Sir Ronald Sanders urges CARICOM SG to resign

Antigua and Barbuda’s Ambassador to the United States and the Organization of American States (OAS), Sir Ronald Sanders, says that Secretary General of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Dr Carla Barnett should consider resigning from the post in light of the ongoing controversy surrounding her reappointment.
Sir Ronald, who is currently serving as the 11th Chancellor of the University of Guyana (UG) in Georgetown, is among the Caribbean’s most accomplished diplomats. Trinidad and Tobago-based CNC 3 news outlet reported that Sir Ronald made this call during an interview with Antigua-based state-owned ABS Television.
“If I were the Secretary General of CARICOM and I’m being quite serious here and this had occurred I would have resigned and I would have resigned because I would have said I must not stand in the way of Caribbean integration and the movement forward,” Sir Ronald Sanders said on the state-owned ABS Television, according to CNC 3.
Recently, concerns were raised, particularly by Trinidad and Tobago’s Prime Minister Kamala Persad-Bissessar, surrounding the SG Barnett’s reappointment.
Dr Barnett was first appointed as the eighth Secretary-General of CARICOM in August 2021, and was again re-appointed to the post by regional leaders during the 50th Regular Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government held in February in Basseterre.
In a March 25, 2026, statement, current CARICOM Chairman, Prime Minister of St Kitts and Nevis Dr Terrence Drew revealed that during the conference, the required majority of CARICOM Heads of Government had agreed to Dr Barnett’s reappointment, which will take effect from August.
However, the T&T Prime Minister, who was not present at that CARICOM meeting when the vote was taken, have been publicly challenging the Belizean economist’s reappointment during what she had described as a “surreptitious and odious process.”

CNC 3 reported that Sir Ronald told television viewers it is clear to him that one “senior government (official) and Prime Minister is not in favour” of Barnett’s appointment and as a result, she should consider stepping down.
“Why am I still there? Because it is clear that I will never enjoy her support and why therefore would I put myself in a situation in which I am now the cause of the rift. If I were Carla Barnett, I would resign now on principle because she will never have Kamla Persad will not attend the meeting if Carla Barnett is at that meeting, neither will her foreign minister…,” he added.
Meanwhile, only last week, President Dr Irfaan Ali revealed that Guyana supported the reappointment of Dr Barnett and was involved in the appointment process alongside the other CARICOM Member States.
“We supported the reappointment of the Secretary-General,” Ali told reporters in Georgetown last week. While he noted that every Heads of State are entitled to their own opinion, the Guyanese Leader explained the same process that was used to appoint Dr Barnett the first time was again used for her reappointment.
“I was there when the Secretary-General was appointed the first time, and we did not follow any process that is different from the first time. When you go to a CARICOM Heads of Government meeting, there is, of course, the general meeting, and then there’s the caucus, and this matter was discussed in caucus, and the views were exchanged, and the decision was taken. So, I mean, every leader has their right to, that’s part of what democracy is, to have their opinion on a system. But I must say that for the time I’m at CARICOM, we did not follow any different process, and Guyana was part of the decision,” President Ali had stated.