Dec 2005 Financial News

Regional Development Fund to be set up

Dec 16, 2005

CARICOM leaders have agreed on the finances which will be necessary to make the Regional Development Fund a reality, prior to the formal launch of the CARICOM Single Market on January 1, 2006.

That announcement came after the First Special Meeting of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Council for Finance and Planning (COFAP) which took place earlier this week as efforts heightens ahead of January 1, to ensure that all of the measures are put in place, ahead of that date. The meeting follows another a week earlier which stressed that the Single Market will be implemented by January 1, 2006. It was revealed that Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Guyana, Jamaica, Saint Lucia, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago will be Single Market ready by December 31 2005. That decision was announced at the conclusion of the Eleventh Special Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government on the status of the CSME, which was held at the Sherbourne Conference Centre. The decision of the CARICOM Heads came after they received a report on the state of readiness of the region from Prime Minister, the Right Honourable Owen Arthur, the Lead Head of Government with responsibility for the CSME.

In the Report, Prime Minister Arthur spoke of the visits to member states of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) to discuss issues and measures which relate to implementation of the special and differential treatment provisions under the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas and which also related to their ability to meet the December 2005 deadline for the establishment of the Single Market. These visits were extended to Belize, Guyana and Suriname who face particular challenges. The visits were mandated by the Conference of Heads of Government at their last Regular Meeting in Saint Lucia in July.

The meeting was mandated to determine ways of secure the financing, structure and operation of the Development Fund a critical instrument to facilitate the successful implementation of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME). The Fund is provided for in the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas establishing the Caribbean Community including the CARICOM Single Market and Economy.

Significantly, the Ministers agreed that Governments will not fit the bill alone for the Fund. It was agreed that in addition to Member States contributions, the regional private sector, international financial institutions and foreign governments would be approached to contribute to the Development Fund. The Fund will be managed by the Caribbean Development Bank.

Prime Minister Owen Arthur, stated that the establishment of the Fund was critical moving forward in the process. "We leave this meeting with the regional development fund now, not just being an abstract concept in a treaty; but it will receive resources beginning on January 1 and there will be in excess of 10 million to start it off, and we hope that we can quickly build it once we agree on the way in which it will be funded, who will benefit from it and the criteria by which money shall be disbursed," he stated.

It was also stated that a technical team would continue to evaluate all options to ensure the fund would be affordable and sustainable. A report from the technical team, the Prime Minister stressed, had suggested that the fund should be 250 million, of which member countries would contribute 100 million and with another 150 million coming from international donors.

"That was not the only proposal. We have had a large number of proposals. We have even had one by Professor Havelock Brew-ster [a member of the technical team] that we are hearing for the first time that was worthy of consideration" the Prime Minister observed.

Dorian Bryan
The Barbados Advocate
Friday, 16th December, 2005.
http://www.barbadosadvocate.com/NewViewNewsleft.cfm?Record=23750