Both the new chairman of the Caribbean Community, Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister Gaston Browne, and the chairman of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean Sates, Dominica Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit, have spoken about the groups’ financial struggles, but neither of them has disclosed the full gravity of the situation.
I gather from reliable sources that some member states are so financially strapped that they are unable to pay their contributions to regional and sub-regional institutions, including the University of the West Indies and the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, on a timely basis.
The Virgin Islands is only an associate member of the OECS, but it is included in the ECSC, and as a matter of fact it has the best facilities for its High Court, including a high level reporting system. The Commercial Court, which serves the entire OECS, is located in Road Town, and its facilities are on par with any international courts. The VI government is fully behind the Commercial Court in many respects, including financial contributions, in part because the territory is the leading financial services jurisdiction in the hemisphere, with more than 500,000 companies incorporated here.
Back dues
The administrators of the UWI in Barbados and the Council of Legal Education in Jamaica have been complaining about the tardiness of their members — both from OECS and Caricom states — in paying their dues, which has put a lot of pressure on the administration of the institutions.
I also understand that other regional bodies have been affected, including the Caribbean Agri Research and Development Institution, the Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism, and the Caribbean Development Bank.
The OECS head called for a large injection of financial resources and asked development partners to appreciate the challenges. However, he did not name the sources who can assist the member states in their plight.
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