Figures suggest that what Bermudian taxpayers could pay for full CARICOM membership is disproportionately high compared to other countries; government counters that it’s not all about dollars and cents
One of the questions often raised when the conversation turns to Caricom membership is … what will it cost?
We crunched the numbers, drawing from the United Nations global population figures, along with the member contributions to CARICOM HQ as recorded in the organisation’s 2023 annual report.
They show that Bermudian residents paid just under $3 per person for Associate CARICOM membership in 2023… that’s more per person than 9 out of 15 Full CARICOM member states.
If we became full members and the fee went up to $2.2 Million, we would be paying more than $35 per person per year… that’s five times more per person than the closest other full member paid in 2023, the Bahamas, and 10-15 times more than most full members.
Even if that final payment is adjusted, for example reduced by a third to $1.5 Million, it would still be more than $23 per person, and many times more than other full member states.
Of course, comparisons can be skewed by Bermuda’s small population and the relative strength of our dollar.
Home Affairs Minister Alexa Lightbourne told Gary Foster Skelton that the decision to deepen ties with CARICOM cannot be reduced to a dollars and cents issue.
WATCH the interview above.
