PRIME MINISTER OWEN Arthur is taking his "politics of inclusion" to the CARICOM level by inviting the private sector and labour to join regional decision-making councils.

"I am ready to go to Heads [of Government] and say that we must amend the Treaty [of Chaguaramas] to enshrine the role of the civil society and the private economy in the Treaty not just in a casual way but in an organic structured way . . .," Arthur said.

He was speaking at the opening session of the CARICOM Ministers of Finance and Ministers of Trade and the regional private sector meeting held recently at the Savannah Hotel, Hastings.

Arthur told the gathering there was "important work to be brought to conclusion in order for us to see ourselves as evolving along the lines of a single regional economy by 2008".

"The Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas is the instrument by which we are seeking to implement the single market and single economy.

"The first thing that Heads of Governments did was to change the organs of the community, and change the processes of decision-making and we have created a number of new councils – the Council of Finance and whatever else.

"We have also made provision in our Treaty for associated organisations which are recognised as organs of the community.

"There is no present place in the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas for private sector bodies per se to be recognised as organs of our community and, at a brain-storming session that the Government of Barbados helped to sponsor, we urged that that had to be changed.

"It is my proposal, and I want to take it to Heads, that a properly organised private sector – to include the labour movement as well – should now be constituted to become an associate organ of the community and should have not only a place under Article 22, where provision is made for associate organs of the community, but [it] should have powers and functions defined within the Treaty to enable [them] to sit not for periodic dialogue, but to participate in fundamental policy decision-making and the overseeing of implementation," he said.

"I feel unless we go to this place then what we are seeking to do to have a framework for a single economy in place by 2008 – not the single economy itself but a framework – the process is going to drag itself out into a mid-air stall." (DS)