PM Skerrit says Dominica supports reappointment of CARICOM Secretary General 

ROSEAU, Dominica, CMC- Dominica’s Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit Wednesday said as far as he is concerned, Belizean economist, Dr. Carla Barnett has been reappointed as the  Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Secretary General and that Dominica had supported the decision.

“The issue of the Secretary-General, this has been, I’m not sure why you asked me the question, but this thing has been ventilated in the public domain.  I mean, every plate and spoon in the kitchen has been exposed on this matter,”  Skerrit told a news conference.

“I’m not sure what else you want me to say about this matter. As far as I’m concerned, Dr. Carla Barrett currently has been reappointed as Secretary-General. And in Dominica’s style, we are team players. We support her decision and we move on,” he added. 

Last month, Antigua and Barbuda’s Ambassador to the United States and the Organization of American States (OAS), Sir Ronald  Sanders urged Barnett to consider tendering her resignation amidst the ongoing controversy surrounding her reappointment to the post.

“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.

In March, in a brief statement, the CARICOM chairman and St Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister, Dr Terrance Drew, said that Barnett had attained the “required majority” from among regional leaders regarding her re-appointment at February’s CARICOM summit held in Basseterre.

But Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar, who was not present when the vote was taken to reappoint Barnett, who became the eighth CARICOM Secretary General on August 15, 2021, has publicly challenged the reappointment process of the Belizean economist.

She has dismissed a statement issued by Prime Minister Drew in which reiterated that Trinidad and Tobago was not “uninvited”  to the retreat where the decision was taken.

Prime Minister Persad-Bissessar has called for the minutes of the retreat meeting, questioning “where’s GS Barnett’s performance appraisal? Where’s the documentation of the 2021 appointment process which is claimed to be the same as the 2026 process..

Trinidad and Tobago despite calling for a meeting of regional leaders to discuss the issue, was not present when the leaders met virtually in April to discuss the matter.

Jamaica’s Prime Minister  Andrew Holness, has since called for a meeting of regional leaders to address concerns surrounding Barnett’s reappointment saying that discussions are already taking place behind the scenes.

Holness told the Trinidad Guardian newspaper, while in the United States in April that the matter requires direct engagement among regional leaders, as public commentary continues to generate unease across the region.

“I think the solution really lies in assembling another heads meeting to have the matter addressed. That’s something that I have been pushing for quietly behind the scenes. I think it is distressing for a lot of persons within the region regarding what is being said in the public domain, but I know that all the heads are working behind the scenes to have this matter resolved,” said Holness after being honoured by the American Foundation for The University of the West Indies (AFUWI) in New York.

Holness indicated that further diplomatic engagement is imminent, adding that he intends to contact Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar as part of ongoing consultations.

But Prime Minister Skerrit told reporters on Wednesday that Barnett “continues” to get Dominica’s support on this matter.

“And if there’s a decision by the Bureau or the Conference of Heads to reopen the discussion, then that’s fine with me. But as far as we’re concerned, the process was ventilated, was recognised, and discussions ensued and emerged that by a majority that she should be reappointed.

“And so this is what it is,” Skerrit said.

On the wider issue of Caribbean integration,  Skerrit said he believes that the region is stronger together and that the region has a lot of resources that “we can capitalise better for the greater benefit of all”

He said that the people of the region must “stop seeing ourselves as independent territories, countries competing with each other, adding “there’s no need for that.

“I believe that if we can seek to complement each other, then we can have greater benefits for people. Even, for example, in the issue of training. Why every one of us has a police training school or nursing school or school of education?

“You know, why can’t we consolidate those resources and let each country specialise in a particular field? And we all benefit from this. I mean, we have water, for example,  that many countries need. Do we really need to invest in desalination plants to the extent that we should? “Why is that important? We import oil. We import petroleum products. So there are a lot of things that we can do together,” he said reiterating that Caribbean people have to stop  seeing themselves as coming from independent territories.

“And I think that sometimes we as citizens, you know, we spend too much time trying to compete with each other. Who’s better? Who’s not better? Who’s one? Who’s two? Who’s three? Who’s four? I mean, the reality is we all can be one.

“Only if we work together. Because we all face the same challenges. The same challenges. Might be different proportions, but the same challenges. And how do we work together? And to overcome those challenges, we must work together,”  Skerrit said, saying  it’s an important question that should occupy the minds of every citizen of the OECS and the Caribbean, by extension”.