Jagdeo advised his colleagues that in realising the Community’s goals, they should focus more on outcomes rather than on processes. He lamented that sometimes Heads of Government were too pre-occupied with processes and traditions; and warned that they should not get too comfortable with the ‘familiar’ or rest on their laurels. The task of leading the integration movement, he stated, was not a public relations job.
“People judge us on results therefore we should judge ourselves on results,”
In moving forward, President Jagdeo exhorted his colleagues that they should “always ascertain the value added to the process before plunging into new initiatives.”  As an example, he recommended that those member states who were negotiating with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) should place the emphasis more on growth programmess rather than on stabilisation programmes in order to maximise the benefits for their country.
Referring to his tenure as the youngest serving Guyana President, the Champion of the Earth said he was satisfied that he had made a difference in his country and had re-shaped its image from a place where there was a sense of hopelessness to one of hope.
In acknowledging President’s Jagdeo’s advice, Suriname’s President, His Excellency Desiré Delano Bouterse – one of the most recent additions to the Conference – noted that President Jagdeo played a good inning; and former CARICOM Chairman and Prime Minister of Grenada, the Hon Tillman Thomas, also applauded his contribution to the Region , noting that he is a regionalist and a loyal supporter of CARICOM.