COTED meeting hears several recommendations from private sector

THE Caribbean Community’s (CARICOM) 38th Meeting of the Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED) yesterday focused on a number of critical areas and hosted a special session with the business community.

The session, which was declared open on Friday, at the Pegasus Hotel, by CARICOM Secretary-General Ambassador, Irwin La Rocque, saw a presentation being made by President of the Caribbean Association of Industry and Commerce (CAIC), Ramesh Dookhoo.
Dookhoo, a former Chairman of Guyana’s Private Sector Commission (PSC), told the Guyana Chronicle that the local business community was represented as part of the CAIC at yesterday’s meeting.

REGIONAL APPROCH
In a presentation he made to the Council, the CAIC President underscored the fact that the Caribbean private sector, more than ever, must wrestle with many challenges at a regional level – a task that can only be realised through advocacy and interaction with major international and regional economic and governmental agencies.
He said, “It is at these meetings that the CAIC is able to articulate and seek support for its members’ views on a variety of issues.
“These include private sector positions for trade arrangements, including the CSME (Caribbean Single Market and Economy) and EPA (Environmental Protection Agency), as well as development of a Regional Capital Market and establishment of regional regulatory bodies, air and sea transportation, regional development programmes requiring external funding, the latest legislation on Occupation Health Safety and the environment and many others.
“These initiatives all emphasise the need for one body, which can ensure that the needs of the Caribbean Private Sector are effectively represented.
“With globalisation and increased competition, the Caribbean Private Sector must work together, learn from the expertise of one another and network among ourselves to maximise our ability to compete powerfully. It is the only path to survival.”
He made it clear that the changing global economy no longer “succumbs” to national policy.
“The CAIC represents the interests of the Caribbean Private Sector at a variety of regional and international meetings on economic, social and environmental policy,” Dookhoo said.
The CAIC President added that the Caribbean is poised for growth; however, he bemoaned the fact that the private sector is yet to “feel” the “single space” that is being advocated by CARICOM.

DEMANDS
To this end, Dookhoo pointed out that the CAIC agenda is to push “Business to Business” activity that is sustainable and, while playing by the rules of fair competition in each member state.
He said, “The CAIC is morphing into a new private sector body that is better organised, nimble on its feet and ready to do business anywhere in the world and where the same rules apply from cottage industries to conglomerates.
“This is the only way to ensure that small companies morph into medium and larger companies.”
According to him, the Association supports the engagements of many sectors of the Caribbean economy and believes that this is a good start, but more needs to be done.
Among his recommendations were calls for the need to:
* broaden engagements with the private sector, so no one is left out;
* have CARICOM recognise that the information technology and knowledge economies are critical to the overall advancement of, and actively encourage and lobby for the continued growth and development of these economic sectors;
* support micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME), to ensure that economic space is always available for their growth, development and eventual evolution to becoming larger business or even conglomerates;
* support of the expansion of the capital markets so as to develop a Caribbean investor class and to provide alternative sources for funding for start-ups and existing businesses;
* implement policy and supporting legislation for the expansion of capital markets as part of building a Caribbean investor class and also source of funds for startups and existing businesses;
* ensure that previously successful engagements with the Ministers of Finance and Trade with the Private Sector are urgently re-established;
* address the realities of new economic successes in the Region and clearly establish an inventory of agreements and therefore opportunities that exist at the moment for the private sector to access; and
* establish a private sector desk in the Secretariat, since the reaction time of the CARICOM Secretariat is crucial to private sector success and growth.
Dookhoo said, “While promoting the old adage that we must exploit the comparative advantage that exists in our collective territories, we have to push the private sector towards a Caribbean Economic Plan. How do we use the natural endowments of various nations to complement the others? We should have a few business leaders on the newly formed Commission on the Economy.
He made it clear that the way forward is paved with challenges and recommended a meeting of CAIC and the relevant stakeholders as the first step to addressing these.
The CAIC President told the Guyana Chronicle that his recommendations were well received by the Council, although there was not an immediate forum for feedback.

CAIC’S FOCUS
The CAIC President yesterday also expressed his appreciation to the CARICOM Secretary-General for his “renewed energy and purposefulness” to engage the business community on matters that affect the Region as a whole.
According to him, the CAIC does not seek to replicate private sector representation at a national level, which is undertaken by the respective chambers and associations, except as a supporting voice where appropriate, but to impact upon the development, growth and competitive positioning of the Caribbean business environment as international and regional policy developments are being readied for implementation.
He said, “Without an organisation such as the CAIC, Caribbean businesses can depend only on the representation that is available at a national level, while much is being determined at regional and international levels.
“Beyond our individual shores, the CAIC has a seat at the table where major policy initiatives are formulated and where our national private sector organisations are not directly represented.
“…experience has shown that governments require the expertise and support of the private sector as a critical input to national and regional transformation.
“While there are locally based associations in most countries to represent the private sector nationally, the CAIC is the only accredited private sector umbrella association operating at a regional level.
“As a result, the CAIC has access to various government organs and international agencies, which the local associations do not. The CAIC is strategically placed to influence regional government policies in creating the type of business climate that seeks to foster investment.
“The CAIC is the means by which Caribbean businesses can ensure that there is a representative which can bring a private sector perspective and ensure that practical business realities are taken into consideration by: the bodies that inform policy makers; by policy makers themselves, and by the external agencies that seek to provide assistance to the Region.
CAIC started in 1955 as a private sector mission of the West Indian Incorporated Chambers of Commerce; and in 1970, it was named the Caribbean Association of Industry and Commerce.
Today, CAIC is an umbrella organisation for private sector representative bodies. It is a supporting voice at the regional level for national representative bodies and seeks to impact upon the development, growth and competitive positioning of the Caribbean business environment through partnership activities.

(By Vanessa Narine)