By Ashford Peters
Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar says Trinidad and Tobago is committed, in principle, to CARICOM’s full and free movement regime, but the twin-island republic is not ready to implement it just yet due to challenges posed by illegal migration.
“I know we are all committed to full and free movement. I know several CARICOM islands are moving forward with that. But in Trinidad and Tobago, again, illegal migration is a big problem,” Persad-Bissessar told the official opening ceremony of the 50th Regular Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of CARICOM in St Kitts and Nevis on Tuesday.
Persad-Bissessar said the situation has been left to flourish not only in her country but elsewhere.
“Currently, Trinidad and Tobago taxpayers, we pay the bills for the tens of thousands of illegal migrants who have come into our country. It has put an enormous strain on our health services, government services, financial resources, and we are working diligently to resolve this illegal immigration crisis that we have,” Persad-Bissessar said during the opening of the CARICOM heads conference.
Four CARICOM member states — Barbados, Belize, Dominica and St. Vincent and the Grenadines — implemented full free movement among themselves last October.
Under the full free movement regime, the four countries have agreed to grant their nationals the right to enter, leave and re-enter, move freely, reside, work and remain indefinitely in the receiving Member State, without the need for a work or residency permit.
Nationals of these participating countries will also be able to access emergency and primary health care, and public primary and secondary education, within the means of the receiving Member State.
Persad-Bissessar noted that Venezuela is just seven miles away from T&T, adding that authorities are going through the process of trying to “identify and do a registration exercise, because there are thousands of them who are a drain” on the taxpayers of her country.
“At this time, I would say with the greatest respect, Prime Minister (Terrance) Drew (of St Kitts and Nevis), Trinidad and Tobago, we are fully committed in principle to the full and free movement, but we have to deal with the thousands of illegal ones I already have in my country. So I will say not at this time, but we agree in principle to full and free movement”, Persad-Bissessar told her CARICOM colleagues.
CARICOM decided on of full and free movement at the 49th Regular Meeting of the Conference of CARICOM Heads of Government in Jamaica in July.
Heads of Government have agreed to include aviation personnel among the categories of skilled community nationals entitled to move freely within the community under Article 46 of the Treaty.
This category includes aircraft maintenance engineers, professional pilots, air traffic controllers, and flight operations officers.
The free movement arrangement falls within the new Enhanced Cooperation Chapter of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas.
Under that Chapter, the Conference of CARICOM Heads can allow groups of at least three Member States to advance integration among themselves, provided the Conference agrees that the targeted objectives cannot be attained within a reasonable period by the community as a whole.
This type of free movement expands the scope of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME).
It is available to all CARICOM nationals of the participating four countries.
The other Member States participating in the CSME will continue to operate free movement under the existing Regimes (skills, services, business establishment and general facilitation of travel).
That woman, Kamla Persad-Bissessar, is a sellout and a coward. She is carrying out US imperialist policies. Poor T&T. Trinidad is run by Washington.
Next in line is Vincy