URGENT CALL FOR PATRIOTS AND STATESMEN (PARTS 1 - 5)

In this era of crisis, when virtually every single Caribbean country
seems destined to end up in the clutches of the dreaded International
Monetary Fund, it would do well for the people and nations of the
Caribbean Community (CARICOM) to reflect on that phase in the history
of the United States of America (USA) that has come to be known by
historians as the “Critical Period” - the years between 1783 and 1789.

The year 1783 was the year in which the thirteen former British
colonies of North America, having fought a 7 year war against British
imperialism, finally secured their Independence, with the signing of
the Treaty of Paris. But the independent USA that emerged in 1783 was
not the strong, successful, federal Republic that we know today!
Rather, it was a loose and weak confederation of 13 sovereign states -
not too different from the so-called “Community” of sovereign states
that is our currently existing CARICOM.

The USA of 1783 was the creature of the 1777 Articles of Confederation
- a constitutional document that merely provided for a relatively
powerless unicameral Congress in which each State possessed one vote,
which was cast by ‘delegates’ appointed by the legislature of the
State. The Confederation had no powers of taxation; no executive
President; no formal constitutionally stipulated executive departments
or officers; and not even a federal Court!

This initial loose and weak “Confederation” of the United States of
America was so ineffectual that by the year 1786 the nation faced
total collapse and the prospect of reconquest by Britain. Bereft of
any firm guidance by a national government, the country had become
generally chaotic. Congress could, and did, pass resolutions and
enact ordinances, but it had no powers to carry its decisions into
effect and no courts capable of enforcing its orders either on
individuals or on states. The upshot was that foreign trade came to a
standstill, agriculture sank into depression, commercial debts became
uncollectable, and the national government - in the form of Congress -
dropped to an abysmal level of powerlessness and general disregard.

It was in this dire situation of existential crisis that a small
number of outstanding statesmen and patriots emerged with a plan and
with the will and commitment to transform the loose and weak
Confederation into the strong and nationally integrated Federal
Republic of the USA that we know today. The heroes that I refer to
are James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, John Jay, Benjamin Franklin and
George Washington.

Madison led the way when, in 1786, he was successful in getting the 13
states to agree to hold an “inter-state” meeting at Annapolis in
Maryland to “consider the extension of national authority to the
regulation of commerce”. Of course, this modest “meeting”, with its
modest agenda, was merely the thin edge of the wedge that was to be
used in securing a fundamental overhaul of the Constitution of the
country!

The Annapolis Convention was deliberately cut short, but not before it
had drawn up a proposal to Congress and the 13 states that a follow-up
Convention be held the following year in Philadelphia for the larger
purpose of making “the constitution of the Federal Government adequate
to the exigencies of the Union”.

The rest, as they say, is history! Not only was the Philadelphia
Convention held in 1787, but it turned out to be one of the most
creative convocations in history, producing a thoroughly revamped
Constitution that established the national government of the USA that
we are all familiar with to day, inclusive of the office of President,
the Senate, the House of Congress, and the Supreme Court. The new
Constitution also provided the basis for the creation of the
departments of State, Treasury, War and the list goes on.

Following upon the successful Philadelphia Convention of 1787,
Madison, Hamilton and Jay set out on a mission to convince the 13
state government to ratify the new Constitution, and after some two
years of heroic endeavour - including the publication and
dissemination of the 85 essays contained in the “Federalist Papers” -
they were spectactularly successful. By 1789 all of the States had
ratified the new Constitution, and the new nation, after 15 years of
trial and error, finally had the solid system of national governance
that could provide for its integration, military protection and
economic and social development!

What, you may well ask, does all of this have to do with us in
CARICOM? Well, I would like to suggest that just as the visionary
statesmen of the USA were not content to accept the deficient first
version of their new multi-territory country and were determined to
press onward until they transformed it into a structure that was
capable of dealing effectively with the challenges facing their new
nation, we too must have a similar vision and commitment in relation
to our CARICOM.

Surely, we can all see that the current governance and integration
mechanism that we possess in our Caribbean Community (CARICOM)is not
strong enough or comprehensive enough to deal with the very serious
economic, social, and cultural challenges that are bearing down upon
us. And if this is the case, why shouldn’t we have a similar resolve
to revisit our regional Constitution - our Treaty of Chaguaramas - and
to do what is necessary to further develop and transform it, so that
we can give ourselves that most precious of gifts:- a regionalized
“national” governance structure that is capable of elevating our
Caribbean Community to the position of strength, progress, glory and
honour that is its rightful due!

It is against this background therefore that I propose to look at the
developmental needs of our CARICOM region, and to consider how we can
further develop the currently existing CARICOM institutions and
structures to adequately accommodate and service these needs.

I am proceeding on the basis of my firmly held conviction that the
constitution of a genuine regional nation-state can be brought forth
organically out of the currently existing Treaty of Chaguaramas.
Indeed, what I am proposing to do is to use the existing Treaty of
Chaguaramas to produce a blueprint or plan for the construction of a
regional nation-state that is tailored to fit our unique circumstances
and needs in the Caribbean. And it is my hope that, just like in the
United States of America, statesmen and patriots would be willing to
come together to take what is envisioned and planned (or some further
modified version of it), and convert it into reality.

URGENT CALL FOR PATRIOTS AND STATESMEN (PART 2)

In this segment of my article I am going to be arguing that we
Caribbean people can establish a Federation of the Caribbean; that we
can do so by simply evolving and extending our already existing Treaty
of Chaguaramas; and that when we do so, we don’t necessarily have to
relinquish the status of nationhood that our individual island nations
currently possess, nor compromise the unique cultural identities of
our various mini states.

But let us begin by reminding ourselves why we need to establish a
strong multi-territory nation-state in the Caribbean.

The harsh reality is that the small states of the Caribbean cannot
seriously face up to the massive threats posed by a crisis-ridden and
imperialist-oriented international Capitalist system with a protective
mechanism that is as weak and deficient as our currently existing
Caribbean Community (CARICOM)! We need something of much greater
strength and substance! We need something that more closely
approximates a multi-territory nation-state equipped with a federal or
confederal government!

And there is no reason why we should not set our sights on achieving
something that “approximates” a multi-territory nation-state — a
Federation or Confederation of the Caribbean --- in light of the fact
that we share a common geographical space, and a common history,
kinship and cultural identity.

Furthermore - and just as importantly - we already possess the basic
structure of a regional national Constitution in the form of the
“Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas”! All we need to do now is to
consciously evolve and further develop the “Revised Treaty of
Chaguaramas”, and to commit ourselves to seriously implementing the
product of such an exercise in constitutional development.

But let me hasten to add that the “constitutional product” that we are
aiming for is one that will stop short of being the type of
traditional unitary or federal state that would require the wiping out
of individual island statehood and sovereignty! Having the strength of
a Federation or Confederation of the Caribbean does not necessarily
mean that we have to dismantle the status of “statehood” or
“nationhood” that our Caribbean mini-nations currently possess!

There is no reason why we cannot advance to a Federation or
Confederation while at the same time maintaining the de jure “nation”
status of Barbados, Jamaica, St. Vincent, Trinidad and Tobago, and the
other member states of Caricom. There is no reason why these states
cannot continue to possess such political institutions as a
government, a state parliament and law courts! And there is also no
reason why the establishment of a Federation or Confederation of the
Caribbean should prevent Barbados, Jamaica, Dominica and the others
from continuing to preserve and develop their unique cultural
identities!

Of course, one of the compelling reasons for wanting to maintain the
“nation” status of our Caricom member states is centered on the power
and clout in international organizations that comes with such status.
At present, our CARICOM states possess 14 votes at the United Nations,
at the Organisation of American States, and in several other
international organisations. This is a source of strength that it
would do us well to maintain.

Basically, what I am saying is that the “Further Revised Treaty of
Chaguaramas” that I am proposing must aim at a regional Constitutional
structure that is designed to preserve our existing strengths and to
eradicate our weaknesses!

We must set about to create a Federation or Confederation in which
equal state partners voluntarily associate in order to perform
specific tasks collectively, and to bestow upon themselves an
international persona that will deliver a certain level of regard and
respect in the international arena. But we must go about creating
these supra-national regional structures that are so essential to
fostering the unimpeded growth of our regional economy and to securing
for us other social and political benefits, without, at the same time,
negatively impinging on the unique cultural identities of our various
mini-states.

The currently existing weaknesses or needs that we must tackle through
the creation of a regional multi-territory Federation or Confederation
are as follows:-

(1) The need to facilitate and energize economic
development based on
the establishment of regional industries and on the mobilization and
creative combining of the resources of the various territories.

(2) The need to end the wasteful duplication of political and
administrative activity and structures in our sub-region, and to
better organize and synchronise such structures.

(3) The need to give institutional and political expression to the
deeply rooted sense of Caribbean nationhood felt by the people of the
CARICOM territories.

(4) The need to develop a foreign policy and a collective platform
for dealing with the outside world, that is strong, meaningful and
coherent, and that is effectively articulated.

(5) The need to deliver to the people of our CARICOM territories a
common and elevated level of human and civil rights, living standards
and life opportunities.

(6) The need to give to the people of our CARICOM territories a
sizeable area of living-space in which they would be free to roam and
explore, in search of life opportunities and individual or family
destinies.

(7) The need to bestow upon the people of our sub-region a
collective
nation-type structure that is large enough, strong enough and
self-reliant enough to elicit appropriate respect and regard from the
nations of the international community.

Our next step therefore is to consider how the Caribbean patriots and
statesmen of this era can modify and further evolve the “Revised
Treaty of Chaguaramas” in order to produce a constitutionally
undergirded regional institutional structure— a Federation or
Confederation --- that is capable of helping us to grapple with and
satisfy these critical needs.

The Caribbean statesmen and patriots of the 1960's and 70's — Errol
Barrow, Forbes Burnham, Eric Williams, Michael Manley, Vere Bird— took
us as far as the currently existing Treaty of Chaguaramas. Let us not
reject or downplay their handiwork, but rather, let us see how we can
further evolve and develop their (and our) Treaty of Chaguaramas, in
order to give us our much needed and desired end-product — a
Federation or Confederation of the Caribbean!

The next segment of this article will roll out a detailed proposal for
the organic modification and development of the Revised Treaty of
Chaguaramas.

URGENT CALL FOR CARIBBEAN STATESMEN AND PATRIOTS (PART 3)

As we seek to go forward in the Caribbean during this period of
crisis, the central question that we need to consider is:- How can the
“Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas” be so organically evolved that it is
made to give birth to a regional entity that approximates a
multi-territory nation-state equipped with a federal or confederal
government? In other words, how can we utilize the Treaty of
Chaguaramas to give birth to a Federation or Confederation of the
Caribbean?

And of course, we must begin with the highest organs and institutions
of a nation-state - a national Executive, Parliament and Head of
State. How can a collective, region-wide Executive, Parliament and
Head of State emerge organically from the Revised Treaty of
Chaguaramas?

Well, let us begin with the institution of Parliament! Let us remind
ourselves that the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas has already
established a Conference of Heads of Government, and has also made
provision for an Association of Caribbean Community Parliamentarians.

My proposal, therefore, is that we establish a bi-cameral “Federal
Assembly” in which the upper chamber – to be known as the “Council of
States” — would be comprised of the Heads of Government of the 15
CARICOM member states . All member states would therefore have equal
representation in the upper house of the Federal Assembly.

The lower house — to be known as the “National Council” — would be
constructed along the lines of the Association of Caribbean Community
Parliamentarians, and would therefore consist of sitting members of
the Houses of Assembly of the 15 CARICOM member states, who are
selected by their fellow parliamentarians to serve as members of the
lower chamber of the Federal Assembly. In other words, they will serve
both as parliamentarians of their national House of Assembly and as
Federal parliamentarians. And of course, seats in the National Council
will bear a relationship to the size of populations of the 15 CARICOM
member states. Thus, the larger the population a member-state has,
the larger will be its allocation of seats in the lower chamber of the
Federal Assembly.

Under my proposal, the Federal Assembly --- comprised of the Council
of States and the National Council --- would convene in different
state capitals of the new “Federation”, four times a year, for
sittings lasting three weeks each, and would carry out the following
functions:-

(1) Enact Federal legislation;

(2) Consider and make Constitutional amendments;

(3) Approve the members of the Federal Cabinet;

(4) Approve the Federal budget;

(5) Elect the Chancellor or Head of the Federal Civil Service;

(6) Elect the members of federal court - the Caribbean
Court of Justice;

(7) Elect the Commander-in-Chief of the Federal army;

(8) Establish Standing Parliamentary Committees that correspond to
the various Ministries of the Executive, and that would provide
continuity to the legislative duties of the Assembly during the
periods when the Assembly is not sitting.

As indicated earlier, the parliamentarians of the “Federation” would
function in dual capacities - they would remain Parliamentarians
and/or Heads of Government of their territorial states, while at the
same time, devoting a sum total of three months of the year to service
as legislators of the Federation. In this era of modern
communications technology, this is easily doable!

The members of the Executive or Cabinet of the Federation would,
however, have to be full time officers! Let us now consider the
Federal Cabinet.

The federal Executive or Cabinet - to be known as the “Federal
Council” - would emerge out of such ALREADY EXISTING organs of CARICOM
as the Council of Ministers responsible for Caricom Affairs, the
Council for Finance & Planning, the Council for Trade & Economic
Development, the Council for Foreign & Community Relations, the
Council for Human & Social Development, and the Legal Affairs
Committee.

These various organs of CARICOM consist of the Ministers of Government
of the 15 member-states who are responsible for these spheres of
activity. For example, the Council for Foreign & Community Relations
consists of the various Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the CARICOM
member states.

Since the Federal Ministers will be full time officers, it means that
no sitting state Minister of Government can become a Federal Minister.
Rather, my proposal is that, at the commencement of every term of
government of the Federation, the state Ministers who comprise the
membership of the various Councils of CARICOM, would be brought
together for the purpose of selecting an outstanding CARICOM citizen
to serve as the Federal Minister of the portfolio covered by their
particular Council.

A practical example may help to elucidate this point. Let us take the
CARICOM Council for Trade & Economic Development. This Council brings
together the territorial Ministers of Trade and Economic Affairs.
Under my proposal, these Ministers will come together and identify and
select an outstanding CARICOM citizen who can be entrusted with the
Federal Ministry of Trade and Economic Affairs. This type of approach
might, for example, permit the Federation to have a Norman Girvan -
the Caribbean’s outstanding development economist - as its Minister of
Trade and Economic Affairs!

However, the Council’s selection of a Minister-elect would not be the
end of the Ministerial selection process! The next stage of the
process would be for the selection to be forwarded to the Federal
Assembly for approval by both chambers of the Assembly. Once this is
achieved, then the Minister would be appointed and would take control
of his particular federal Ministry.


Of course, the Federal Cabinet will consist of all the Ministers of
the Federation - the Ministers of Trade & Economic Affairs, Foreign
Affairs, Finance & Planning, Transport & Power, Human & Social
Development, Justice & Police, and Defence & Security - as well as the
Chancellor or head of the Federal civil service.

The Cabinet will obviously be a collegial body, and, I am proposing
that --- on a revolving annual or bi-annual basis— it should select
one of its members to be Chairman of the Cabinet and, in effect,
President of the Federation for that one or two year period. Of
course, what this signifies is that to all intents and purposes the
Cabinet will constitute the collegial Head of State of the Federation!
Furthermore, this would also mean that no one territory will
monopolize the Presidency of the Federation.

This then would be the basic outline of the government of a new
Federation or Confederation, but one which, I again hasten to add,
would not require the wiping out of individual island statehood or
“nationhood”, nor the dismantling of the unique cultural identities of
the various island and mainland states.

In the next segment of the article I will consider other subsidiary
elements of the proposed Federal or Confederal governance structure,
and go on to challenge such current political leaders of CARICOM as
Prime Ministers Ralph Gonsalves, Portia Simpson-Miller, Kenny Anthony,
Roosevelt Skerrit, Freundel Stuart, Denzil Douglas, Baldwin Spencer,
Keith Mitchell, Perry Christie, Dean Barrow,and Kamla Persad-Bissessar
to rise to the challenge of making an indelible mark on history by
taking our region to the next phase of its historical journey— the
establishment of a Federation or Confederation of the Caribbean!

URGENT CALL FOR CARIBBEAN STATESMEN AND PATRIOTS (PART 4)

I have spent the last three segments of this essay arguing that we
Caribbean people can and should establish a Federation or
Confederation of the 15 Caribbean Community (CARICOM) states; that we
can do so by simply evolving and extending our already existing Treaty
of Chaguaramas; and that when we do so we don’t necessarily have to
relinquish the status of “nationhood” that our individual
island-nations currently possess, nor compromise the unique cultural
identities of our various mini-states.

One of the fundamental things we will accomplish by welding our
various mini-states together politically, is the creation of a
powerful new collective Federal government that will add to the
effectiveness of our individual island governments, and bring to bear
additional resources, focus and energy on fostering the development of
our people. Thus, a political union will strengthen us rather than
weaken us! A new, collective, Federal central government should
therefore be viewed in terms of its ability to increase our capacity
for self development.

The state of Florida in the United States of America, for example,
possesses a state government that fosters the development of the
territory and people of Florida. But it is also served by a federal
government - the Federal Government of the United States of America -
which brings additional attention and resources to bear on the
development of the territory and people of Florida. Why then should
we Caribbean people wish to continue to deny ourselves the additional
developmental assistance of a collective “Federal” government?

Furthermore, once we establish a collective, unified Federal
government, we will be able to rationalize and scale back some of the
costly bureaucracy of our individual island governments! Why, for
example, should a small region like the Caribbean be financing the
costs of fourteen different embassies in New York and Washington, when
one would suffice? The establishment of a ‘political union’ of the
Caribbean will permit us to rationalize operations and save precious
revenue in several spheres.

Surely, it must be clear to all thinking Caribbean people that if the
countries of CARICOM were to unite politically they would - overnight
- equip themselves with a number of new and powerful instruments that
could be deployed to generate economic development and provide
enhanced life opportunities for their people.

Of course, the highest and most powerful such new instruments would be
a Federal Executive equipped with well defined management and
administrative responsibilities in relation to the entire territory
and population of the Federation.

Clearly, the Federal Executive would have to assume responsibility for
the establishment of new collectively owned regional industries, and
for overseeing the efficient functioning of a single market and
economy. Furthermore, the Federal Executive could also be mandated
to ensure that every geographical area of the Federation attains an
agreed upon ‘minimum’ level of development and human welfare, since
the whole purpose of having a political union would be to ensure a
lifting of the quality of life for all citizens of our Federation or
Union.

The existence of a political union would also provide us with a
priceless opportunity to create a ‘common currency’, and to use the
initial issuing of this new money as a mechanism for financing new
developmental projects!

Let us spend a little time explaining how this would work. Firstly,
let us recognise that a Federation or ‘Union of Caribbean States’
would have to be equipped with a collectively owned ‘National Bank’,
and would also have to possess a common ‘currency’ or ‘money’ - a new
Union of Caribbean States dollar.

And, naturally, the Federal Executive would possess the power to issue
the new currency of the Union, and would do so through a newly
established National Bank. Furthermore, the initial quantities of the
currency could be issued through the ‘National Bank’ in the form of
‘credit’ or loans to the various island governments, state enterprises
and appropriate private sector entities for the sole purpose of
financing developmental projects designed to add to the productive
capacity of our sub-region.

The issuing of credit for the purpose of increasing production will
‘not’ have an inflationary effect, and would allow the Federation or
Union of Caribbean States to gradually phase in the common currency
while at the same time phasing out the various island currencies over
a period of time. Thus, with careful management of the new and old
currencies we can avoid the dangers of inflation and foreign exchange
leakage, while at the same time boosting economic diversification and
output.

One can clearly see therefore how the establishment of a Federal
Executive, a National Bank and a common currency would provide us
with a new source of capital, and with a new and enhanced capacity to
finance industrial, agricultural, fisheries, manufacturing, airport
construction, and a host of other developmental projects.

As the Federation or Union launches its new “Caribbean” brand, it will
also have to invest in creating relevant infrastructure and linkages
running from Suriname in the south, right up the chain of islands to
the Bahamas in the north - infrastructure for the construction of
multi-territory regional industries. And clearly, one component of
this nexus of infrastructure and linkages will have to be a system of
high speed ferries and a unified national airline capable of the mass
transportation of people and goods at very reasonable rates.

The Federation or Union will also require an inter-linked mass media
system capable of providing it with the type of intimate and intensive
news coverage that the American news networks provide for the people
of the U.S.A. Not only will this help to solidify the new sense of
identity, but it will also provide the basis for organising new
cultural industries through which we collectively develop and launch
singers, musicians, film makers, writers, artists, poets, dancers and
dramatists under a new multi-territory “Caribbean” brand.

The new “Caribbean” brand will also be the banner under which we
construct new regional industries such as a modern Caribbean fishing
industry equipped with a deep sea fishing fleet and a canning factory,
a ‘Caribbean’ agro-processing industry through which we process the
whole range of Caribbean agricultural products and market them to the
world, and a new multi-territory, culturally advanced Tourism
industry.

The Federation may also wish to look to the future by integrating
Trinidad’s petroleum industry with the solar energy and hydro electric
initiatives of the other territories, to create a comprehensive
multi-faceted Caribbean energy industry.

Space does not permit us to outline details of all of the collectively
planned initiatives that the youth, workers and entrepreneurs of the
Union will have to take forward, but suffice it to say that such
initiatives will also have to encompass the spheres of education,
health, manufacturing, sport, food production, scientific research and
development, national insurance and welfare systems, housing, seaport
and highway development and water management and distribution.

Yes, it is time to write a new chapter in the history of the
Caribbean. A brave new world beckons to us, and we must have the
wisdom and courage to decide to be makers of history and to inaugurate
the new era. And we can be sure that it will be an exciting and
uplifting era in which we finally give our youth a mission that is
capable of engaging their ambition, creative imagination and sense of
self worth!

URGENT CALL FOR CARIBBEAN STATESMEN AND PATRIOTS (PART 5)

We now conclude our five part essay on the establishment of a
Federation or political union of the Caribbean by examining the
relationship between the collective Federal government and the
individual State governments, and by proposing a practical way forward
on his issue.

Human nature being what it is, it is perhaps inevitable that there
would be some tension between our new multi-territory Federal State
and the individual-states. This is to be expected. But the answer to
this it to establish a core of strong directive political principles
to guide us and keep such tension to manageable proportions!

For example, our brand of Caribbean federalism should mandate that as
many decisions as possible are to be reached at the local member-state
level. We would therefore abjure the concept of “centralism”, with
its mandate that everything be controlled and decided from one centre!

We would also need to have a clear understanding that the unity of the
Federal State will be realised and preserved only if we respect the
individuality of the various member-states. Thus, member-states must
be permitted to enjoy a high degree of freedom in their political
decisions, as well as a high degree of administrative autonomy.

Of course, each member-state will continue to have its own individual
Constitution and laws. However, we would proceed on the basis that
such Constitutions and state laws will follow the broad outlines of the
Federal Constitution and legislation, but still allow for particular
local needs.

Needless-to-say, the duties and powers of the Federal Government will
be strictly defined and laid down in a new Federal Constitution. And
generally speaking, the duty of the Federal Government will be to
ensure internal and external security; to uphold and respect the
constitutions and laws of the member-states; to maintain diplomatic
relations with foreign powers; and to undertake economic planning and
development on a region-wide basis.

Some of the specific functions which will have to fall under the
authority of the Federal Government are - customs, postal and
telecommunication services, the monetary system, the military, civil
law and regulations, criminal law, controlling the common sea area,
fisheries, air and sea transportation, region-wide economic planning,
social security and the promulgation and upholding of human and civil
rights.

Clearly, there will have to be a division of powers between the
governments of the member-states and the Federal Government, and a
possible schema for such a division could be as follows:-

(1) Those spheres in which the Federal Government is solely
responsible for legislation. (These have been mentioned in some
detail already).

(2) Those spheres that are exclusively the province of the
member-states. Examples would include the police, social welfare,
state provided housing, and religious affairs.

(3) Those spheres in which the Federal Government legislates and the
state governments executes the legislation. Examples would include
labour regulations, social security, the civil and criminal law,
traffic regulations, military affairs and fisheries.

(4) Those spheres in which the power to legislate is shared between
the Federal Government and the state governments. Examples would
include taxation, education, road building, insurance and health
services.

Perhaps the last mentioned category is the most intriguing category of
them all - a category that is based on the creative sharing of rights
and responsibilities between the Federal Government and the state
governments. Let us examine this category in greater detail by
looking at the example of education.

In the case of education, the most basic levels of the education
system - the Primary and Secondary levels of schooling - could, for
example, be the province of the member-states, while the tertiary
level - comprised of polytechnic and university education- could be
controlled and regulated by the Federal Government. Of course, the
CARICOM region already possesses the foundation of such a “shared”
approach to education, with our collectively operated regional
university - the University of the West Indies.

And it would be remiss of me to fail to mention that just as we
already possess the basic structure of a Federal university system,
under the Treaty of Chaguaramas we also already possess the following
proto-Federal institutions - the Caribbean Court of Justice, Caribbean
Disaster Emergency Response Agency, Caribbean Agricultural Research
and Development Institute, Caribbean Food and Nutrition Institute, and
the Caribbean Meteorological Organisation, among others.

And so, if there is already so much in place, what is holding us back?
Is it a paucity of confidence - a lack of belief in ourselves and in
our own people?

If this is the case, then it is now high time for us to put
self-negating doubt behind us and stride forward to forge our
collective destiny as a Caribbean people!

In the year 2011, the Clement Payne Movement of Barbados drafted the
text of a model Parliamentary resolution that laid down a 5 year
time-table for the establishment of a Federation or political union of
the Caribbean. We therefore end this essay by reproducing here the
concluding paragraphs of the said Resolution - the segment that calls
upon the member Governments of CARICOM to do the following:-

“(1) Agree in principle with the idea of transforming the Caribbean
Community (CARICOM) into a multi-territory, politically unified,
nation- state existing under a Federal system of government;

(2) Commit themselves to participating in a Constitutional
Convention
of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) states, to be held in one of the
said CARICOM states in the month of February in the year 2016, for the
purpose of devising and agreeing upon the structure and Constitution
of the said Federal nation-state, as well as the formula for ratifying
the new Constitution and bringing the said nation-state into
existence;

(3) Commit themselves to utilising the years and months between the
adoption of this resolution and the month of February 2016 to engage
in a comprehensive national consultation in their country that is
designed to prepare their national population for integration
and participation in the new Federal nation-state, and to discuss,
devise and agree upon the ideas and proposals that the national
delegates will put forward at the said Constitutional Convention;

(4) Agree that the location and specific dates of the said
Constitutional Convention shall be decided upon by a majority vote of
the CARICOM heads of government assembled together in a CARICOM heads
of government summit; and

(5) Agree that each Caribbean Community (CARICOM) state that
participates in the said Constitutional Convention shall be
represented by a national delegation consisting of a maximum of 10
persons, of which five shall be representatives of the governing
political party, two shall be representatives of the political
opposition represented in Parliament, and three shall be
representatives of civil society”.

(This essay is dedicated to the honour and revered memory of the
giants of the Caribbean integration movement - Captain Arthur
Cipriani, T.A. Marryshow, Marcus Mosiah Garvey, Sir Grantley Adams,
Robert Bradshaw, Richard Hart, C.L.R. James, Dr. Eric Williams, Forbes
Burnham, Elma Francois, W. A. Domingo, Richard B. Moore, Wynter
Crawford, Sir Frank Worrell, Ebenezer Duncan, William Demas, Errol
Barrow, Beryl Mc Burnie, Sir Arthur Lewis, Lloyd Best, Norman and
Michael Manley, Walter Rodney, Tim Hector, George Odlum, Maurice
Bishop, Bob Marley and Rosie Douglas - and to the Haitian fathers of
Caribbean independence and nationhood: Toussaint L’Ouverture, Jean
Jacques Dessalines, Henry Christophe and Alexander Petion.)


DAVID A. COMISSIONG
President, Clement Payne Movement
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clemens_Payne_Movement