Barbadians continue to wait for the government of Barbados to revamp out-dated immigration laws to better protect a society which is the envy of the world. Almost one year has past since town hall meetings were held to discuss the green paper on immigration. That exercise exposed glaring loopholes in our existing legislation and inefficiency and corrupt behaviour by officers at the Immigration Department.
The late Prime Minister David Thompson at the final Town Hall meeting held at Solidarity House, made statements which would have suggested that by December 2010 the new immigration act should have been enacted. It is amusing to recall the haste the former government enacted sunset legislation to facilitate the hosting of CWC2007. It is equally humorous to recall the haste the incumbent government enacted the constituency council bill. The two examples should demonstrate to cynics if a government wants to enact legislation in a reasonable timeframe, it is possible even when our lumbering civil service is taken into consideration.
The recent revelation by Prime Minister Bruce Golding that he prefers the final court of appeal to be Jamaican has startled many in the Caricom community. He promised if Jamaica is ever to become a member of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) his government will go the route of a referendum. Students of Caribbean history and others who would have observed the regional interactions of Jamaica and Trinidad in the last 10 years are not surprise by Jamaica’s latest move. A case of history repeating itself some might say. BU commentators warned in earlier blogs the folly of Barbados laying bare much of its family silver (prized companies) to appease regional integrationists. The CCJ is meant to be flaming symbol of regional integration. It has taken a few years for the Caricom community to absorb the shock of Trinidad and Tobago not joining the CCJ, made all the more embarrassing given the address of the court, now Jamaica has hinted its desire to tread and all too familiar path.
What is interesting to observe is the high level of hypocrisy being practiced by certain sections of the Caribbean community. BU recalls how Barbados was pilloried in Jamaica and Trinidad by all and sundry at the stance taken to protect its borders. We were accused of being all manner of things. Bear in mind Barbados even now is compliant with most if not all of our obligations under Caricom. The same cannot be stated for Jamaica and Trinidad. BU remembers a Jamaican talk show which hosted George Brathwaite, Annalee Davis and Norman Girvan who raked Barbados over the coals for taking a position which sought to safeguard the quality of Bajan society. There was so much ‘noise’ across the Caribbean that late Prime Minister David Thompson was forced to mobilize a Public Relations effort to defend Barbados’ position.
Prime Minister Golding’s position towards the CCJ is one which strikes at the heart of regional cooperation and by now should have provoked violent reactions from certain quarters. Leading the pack should be Norman Girvan who was relentless and scathing in his opposition of Barbados’ immigration stance. Here is a document which Girvan took the time to compile and make available to anyone with Internet access. A check of his website does not reveal any serious commentary on the matter at hand. Bear in mind he is a regionalist. In the coming days and weeks BU will be monitoring the mouthings of other individuals very closely – To name a few: Peter Wickham, Annalee Davis, Rickey Singh (his recent article does not exempt him), Shridath Ramphal, Bharrat Jagdeo, Owen Arthur, Mia Mottley to name a few. Oh wither our academics!
Prime Minister Fruendel Stuart in the recent budget debate expressed the lack of vision which exist for CSME. He promised at the first opportunity he will be seeking clarification on the matter which would help to define Barbados’ role in the future. It seems Prime Minister Stuart may have been prophetic if we are to judge by the anti-regionalist mouthings of first, Kamla Persad-Bissessar and now Bruce Golding.
In an era of globalization it is in the interest of Caribbean states to create opportunities for functional cooperation in order to build efficiencies and benefit from cost savings. Such an approach should not be confused with creating monolithic institutions like CSME which gives the opportunity for regional politicians, academics, social commentators and others to perfect nebulous theories and ideologies.
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