Antigua and Barbuda’s Permanent Representative to the Caribbean Community, CARICOM; National Authorising Officer, Trade Coordinator and Head of Economic Partnership Agreement Implementation Ambassador Clarence Henry, was among the featured speakers at CARICAD’s Second Ministerial Symposium held in Antigua and Barbuda on March 9 & 10, 2017. The following are excerpts from his address. Private sector dialogue in CARICOM is pursued, among other things, through a robust institutional framework within the CSME. In the Caribbean, the private sector is mainly comprised of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). The majority of the SMEs are locally owned, conduct their business in small and medium sized urban settlements, but do not export their outputs to the international economy. Consequently, Caribbean SMEs’ sales and employment growth, lag behind their peers in the rest of the world. The 22nd Inter-Sessional Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government (25-26 February 2011) agreed that the integration process needed to be reengineered and reinvigorated and that this could be done through measures such as social partnerships (Government, Private Sector, Civil Society). and the wholesale distribution sector which commands a higher share (7.4%) (Ruprah and Sierra 2016). With regard to human capital, there are two notable challenges affecting private sector firms. First, firms have difficulty in finding and hiring workers with the correct skill-sets to match jobs. Secondly, highly educated workers experience difficulty in finding appropriate employment. The Public and Private sectors are key stakeholders in a symbiotic relationship within the CSME. They are critical partners in economic development. The private sector is regarded as the engine of growth, while the public sector’s primary responsibility is the creation of the enabling environment for business development. The private sector provides jobs, goods, services, and contributes to the payment of taxes and statutory obligations thereby enhancing economic and social life. Ambassador Clarence Henry On the other hand, the Public sector is also a significant employer, performs a regulatory role and creates investment opportunities for growth and wealth creation. It is worth noting that apart from highly specialised bodies, such as Further to that, the 26th Meeting of the Council for Human and Social Development (COHSOD) mandated the CARICOM Secretariat to work with regional stakeholders to structure the institutional arrangements for the Regional Tripartite Social Dialogue Mechanism. In response to that mandate, a regional tripartite consultation was convened on September 19 – 20, 2016 in Georgetown, Guyana, to consider proposals for a regional social dialogue mechanism. The consultation agreed inter alia that such a regional mechanism should be integrated into the existing structures of CARICOM. An estimated 75% of CARICOM firms operate within seven sectors: retail distribution (24%); hotels and restaurants (15%); food and tobacco (10.7%); transport (8.7%); construction (7.6%); servicing of motor vehicles (4.7%); and wholesale distribution (4.7%). Such composition is similar in the ROSE, except for the textiles and wood sector, 4 the West Indies Rum and Spirits Producers’ Association Inc. (WIRSPA) and the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA), there is no regional private sector-led institution representing Caribbean business interests, in interaction with regional and national public sector policymakers. Lack of a dedicated regional body to represent private sector interests at the regional level, has resulted in deficient public-private engagement. Given this situation, the CARICOM Secretariat commissioned Caribbean Export to examine potential mechanisms for achieving effective regional public-private sector dialogue. The private sector in the Caribbean is facing many challenges, some affecting its international reputation and, as a consequence, the image and competitiveness of its exports worldwide. One such challenge relates to the international financial services sector, which accounts for up to 31% of GDP in some Caribbean economies. International Financial Centers in the Caribbean region have come under increased scrutiny due to alleged tax evasion practices, money laundering and profit shifting (transfer pricing), among other
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