– during 33rd CARICOM Heads of Gov’t Meeting
PRESIDENT Donald Ramotar came in for high praise during his inaugural address at the 33rd CARICOM Heads of Government meeting in St Lucia, in which he dealt with  the peculiarities of the Region’s vulnerability drawing specific attention to climate change, food security and the country’s vulnerability to financial shocks among other issues. Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Dr. Roger Luncheon, during  a post-Cabinet press briefing yesterday, said President Ramotar’s address drew attention and praise, especially for his inclusive comments on regional issues.
“The President waded-in on the Region’s vulnerabilities with emphasis on climate change, small island development – with particular emphasis on the vulnerability to financial shocks, food security, our institutions, the CCJ (Caribbean Court of Justice) and in Guyana’s case, cricket,” he said.
According to the HPS, President Ramotar during his engagements pledged Guyana’s commitment to the sustainability and continuity of the promotion and sustenance of regional integration.
At the conference, President Ramotar called for greater political will and purpose beyond the rhetoric of commitments each year in light of the fact that the pace of implementation of integration within CARICOM leaves much to be desired.
“Heads of Government have constantly been recommitting to hassle-free movement of people in order to promote a greater sense of community. I however, regret to say that implementation has been lagging for the most part,” President Ramotar said during his debut address at the conference.
He dispelled the view that advancing regional integration collides with individual national interests and was assertive that without it, individual national survival can by no means be assured. He reaffirmed Guyana’s commitment to the integration process and pledged his Government’s full support to the continued efforts of regional Governments and the CARICOM Secretariat working towards the attainment of “a more integrated, more resilient and more prosperous Caribbean.”
President Ramotar berated the way in which West Indies cricket is being administered and called for the full implementation of recommendations emanating from the Patterson Commission, authored by former Jamaican Prime Minister Percival James (PJ) Patterson, which  outlines 65 recommendations aimed at promoting transparency and accountability in the reform process of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB).
“While recognising and respecting the autonomy of the sport, we cannot be oblivious to the problems in the administration of the game,” the Guyanese President said.
The Head of State touched on agriculture in the Region, stating that he is optimistic that the Region has the resources and the potential to curtail the alarmingly high bill that it pays on food imports on an annual basis. President Ramotar was also perturbed that the problem remains unresolved.
He described the challenge as an indictment on the entire Region noting that, “Our food import bill is huge, even though we have most of the resources to guarantee our own food security and supply. The more than US$3B that leaves our Region each year could be put to productive use to improve our people’s lives.”