THE Region’s young people will not wait another ten years nor will they forgive present leaders for procrastination or lack of courage.

And Prime Minister of Barbados, Mia Mottley, told her colleagues if they were serious about making the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME) work, it was time to move past the talk. Mottley was making her maiden address at the 39th Regular Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) in Montego Bay, Jamaica, Wednesday evening.

“Our political leadership must facilitate and shepherd, not control and stifle,” she told the gathering. “What is most needed, I am convinced, is to give our people the scope to express their natural inclination to getting things to a conclusion in ways that are productive and beneficial to the region as a whole. Our people should not have to jump through hoops to make this happen.”

She pointed to the lack of movement on regional travel whether it was in the form of a ferry or the problems with LIAT and Caribbean Airlines. Mottley said the free movement of people needed to be addressed. She announced Barbados would be removing the visa restrictions for Haiti – a signatory to the Revised Treaty of Chagauramas – because travellers outside of the region were allowed to do so every day. The Prime Minister said there also needed to be better communication and sharing of information across the region.

Meanwhile, Chairman and Prime Minister of Jamaica, Andrew Holness, in declaring the Conference open noted the Community must reflect on experiences of regional integration over the years. The hosting of the COCHOG in Jamaica is especially significant given CARICOM turns 45. On 4 July, 1973, four CARICOM Heads of Government affixed their signatures to the Treaty of Chaguaramas.

The Hon. Errol Barrow, Prime Minister of Barbados, the Hon. Forbes Burnham, Prime Minister of Guyana, the Hon. Eric Williams, Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago and the Hon. Michael Manley, Prime Minister of Jamaica signed the Treaty, thus laying the groundwork for a ‘Community for All’. PM Holness noted 45-year milestone is an opportune time to evaluate the Community’s institutions. “We owe it to the people to deliver on commitments made…,” he said.

“The single market is a victim of our own reluctance to fully and functionally establish it”, PM Holness opined. The critical role of the implementing the single market must also be addressed including the free movement of people across the region, he added.

Over the next two days, the Heads of Government and state will meet in plenary and caucus to deliberate a range of critical matters including measures impacting the implementation of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME), Crime and Security, building post-hurricane disaster resilience, and emerging geo-political developments which can have an impact on the region’s growth prospects. They will also receive and discuss the final report on the CARICOM Commission on Marijuana.