The Caribbean Community (Caricom) has officially received a new Secretary General, with the formal installation of Dr Carla Barnett on Monday.
New Caricom SG, Dr Carla Barnett
Back in May, regional Heads of Government unanimously agreed to appoint Dr Barnett as the eighth Caricom Secretary General. She replaces Ambassador Irwin LaRocque and is the first female to hold this position since Caricom was formed.
Taking up the role on Monday, Dr Barnett recognised the current state of affairs in the region with threats of climate change, crime and unemployment taking a leap. Simultaneously, the COVID-19 pandemic is devastating economies.
“I begin my tenure with no misapprehensions about the severity of the challenges that our community faces economically, socially, environmentally and financially. The thrust to build resilience against the existential threat of climate change in all its dimensions, and the urgency of constructing a recovery from the adverse effects of the COVID-19 pandemic demand our continued focused energy.”
She added, “We cannot afford to neglect youth unemployment, which has led the explosion of the jobless in the wake of COVID-19, a troubling rise in crime, especially violent crime in the home and on the streets, the need to strengthen food security, reduce the incidence of non-communicable diseases, and more effectively address the issue of blacklisting by the major industrial countries and the consequential loss of correspondent banking relations.”
The Secretary General emphasised that the spate of such issues is felt by people within the community and it is incumbent on the regional bloc to find solutions through collaboration. According to her, stakeholders in all sectors will be invited to share their concerns and vision for the future of the Community and discuss ways in which they can contribute.
“To build on and maintain that strength, will require that my team and I reach out on a regular basis to explain, to exhort, to inform, to educate so that all will feel a part of the whole that constitutes Caricom and “I Am Caricom” will mean much more than a catchy slogan.”
She said this will have to be the new approach moving forward, if leaders want to build an “integrated, inclusive and resilient Community that is driven by knowledge, excellence, innovation and productivity; where every citizen is secure with guaranteed human rights and social justice; and contributes to, and shares in, its economic, social and cultural prosperity. A Community which is a unified and competitive in the global arena.”
Caricom will soon approach 50 years as a body, and Dr Barnett detailed that it is not only about securing and improving gains, but to use the creativity, ingenuity and dynamism that are the signature characteristics of the region to reimagine the next 50 years of Caricom.
“As we build on the work of those who came before, space has to be created for new thinking, not only to solve the problems of the present but to outline new paths for the future of our integration process…No one has all the answers. No one has all the ideas. That is why all must be involved. I see a Caribbean Community that the average citizens of the Region will feel a part of and not apart from.”
Her predecessor, Ambassador LaRocque has been lauded for his advancement of the integration movement. He made progress in this area over the past 16 years, the first six as Assistant Secretary General and the last 10 as Secretary General.
Meanwhile, Chairman of Caricom, Prime Minister Gaston Browne reiterated that with the current challenges facing the region, there is need for urgent action, to which he will lend continued support.
“Your previous experience in senior leadership at the Secretariat places you in a position to hit the ground running. While giving the varied challenges that confront governance in Caricom and the wider world today, I’m certain that you will have to hit the ground running,” said Browne.
Dr Barnett was educated at the University of the West Indies (UWI) where she read for a PhD in Social Sciences. She also holds a Master of Economics degree from the University of Western Ontario in Canada, and a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics from UWI.
She has extensive experience at the executive level of the public service in Belize and in the Caricom region. Her work experience includes service as Financial Secretary and Deputy Governor/acting Governor at the Central Bank of Belize. She has also served as a Vice President at the Barbados-based Caribbean Development Bank. (G12)
