On this very subject, Former Prime Minister PJ Patterson, in a speech in Trinidad and Tobago this year, also called for “the establishment of a CARICOM Commission or similar executive mechanism, with the capacity to mobilize political consensus on issues awaiting decision and to pursue expeditious implementation of decisions already made”. Clearly, there is an issue of a more effective governance structure.
But beyond the new governance arrangements, there are the difficult practical issues. The reality is that CARICOM is a grouping of partners of varying sizes and means. As gains from integration will be unevenly distributed, there need to be mechanisms to compensate the so-called LDC’s (Less Developed Countries). Two such mechanisms are a Development and a Stabilization Fund.