Former CARICOM official questions re-appointment of Carla Barnett

Former assistant secretary general (ASG) of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), Joseph Cox, is raising concerns regarding the re-appointment of Dr Carla Barnett as secretary general of the 15-member regional integration grouping.

“Can Dr Carla Barnett effectively serve another five-year term in the face of open objection, procedural concerns, and underlying divergence among member states, because in CARICOM, and indeed in small-state regionalism more broadly, authority is not imposed,” said Cox, who resigned as ASG for economic integration, innovation and development in August 2024.

“It is conferred through consensus, reinforced through process, and sustained through trust. Remove those pillars, and the position may remain legally intact. But operationally it becomes far more difficult to hold.

“And that is the real issue now confronting the community. These are not procedural questions. They are questions of institutional direction and institutional credibility,” Cox said during his weekly Caribbean Business Review (CBR) podcast on Sunday.

Questions Over Majority Support

Last week, CARICOM chairman and Dr Terrance Drew, prime minister of Saint Kitts and Nevis, said in a brief statement that Barnett had attained the “required majority” from regional leaders regarding her re-appointment at last month’s CARICOM summit held in Basseterre.

However, Trinidad and Tobago has insisted it was not invited to the deliberations that led to Barnett’s re-appointment. Port of Spain also indicated that Antigua and Barbuda and The Bahamas were absent.

“I emphatically put on the record … that Trinidad and Tobago was not invited by email, telephone or in person to that meeting where that particular decision was made,” Trinidad and Tobago’s CARICOM and foreign affairs minister, Sean Sobers, told Parliament last Friday.

Prime Minister Kamla Persad‑Bissessar, who left the Basseterre summit prior to the retreat of regional leaders on Nevis, has since threatened to withdraw funding for CARICOM.

Concerns Over Participation and Legitimacy

Cox, who served at the Guyana-based CARICOM Secretariat for nine years, said that while the re-appointment appeared to be a routine decision ensuring administrative continuity, the reality was more complex.

“Trinidad and Tobago has formally objected to the re-appointment, not on the basis of personality, but on the basis of process, arguing that it was excluded from deliberations and that the matter was neither placed on the formal agenda nor recorded in the official communiqué,” he said.

Cox added that statements indicating Trinidad and Tobago, along with The Bahamas and Antigua and Barbuda, were not allowed to participate in the retreat effectively left “multiple member states outside of a decision of significant institutional importance”.

He further noted that Haiti and Montserrat were also not represented at the leaders’ retreat at the highest level.

“This is not just about participation, it’s about proportionality and influence,” Cox said, noting that Trinidad and Tobago accounts for approximately 22 per cent of CARICOM’s budget, with The Bahamas and Haiti also considered meaningful contributors.

“When countries of that scale are excluded, the issue immediately shifts from administration to institutional legitimacy,” he added.

Consensus Versus Majority

Cox also pointed to what he described as a departure from CARICOM’s traditional decision-making process.

Drew framed the decision as securing the “required majority,” but Cox said that language departs from a longstanding tradition where senior appointments are typically resolved through consensus rather than voting.

“Consensus is not ceremonial. It is what binds small states into a functioning community,” said Cox, a Jamaica-born economist.

He also noted that there had been varying levels of comfort among member states regarding the performance and direction of the CARICOM Secretariat, making broad consultation critical.

Procedural Questions Raised

Cox questioned why there was no reference to the decision in the official communiqué, whether the matter was formally tabled, and why it was not recorded in plenary if discussed during retreat.

He also asked why, if the decision was taken on February 26, it was only publicly communicated on March 25.

Cox referenced Article 24 of the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas, which states that the secretary general is appointed by the Conference on the recommendation of the Community Council, with re-appointment also made by the Conference.

However, he noted that the treaty is silent on the procedure for re-appointment and does not explicitly prescribe a voting method.

“Was there a recommendation of the Community Council in this case? And if so, how was it arrived at? Because if there was, how were key member states unaware? If not, the issue becomes one of compliance,” Cox said.

He also referenced Article 28 of the treaty, which provides that decisions of the Conference are to be taken by affirmative vote, with validity possible where three-quarters support a decision in cases of abstentions.

“Where that condition is in question, the issue is no longer simply voting, it is whether the process leading to the vote was complete,” Cox added.

Barnett Responds

Last Friday, Barnett deflected concerns about her re-appointment, referring questions to the CARICOM chairman.

“No, no, sir. You don’t need to ask me, you need to ask the chairman. I don’t participate in those discussions. Those discussions are held among the leaders,” Barnett told Guyana-based Demerara Waves Online News.

“I don’t have any concerns,” added Barnett, an economist who became the eighth CARICOM secretary general on August 15, 2021, by unanimous appointment of regional leaders.

She remained silent when asked whether she believes she should step down.