A LACK OF political will due to "insularity and shortsightedness" is standing in the way of the efficient operation of a Caribbean Single Market and Economy, says businessman Rawle Brancker.

And he told the Caribbean Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors (CARAIFA) it was well placed to press political leaders into action and effect change.

Delivering the feature address at the Hall of Fame Dinner of the 20th annual CARAIFA sales congress at the Almond Beach Village Hotel on Sunday night, Brancker said the level of integration being sought through the CSME, was vital to the region's future prosperity and stability.

He cited CARAIFA, West Indies cricket, the University of the West Indies, the Caribbean Development Bank and other key regional institutions, as examples of unifying forces through which a regional economy could be created and a spirit of collaboration and competitiveness fostered.

According to Brancker, insurance, financial planning and the management of risks in a part of the world vulnerable to natural disasters, fitted into the CSME's goals.

He questioned prevailing attitudes towards the present spate of migration by Guyanese nationals to other Caribbean islands, reminding the diverse gathering of more than 300 financial advisors,of past migration patterns that saw many Barbadians going to Guyana and other islands to work, and Guyanese coming to Barbados to assist with the development of Barbados' sugar industry.

He asked: "How come then, ... are there so many restrictions and demands for affadivits if you wish to travel from Jamaica to Guyana, Antigua to Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago to Grenada or Dominica to St. Vincent?

"We have to stop this," Brancker, the first chairman of Cricket World Cup Inc., declared.

"If there is anything the Cricket World Cup demonstrated it was that we can move from one country to the next in almost seamless travel. Surely if we can achieve that for visitors over a six-week period, we can use the model to achieve the desirable goal of ease of movement within our region for our people?" he stated.