Social Studies Form 5

Regional Integration (this is to be added to the copies from last day).

Recall the timeline from last day:

Timeline showing the evolution of the regional integration movement.

THE WEST
INDIES
FEDERATION CARIFTA CARICOM OECS CSME ACS
1968 1973 1981 1989 1994
1958-1962

3. CARICOM (the Caribbean Community and Common Market – 1973)

Less than 10 years after CARIFTA was formed, members felt it necessary to extend and deepen the
links formed by moving from a simple free-trade area to a COMMON MARKET. One of the aims of
CARICOM was to give member countries Thus CARICOM was formed by the Treaty of Chaguaramas
and it involved:

 Internal free trade among member countries

 Agreement on a common external tariff
 Making provisions to eventually remove restrictions for the movement of capital, services
and labour within the region. (Mohammed, 2007)

Presently CARICOM has the following full member states – Barbados, Guyana, T&T, Jamaica (The
first 4 to sign the agreement), Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Belize, Dominica, Grenada,
Montserrat, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines and Suriname, Haiti (the
latest to join). There are 5 associate members: Anguilla, British Virgin Islands, Turks and Caicos
Islands and Cayman Islands.
 The structure of CARICOM

The functions of the CARICOM secretariat

The Secretariat is the headquarters of CARICOM, it is located in Guyana. The head of this
organisation is the Secretary General, and the functions of the Secretariat include:

 Making arrangements to facilitate meetings of any CARICOM body.

 Implementing decisions taken by any CARICOM body.
 Undertaking research on issues relating to economic integration.
 Preparing estimates of expenditure for any project relating to CARICOM objectives.
The functions of the Heads of Government branch and Institution of Ministers branch

Conference of Heads of Government / The Heads of Governments branch

The Institution of Ministers branch/Council of Ministers

 In addition, the Conference of Heads of Government is responsible for the resolution of

disputes among member states.

In terms of the achievements of CARICOM, some include establishing/directing:

- The Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency (CDERA) – which help member
states in the time of natural disasters.

- The Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI), among others.

(Mohammed, 2007).

Challenges facing CARICOM

 The promised increase in trade and economic development throughout the region has not
yet materialized. For example some stronger countries such as T&T have seen the benefits
of free trade but some others have not.
 Regional integration does not appear to be a consistent and urgent desire for Caribbean
people. It is believed that this is because most countries tend to put their own needs first
before that of the wider region.
See https://caricom.org/ for additional info.

4. OECS (the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States 1981)

Formed by the signing of the Treaty of Basseterre to formalize aspects of economic cooperation
among 7 islands of the Eastern Caribbean – Antigua and Barbuda, the Commonwealth of Dominica,
Grenada, St Kitts and Nevis, Montserrat, St Lucia and St Vincent and the Grenadines. Anguilla and
the British Virgin Islands (BVI), Guadeloupe and Martinique are associate members. The citizens of
these states had always felt a sense of unity and identity. As much smaller states, they were
vulnerable to natural disasters and external shocks to their economies and so they felt that their
survival depended upon greater cooperation among themselves.
The 1981 Treaty was replaced in 2010 with a Revised Treaty of Basseterre, creating an economic
union which is an agreement between countries where barriers to trade are reduced or removed for
a single market with a customs union.

The aim of the OCES was to work for full economic union among OECS members, with free
movement of people, goods, services and capital.

Functions of OECS secretariat:

The OECS is administered by a Secretariat located in St Lucia, which is headed by a Director General
who has overall responsibility. The main duty of the OECS Secretariat is to coordinate the functions
of the organisation, to ensure that all policy decisions taken are cost-effective. The Secretariat has 4
main divisions which oversee the long-term direction of the organisation and work with specialized
institutions and projects in different countries.

The OECS has achieved:

 A single currency
 A central bank
 A single judicial system
 A joint civil aviation authority, etc. (Mohammed, 2007)

See https://oecs.org/ for more info.

Past paper q:

2016 7.
Supporting Decisions of CARICOM: Government and Citizens
Write an essay on the above topic.
Begin your essay by stating TWO functions of the CARICOM Secretariat. Then explain TWO ways in
which the free movement of people among CARICOM member countries may help to reduce
unemployment. Next give ONE reason why all CARICOM governments should enact laws to
implement CARICOM decisions. Suggest, giving full details, THREE strategies/measures which
CARICOM governments may use to prepare citizens to support the decisions taken at Heads of
Government conferences. Explain fully why EACH strategy/measure you suggested is likely to be
successful. Total 20 marks