Outgoing CARICOM Chairman calls for an end to leaders’ absenteeism from key decision-making

Last Updated on Sunday, 5 July 2026, 18:58 by Denis Chabrol

Outgoing Chairman of the 15-nation Caribbean Community (CARICOM), St Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister Dr Terrance Drew on Sunday chided colleague regional leaders for being absent when crucial decisions have to be be made.

“Whenever this community faces matters of great significance, let us ensure that every head of government makes every effort be present,” said Dr Drew at the opening of the 51st regular CARICOM Summit in St Lucia.

He is at the centre of a controversy over the process that led to his announcing the re-appointment of Belizean Dr Carla Barnett for a second five-year term from August resulting in stern rejection by the Trinidad and Tobago government. The Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister, Kamla Persad Bissessar had absented from a virtual CARICOM Summit at which her concerns about Dr Barnett’s appointment process was on the agenda.

The CARICOM said issues should be resolved in-house, away from the cameras and prepared statements but allowing colleagues to speak candidly. “Trust is strengthened, misunderstandings are resolved, consensus is built.
No newspaper headline has solved a disagreement among Caribbean leaders. No public commentary has ever replaced honest dialogue but respectful conversation among colleagues committed to a common purpose has repeatedly strengthened this community,” he said.

Ms Persad-Bissessar, who strenuously objected to the process for Dr Barnett’s appointment, had left the CARICOM Summit in St Kitts and Nevis in February, before that decision was taken. She said she had delegated Foreign Minister Sean Sobers to attend, but information later surfaced that he did not travel to Nevis because of safety concerns about doing so by ferry.

On Sunday, Ms Persad-Bissessar, who has vowed not to recognise Dr Barnett after July 31, 2026,  entered the venue of the opening session minutes after the CARICOM Secretary General addressed the opening ceremony.

In wrapping up his address, the outgoing CARICOM Chairman praised the CARICOM Secretary-General for her professionalism and impartiality. “Madam Secretary General, thank you for your professionalism, your integrity, and your steadfast commitment to this community throughout my tenure. Whenever I called, you answered. Whenever support was required, you and your team responded with diligence, competence, and excellence, you have served and distinction, you have understood the importance of preserving the impartiality of the Secretariat while faithfully implementing the decisions of heads of government that balance has strengthened this community,” he said.

The St Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister stopped short of saying that despite the persistent verbal onslaught by Trinidad and Tobago, he was at the forefront of paying keen interest in that country’s candidacy for a seat on the United Nations Security Council. He credited Trinidad and Tobago’s election to that body to regional unity. “Although Trinidad and Tobago was the candidate, it entered that election carrying the united and public support of the Caribbean community. That support it demonstrated that when CARICOM stands behind one of its own, our collective voice commands respect on the world stage, for one could imagine that Trinidad, a very small country, when one considers the world going up against other countries to go on the Security Council by itself,” he said.