Caricom Secretary General Edwin Carrington urges St. Maarten free movement of professional workers
April 27, 2008
During the three day visit of Secretary General of the Caricom States, Edwin Carrington urged St. Maarten to adhere to the principle of free movement of professional workers. That was one of the main messages seeking cooperation ties with the independent states of the Caribbean Islands.
This is also the major stumbling block since St. Maarten is technically not an independent State and as such joining the ongoing regional process of integration, being part of the Netherlands Antilles, is complicated and often, for constitutional reasons, impossible.
Visits by dignitaries from the Caribbean region almost never fail to inspire and raise high hopes for effective cooperation in the future and as such the visit of the Secretary General was no different. But often after the last fair-wells have been said the euphoria marking these visits dies down, realization kicks in that such cooperations are often based on unattainable decision making process.
Often good intentions become hollow words when put into the context of legality and die another “ungraceful” death. This should not happen this time since the process of dismantling the Netherlands Antilles is a certainty, albeit not known when. Within the negotiations in the dismantling process a clear stipulation should be included that allows unilateral trade agreements to be made with the surrounding Caricom islands, benefitting all parties concerned.
The opportunity to for once and for all set the negotiations and cooperation into full motion so they will lead to some real mutual beneficial results, the Government of St. Maarten should use the “latitude” and assistance offered by the Secretary General to reach an agreement with the Kingdom partners over the “free trade zone” with the independent Caribbean Nations joined under the Caricom.
Since St. Maarten and Saint Martin do not produce anything and are fully dependent on imports for consumption, such trade agreements can only support the Caribbean economies toward some self sustainability.
One of the main reasons the Secretary General asked to consider the free movement of professional workers (Media, Medical, Teachers, Musicians, Sport professionals and many others) which implies not to have to apply for work and residence permits is for planning of careers on a much broader scale and stimulates a thrust for higher quality.
In contrast, St. Maarten’s current immigration regulations suffocate ambition and prompt professionals to move to America or Europe. Moreover, the regulations spread an environment of insecurity. St. Maarten must replace these choking regulations with sensible policies, inspired by Caricom’s forward thinking.
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