(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana) The 23rd Inter-sessional Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), should be remembered as the initiator of the era of change in the Community.

This hope was expressed by CARICOM Secretary-General Ambassador Irwin LaRocque as he addressed the Opening Session of the two-day meeting in Paramaribo, Suriname on Thursday. This change, he said, would be taking place within a particular environment, “an environment of reform within our Community, its Organs, Bodies and Institutions. It must take into account the way we conduct and govern our affairs. An important part of this process is the need for further prioritisation.”

The Secretary-General said that in recent times the Community had been engaged in deep introspection at all levels, “sparked by a desire to transform the way we do business.” The push for transformation, he said, is being propelled by the urgent need to make CARICOM citizens feel the impact and enjoy the benefits of the integration movement in their daily lives.

“The challenge in delivering this transformation is in determining how we will get it done. As the saying goes, the devil is in the details. I recognise clearly that the change must start and be led from the top. The Office of the Secretary-General has been given particular attention by the authors of the Report and the recommendations are deserving of serious consideration. The buck, as it were, starts here,” Ambassador LaRocque emphasised.

In referring to the presentation to Heads of Government of the Report on the restructuring of the CARICOM Secretariat, the Secretary-General said it was probably symbolic that the Report was being presented at his first Heads of Government Meeting as Secretary-General. He said he welcomed the review and the decisions made by Heads of Government on the recommendations of the Report would provide him with the basis for addressing the challenges faced by the Secretariat in its efforts to fulfil the role and function envisaged by the leaders.

In the new dispensation, Ambassador LaRocque said, the Secretariat must become more strategic in its approach to its tasks and its advice to the Organs and bodies of the Community and he would seek to inculcate that approach in the work of the organisation.

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