Editorial | Searching for an SG

It is urgent that the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) engineer a sensible solution to the impasse over the extension of the mandate of its secretary general, Carla Barnett. At this point, that solution increasingly appears to be Dr Barnett’s dignified exit from the post.

In the circumstances, regional governments would probably have to make her departure worthwhile. This could include compensation, a high-profile posting by her home government of Belize, and perhaps a declaration by the secretary general that she was stepping aside to facilitate a rebuilding of harmony within the Community.

However, while this may offer a starting point, Dr Barnett’s departure would not, in itself, bring an end to the tensions currently besetting the regional integration project. Old strains are being sharply stressed by new geopolitical realities and by a lack of cohesion in how emerging challenges are to be addressed.

If this is to change, and if CARICOM is to exist in anything other than a state of suspended animation, it will require frank discussions among heads of government and clear, bold leadership from the secretariat. The secretary general must interpret the role as having broader contours than those sketched by the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas, possess an appetite for risk, and be willing to provide unsolicited strategic guidance to political leaders. At times, the office-holder may have to be ahead of them.

In that regard, assuming Dr Barnett will not remain in the post beyond August, or will depart shortly thereafter, the Community should immediately begin drawing up a list of potential successors who possess the skills, temperament and personality suited to the moment. This newspaper will begin by identifying some possible candidates.

SHIFTING POLITICAL CALCULUS

That Dr Barnett’s departure appears increasingly inevitable – although her tenure was initially extended and no formal complaint has been made about her performance – has much to do with the process by which CARICOM’s heads of government make decisions and with the shifting political calculus within the Community.

Weeks after the Heads of Government Summit in St Kitts and Nevis, CARICOM announced that leaders had, by the “required majority”, reappointed Dr Barnett for a second five-year term. The rule is that decisions of the Conference of Heads of Government must be unanimous. However, Article 28 of the treaty provides that abstentions do not affect unanimity if three-quarters of the membership votes in favour. It further states that a failure by a member state to participate in a vote is deemed an abstention.

Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Kamala Persad-Bissessar left the Basseterre summit early after participating in the opening ceremony and attending multilateral and bilateral meetings with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Her foreign minister, Sean Sobers, who was acting as head of delegation, reportedly informed officials that he could not attend the leaders’ retreat, at which the decision on Dr Barnett’s reappointment was taken, for fear of becoming seasick during the boat crossing. Trinidad and Tobago, however, insists that Mr Sobers was disinvited from the retreat.

The confusion over what transpired in St Kitts has been exacerbated by Ms Persad-Bissessar’s long-standing grievance with Dr Barnett over what the prime minister perceived as dismissive treatment by the CARICOM Secretariat while she was in opposition. The outcome is that Trinidad and Tobago says it will respect Dr Barnett’s position only until the expiry of her current term.

POTENTIAL CANDIDATES

Matters have been further complicated by a call from Jamaica’s Prime Minister Andrew Holness for a second review of the St Kitts decision. A retaken vote – with Trinidad and Tobago voting against — would upend Dr Barnett’s position. Another option would be to take the issue to the Caribbean Court of Justice, but there appears to be little appetite for that route. Even if she were to remain, Dr Barnett’s relationship with some member states would be deeply strained.

This leaves the moral and political option, centred on Dr Barnett’s exit and frank discussion of the issues affecting CARICOM, including Trinidad and Tobago’s apparently unfettered acceptance of Donald Trump’s hegemonic posture in the Americas.

Dr Barnett’s departure would necessitate a new secretary general – one with the gravitas, stature and experience to operate in an increasingly complex and fraught environment, especially as Mr Trump has overturned the old rules-based international order.

The Gleaner’s Editorial Board suggests the following – not exhaustive – list of potential candidates:

Avinash Persaud, Barbadian economist and global financial expert, principal architect of Prime Minister Mia Mottley’s Bridgetown Initiative on climate finance and reform of the global financial system;

Courtenay Rattray, Jamaican diplomat and trade official, and chef de cabinet to the United Nations secretary general;

Michelle Gyles-McDonnough, Jamaican, United Nations assistant secretary general and executive director of the United Nations Institute for Training and Research;

Therese Turner-Jones, Bahamian, former general manager of the Inter-American Development Bank’s Caribbean Group Country Department and former vice-president of the Caribbean Development Bank;

Dale Marshall, Barbadian diplomat and former attorney general;

Pamela Coke-Hamilton, Jamaican trade expert and executive director of the International Trade Centre.