Dominica Public Consultation On OECS Economic Union Launched

 

ROSEAU, Dominica, CMC– The nine-member Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) last week Wednesday launched a year-long public consultation on its plans to establish an economic union, with Dominica's Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit defining the initiative as a major moment in the history of the grouping.

Skerrit, who is also the chairman of the sub-regional grouping, told the ceremony that the consultation would allow for widespread public discourse on the way forward for the islands.

"What we are doing here today is to continue the tradition of involving the people of the region in the decision making processes that affect their lives; it is about charting our own future together," he said.

"We must involve the people in every critical decision we make on the way forward. The most effective way of doing so is through the practice of good governance."

"This public dialogue is an exercise in good governance and I would invite all the stakeholders in the development of the OECS to participate fully in the deliberations that will determine the future of this region," Skerrit added.

The Dominican leader told the ceremony that also included the Governor of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) Sir Dwight Venner and the OECS Director General Dr. Len Ishamel, that history has taught the region the importance of sticking together when times get rough.

"This is therefore a wake up call to get our act together, to integrate and become more competitive. We either swim together or drown one by one. Time is not on our side," Skerrit said.

The OECS Director General said that it was also important for citizens of the sub-region to get fully involved in the exercise.

"The people of the OECS, starting first with Dominica, will now have the chance to input in this process which in no small way will shape the future of the region. This, in many ways, is a chance to be part of history," she said.

"Today is the first day of the rest of our lives; it is an opportunity to speak to the future, but let us not waste this moment."

The OECS was established in 1981 to promote functional cooperation on a wide range of matters as well as foster unity and solidarity among the grouping.

It already has a common currency and judicial system.

The OECS groups the islands of Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Montserrat, the British Virgin Islands and Anguilla.

 

NY CARIB NEWS HEADLINES

 

1. The Sean Bell Murder Case: A Pattern Of Injustice Four Cops Acquitted After Killing An Unarmed Black Man

2. STATEMENT CONGRESSMAN CHARLES B. RANGEL On The Verdict In The Shooting Death O Sean Bell

3. Campaign Of Civil Disobedience In Wake Of Sean Bell Verdict Surprise Dissatisfaction And Outrage May Force New Yorker To The Streets To Express Feelings Over Injustice In Queens

4. Barbados New Diplomatic Team

5. Prime Minister Met Bajans in New York Coming Back This Weekend To Be Feted In City

6. Crime In The Caribbean: CARICOM Must Adapt Development Comes, With Crime, So New Approaches Necessary

7. Rising Prices Trigger Decline In Economy

8. Phillips Being Urged To Challenge Simpson-Miller For PNP Top Job

9. The View from Haiti Statement by Reverend Jesse L. Jackson, Sr., On His Trip To Haiti.

10. Letter To The Editor Meet & Gas Taxes And Submerged Lands

11. Inez Barron, Wife Of Councilman Charles Barron For New York State Assembly Of The 40th Assembly District In Brooklyn

12. Trinidad & Tobago PM Says Rowley Sacked For Bad Behavior

13. Hungry Haitians Struggling To Get To The United States New Wave Of Boat People

14. St. Lucia- Opposition Criticizes Budget

15. Dominica Public Consultation On OECS Economic Union Launched