Ahead of the latest Town Hall on full CARICOM membership this evening, Shadow Home Affairs Minister says people are confused as to the benefits versus cost, and suggests Bermuda can deepen cultural ties to Caribbean without the price tag
The OBA’s Dwayne Robinson believes audiences at the recent CARICOM town halls remain perplexed about the tangible benefits of full membership, which carries a hefty price tag.
The Shadow Home Affairs Minister also cites the CARIFTA Games and Bermuda joining the Caribbean Golf Association as ways we can align closer with the Caribbean culturally, while remaining an associate member of CARICOM.
On potential benefits to entrepreneurs, Mr. Robinson says “most folks who we have spoken to, especially small business owners and owners of businesses, are able to set up and have branches in CARICOM now”.
“It doesn’t really come across as if there’s really huge hurdles to jump in order to start business, and to open up businesses in the Caribbean if you are based in Bermuda.”
Regarding the the labour force, Mr. Robsinson says Government does not need to take Bermuda to full CARICOM membership to change immigration policy and make it easier to exchange labour between us and the Caribbean.
Mr. Robinson also reiterates the One Bermuda Alliance’s position that Government should hold a referendum on full CARICOM membership – and adds that the OBA would support full membership if a referedum showed it is the will of the people.
PREJUDICE
When asked about the argument that there is an anti-Caribbean prejudice driving resistance to CARICOM, Mr. Robinson says he agrees with Alexa Lightbourne, Minister of Home Affairs, about the need to improve education about our ties to the Caribbean.
However, he does not believe that is what is behind some of the concerns being raised…
“There are always going to be people that are prejudiced,” he says, “but most of the concerns that I’ve heard voiced from the town halls, and to me personally, come from all shades and backgrounds of Bermudians who are just simply concerned about why we will be paying $2.2 million now … as a full member, versus staying as an associate member, and trying to maximize what we can do with that.”
Ultimately, Mr Robinson believes Bermuda doesn’t need to be a full CARICOM member to strengthen our cultural ties to the Caribbean.
“We can do shared festivals. We can do enhancements to our education system that showcase our Caribbean roots … we can have more town halls based specifically on educating us about what Bermudians have done or been tied to in the Caribbean prior to this.”
“[CARICOM is] not the end-all-be-all for our cultural ties to the Caribbean … that comes down to tradition, family ties, history …”
“You cannot dictate that based on being a full member of CARICOM or not. It just is.”
EAST END TOWN HALL
The latest Government Town Hall on full CARICOM membership takes place tonight in St George’s, starting at 7:00PM at the Penno’s Whard Cruise Ship Terminal.
This will be the third town hall, after a central meeting in April, and a west-end meeting last week.
The first presentation focused heavily on Bermuda’s cultural and historical connections to the Caribbean and on economic opportunity, as opposed to immediate tangible economic benefits of full membership.
At last week’s town hall in Sandys, The Royal Gazette reported that some attendees questioned the necessity of the $2.2 million membership fee – a six-to-ten-fold increase on our current associate membership costs.
Nevertheless, Home Affairs Minister Alexa Lightbourne previously affirmed that, as the elected Government of the day they see benefits to deepening ties with CARICOM. She acknowledged that there may be different perspectives on the rewards, adding that “a benefit for me may not be a benefit for you”.
