26th January 2012
Kenny to OECS Heads: “It Cannot be Business as Usual”
M.G. George

(Photo) Saint Lucia’s Prime Minister Dr. Kenny Anthony

Heads of Governments within the OECS sub-region have been told that it cannot be business as usual when it comes to addressing the issues affecting their respective countries and the organisation on a whole.
Saint Lucia’s Prime Minister Dr. Kenny Anthony Monday made this clear at the 54th OECS Heads of Authority Meeting in Saint Lucia stating that although much work had been done the exigencies of the times demand of governments to stop being constantly reactive.
This was Dr. Anthony’s first appearance at the Authority after a five year absence. His victory at the November 28, 2011 general elections guaranteed him a place at the highest decision making body of the OECS (Organization of Eastern Caribbean).
His colleague Heads congratulated him however, the welcome he received extended across the sub-region.
“I acknowledge with humility and appreciation the congratulations and words of welcome extended to me today and over the last few weeks since my return to office,” Dr. Anthony said.
But the pressing matter of the economic survival of the countries operating as a single unit under the OECS umbrella cut short the celebratory mood as the Heads settled down to finding solutions to the issues facing their countries.
The Saint Lucian Prime Minister called on his colleagues to take time to address the directional issues, the culture building issues, the deep analysis of problems, the assessment and seizing of new opportunities and the visioning that would allow them to build lasting structures for the future.
“For these reasons this 54th Meeting of the OECS Authority cannot be business as usual. Much work has already been done. Some of our major benchmarks have been achieved, and within the deadlines that we have set. However, notwithstanding these milestones, there is still much more to be done. We cannot therefore afford inertia or complacency. Our history, as much as our common future, dictates that we press ahead, undaunted and focused, to complete the task that we set ourselves a few short years ago. Only in so doing, will we be truly empowered to make a positive and lasting difference in the lives of the people who sent us here,” Dr. Anthony said.
Dr. Anthony now in his third term as prime minister exhorted member states that have not yet put in place the required legislation and administrative arrangements that would give effect to the right of free movement to do so as a matter of urgent priority.
“I also wish to encourage those Member States which have yet to bring the Revised Treaty of Basseterre into domestic law, to do so expeditiously in order that we can all proceed with the business of getting the OECS Economic Union functioning in a way that truly resonates with the people of our region. Without the enactment of the enabling legislation by all Protocol Members States, the operationalisation of the Economic Union simply cannot proceed,” Dr. Anthony said.
He called on business people across the sub-region to shed the habit of defining themselves in purely nationalistic terms. This, he said, is imperative.