Above: CARICOM Headquarters in Guyana

By the Caribbean Journal staff

CARICOM has put forward a case for increased funding from its international development partners, the organization said.

The goal is to “ensure that the Community’s positions are reflected in ongoing discussions on donor coordination and aid effectiveness, Small Island Developing and Low-Lying Coastal States and the Post 2015 Development Agenda,” according to Secretary General Irwin LaRocque.

“CARICOM, as an integration grouping, approaches such issues on a collective basis,” he said. “In fact, it forms part of our coordinated foreign policy. We will advance our case for improved access to resources in the ongoing discussions on the Post 2015 Development Agenda.  We will link our foreign policy positions to access to resources.  We have no choice in these matters if our people are to survive and if our countries are to be placed on a path to sustainable and resilient economic growth.”

LaRocque said CARICOM would map out approaches to marry aid with the right priority areas.

“As a Community we are looking for results and impact and we would welcome your cooperation and support in that regard,” he told donors at a recent forum on donor coordination.

He also urged a rethinking of the policies that have led many Caribbean countries to “graduate” out of levels at which they receive aid, due to a perceived high per capita income.

“To graduate CARICOM Member States from access to grant aid, concessionary financial resources or technical assistance, on the basis of per capita income cannot be right,” LaRcoque said. “Per Capita Income is, at best, an arithmetic ratio.  It does not measure the level of poverty; it does not address the distribution of income; it does not say whether the economy is resilient and on a path to sustainable growth, and it certainly does not measure the capacity of a country to self-finance its growth.”