The simmering row between two of the Caribbean Community’s most consequential women is picking up steam, with Trinidad demanding a special leaders’ meeting to reverse the recent reappointment of Secretary General Carla Barnett to a second five-year term.
The anger of Trinidad and Tobago’s Prime Minister Kamla Persad Bissessar was kindled after she returned to office after winning general elections a year ago this month and realized that she still has to contend with Barnett despite disagreements over an old feud dating back to 2022.
Back then, the Prime Minister complained that while she was in opposition, she had written to Barnett as the regional CEO, complaining about the abduction of a Trinidadian national in Barbados months before, wondering what the region would have done about the issue.
Putting her anger against Barnet, 68, in context, she told the opening ceremony of the late February summit in St. Kitts that she had never received a single line of reply from Barnett and that she remains angry about how the situation was handled.
So, when leaders last month announced that the Belizean economist had secured a second term by majority vote, Persad Bissessar exploded, alleging that the process was improper and that her federation had been deliberately excluded from the special caucus retreat in sister isle, Nevis, that had allegedly discussed her reappointment.
The Trinidad delegation is even contending that it, along with Antigua and The Bahamas, had been excluded from the caucus for unexplained reasons. The PM had returned home early and left Foreign Minister Sean Sobers as the delegation head, but Sobers says he was not allowed in. The latest word, as the row simmers, came from former Vincentian Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves. Gonsalves said he has been reliably informed that Sobers had opted out of the short ferry trip to Nevis due to fears of seasickness, not because of deliberate exclusion as alleged.
Still, PM Persad-Bissessar is angry and wants Barnett’s head.
“Therefore, in the interest of my citizens’ well-being, I will mercilessly, relentlessly, and, if needed, ruthlessly publicly prosecute this matter until transparency is achieved. Therefore, I again call on CARICOM for answers on the surreptitious and odious process used to reappoint CARICOM secretary general Barnett,” the PM said in a tough statement this week. Continuing, the PM noted that “Trinidad and Tobago remains committed to CARICOM, but until this matter is transparently resolved, the organization and its secretariat should absolutely expect no quarter from my government. This is not a simple run-of-the-mill administrative appointment; it has long-term ramifications for my citizens. It’s an appointment that directly affects the future over the coming five years of Trinidad and Tobago’s economy, security, integration, and foreign affairs.”
But as the federation steps up its attack on Barnett, President Irfaan Ali in neighboring Guyana said on Wednesday that she has the country’s backing as the cabinet is satisfied with her work and competence. No push for non-renewal will come from Guyana, he said.
“I must say that for the time I am at CARICOM, we did not follow any different process and Guyana was part of the decision,” he said. Asked about performance, Ali stated, “That is why we were part of the decision. Views were exchanged, and a decision was taken. Let me be fully transparent on this matter. I was involved in the discussions, as all other heads, on the reappointment of the Secretary General. We support the reappointment of the secretary general, that’s the first thing, and I hope it brings clarity.”
Meanwhile, Antigua and Barbuda’s PM Gaston Browne says his cabinet is staying out of the controversy. “Ain’t pouring any fuel to inflame differences among my brethren and sisters in CARICOM,” he said as he prepared for general elections at month’s end.
