CARICOM leaders outline measures to tackle rising cost of living across region
Key Points(5)
- Caribbean Community (CARICOM) leaders have agreed to strengthen regional cooperation and pursue a range of measures aimed at easing the burden of rising living costs across the region.
- Pierre said discussions were focused on addressing concerns affecting people in their daily lives.
- “Our discussions over the past four days were guided by one central objective — ensuring that CARICOM delivers results that people can see and feel in their everyday lives,” Pierre said.
- He said leaders agreed to strengthen regional cooperation to protect consumers, improve affordability and explore additional measures to provide relief to vulnerable households.
- “We also agree to strengthen consumer protection and work together to address rising prices across the Community,” he said.
Caribbean Community (CARICOM) leaders have agreed to strengthen regional cooperation and pursue a range of measures aimed at easing the burden of rising living costs across the region.
The issue was among the key matters discussed during the 51st Regular Meeting of the Conference of CARICOM Heads of Government, held in Gros Islet, Saint Lucia, from July 5 to 8 under the theme “CARICOM: From Resilience to Renewal in a Changing World.”
At a media conference following the meeting, CARICOM Chairman and Saint Lucia Prime Minister Philip J. Pierre said discussions were focused on addressing concerns affecting people in their daily lives.
“Our discussions over the past four days were guided by one central objective — ensuring that CARICOM delivers results that people can see and feel in their everyday lives,” Pierre said.
He said leaders agreed to strengthen regional cooperation to protect consumers, improve affordability and explore additional measures to provide relief to vulnerable households.
“We also agree to strengthen consumer protection and work together to address rising prices across the Community,” he said.
Pierre said the cost-of-living challenge is affecting countries throughout the region, with governments sharing strategies being implemented at the national level.
“Every island is suffering from an increase in the cost of living,” he said. “We decided to share the experience among ourselves. Several islands have taken certain measures to reduce the cost of living in their various islands. But there is one factor we have no control over, which is the price of fuel.”
In Saint Lucia, Pierre said the government has removed value-added tax from certain items as part of efforts to reduce costs for consumers.
Barbados Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley highlighted several initiatives being implemented in her country, including a cost-of-living allowance for all pensioners and a 30 per cent increase in welfare rates.
Mottley also pointed to efforts to improve consumer access to pricing information, including the possible use of applications that allow shoppers to compare prices across stores.
She identified the development of an inter-island ferry service as another major regional initiative aimed at lowering the cost of transporting goods and improving connectivity.
Mottley said discussions were underway with Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Godwin Friday and Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar on using a Trinidad and Tobago vessel as a pilot project while private-sector operators acquire additional vessels.
She said the goal is to complete regulatory arrangements within three months, while private-sector efforts to secure vessels could take up to a year.
Mottley also said work was being done to establish arrangements for the mutual recognition of licences and insurance to allow cargo vehicles to move more efficiently between islands.
She noted that the initiative would also require an assessment of port infrastructure, including the use of ramps and other facilities needed to support cargo movement.
Persad-Bissessar highlighted Trinidad and Tobago’s potential contribution through expanded regional access to healthcare services, including its national prosthetic centre and specialised children’s hospital.
“We’re talking about cost of living. And in this respect, in the medical field, if we partner together, again, we can bring down the cost of living,” she said.
Outgoing CARICOM Chairman and Saint Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister Dr. Terrance Drew focused on energy costs, calling for faster development of renewable energy resources across the region.
Drew said greater use of wind, solar, geothermal and wave energy could help stabilise energy supplies and reduce economic pressures.
“Renewable energy can really help, from our perspective, to transform the Caribbean, to transform the Region, and help us to get on a sustainable path of really managing the cost of living of all of our people here in the Region,” he said.
CARICOM leaders also identified reducing fuel costs, improving regional trade, lowering freight expenses and expanding renewable energy as key areas requiring collective action as the region continues to navigate the effects of global economic pressures and geopolitical tensions.
