The Jamaican government has decided against insisting on the recommended five-year timeline for the implementation of the Caribbean Single Market and Economy (CSME).
Prime Minister Andrew Holness made that clear on Tuesday as he closed the debate on the CARICOM report in the House of Representatives.
The report was prepared by the Commission, chaired by former Prime Minister Bruce Golding
Among other things, it recommended that Jamaica should withdraw from the CSME if it cannot get CARICOM Heads of Government to agree to fully implement the single market and economy within the five-year period.
Opposition MPs, in their contribution to the debate, warned against issuing ultimatums and threats.
Holness stated that it’s not realistic to pursue a single economy within the next five years, as “it would be almost impossibility now to seek to harmonise… fiscal policy (within that time frame).”
Instead, he said, Jamaica will seek to “get commitments from the various heads for the full and effective implementation of the Common Market, which are things that we can do within the five years.”
