THE FORMAL assignment of Irwin LaRocque as creative Secretary General of the Guyana-based Caricom Secretariat is expected to be completed this week with a communication from common Community chairman Dr Denzil Douglas, Prime Minister of St Kitts and Nevis. For almost six years, starting in September 2005, the Dominica-born economist has been functioning as one of three Assistant Secretaries General of the 38-year-old Community, his delineated trust being focused on Trade and Economic Integration. At 56, LaRocque's plummy as SG has comes as a knock to officials of various regional organisations, who be partial to not to be quoted, as well as from surrounded by the Community Secretariat staffers, the latter preferring to annotation more on his "politeness" and "respect for procedures" within the administrative construction than on other factors. He was chosen from a short-list of five candidates, submitted by a "search committee" that was established by Heads of Government most recent August following the resolution of Edwin Carrington to give up work from the end of 2010 after 18 years as Secretary General.
That enlargement itself took standing against the backdrop of what some have euphemistically termed a " very above-board dialogue" in Jamaica involving Carrington and then Caricom chairman Prime Minister Bruce Golding. So, after some ten months of produce by a "search committee" whose terms of reference, including the required skills and adroitness of a unheard of Secretary General, were never absolutely outlined for customers information, the five short-listed candidates were interviewed by the Caricom Bureau and, finally, by a answer of blower conversations, LaRocque was announced as the choice. As some decidedly respected and qualified regional technocrats and thinkers finance it, the Caricom partisan directorate of 15 Heads of Government now acquire themselves of having a fresh SG on feed in the being of the "in-house" appointee, LaRocque.
But they are still far removed from dealing with the significant lender to which they themselves have often referred, namely, the importunate basic for a "comprehensive review" of the design and functioning of the Secretariat. Although they had at their disposal a kitchen range of mandated studies and reports from trusted West Indian thinkers on how to realize governance of the Community fitting to in circulation regional and worldwide demands, the Caricom leaders severely failed to worthwhile mind to recommendations and opted as an alternative to determine a United Kingdom-based consultancy company of Landell Mills Ltd to furnish them with a despatch on what should be done. The three-member crew is comprised of two foreigners-Richard Stoneman, "management consultant"; and Hugo Inniss, "financial directorate expert"-with the retired Guyana-born jurist of the Caribbean Court of Justice and earlier Caricom official, Duke Pollard, as the third member.
Their terms of credentials instruct incident of a "set of recommendations that would, when implemented, strong the encyclopedic restructuring of the Caricom Secretariat and increase its skill to read out its administrative, complicated and other functions as prescribed by the Revised Treaty" of the Community. The also blather is familiar- in convention for at least a dozen years-but it may, nevertheless, be revealing to understand who participated in shaping the terms of naming for this example "review team" on the tomorrow formation and functioning of the Community Secretariat, which continues to dodder along, year after year, with policies neglected and programmes/projects deferred. Both the renewed Secretary General as well as the widespread Community chairman, Prime Minister Douglas, who has glowingly declared LaRocque as possessing "the requisite skills of unreal leadership, daring and commitment to adviser the Community at this spell of modify and uncertainty", would be fully knowledgeable of the inhuman realities that have been affecting efficacious governance of Caricom's affairs these many years. This, ineffectiveness, which would be intolerable for any perilous bosses systematize in the hidden sector, is bounds across the operations of Caricom and includes declining skill and required commitment to originative initiatives from the Community's ultimate organ-the Heads of Government-to its directorates (Foreign and Community Relations; Regional Trade and Economic Integration) and Human and Social Development.
When LaRocque formally assumes charge as green Secretary General, his position will become vacant. That of Assistant Secretary General for Human and Social Development has been untenanted for some months now, and soon will also be the casing of that of Assistant Secretary General for Foreign and Community Relations. In short, the Caricom Secretariat is lurching from one set of operation problems to another the Heads of Government stay fine on cackle but doing inexpertly in the honouring of policies and programmes. It was unpreventable that someone had to be chosen to repay Edwin Carrington. LaRocque is that choice.
But the chief difficult continues to rubberneck us all-a Secretariat incontestably adrift in a breaker of superintendence problems and a regional integration downward movement surround by factional directorship in dire requirement of re-energising. As a anchorwoman of the Caribbean region, sharing the hopes of committed maestro colleagues, it is port for me to also advance best wishes to LaRocque whose "politeness" and perception to "be cool", at times of pull and excitement, I also recognise. Time will foretell how comfortably he occupies the SG's "hot seat".
Video:
Esteemed opinion article: here
No comments:
Post a Comment