New CARICOM Secretary General this month

Within the next three weeks the region should know who will be the next Caribbean Community and Common Market (CARICOM) Secretary-General.

CARICOM Chairman Dr Denzil Douglas told journalists at the closing ceremony and press conference of the 32nd Regular Meeting of the Conference of CARICOM Heads of Government, that the leaders are closer to the appointment of the region’s top civil servant.

Dr Douglas, the Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis, announced that interviews of five short-listed candidates by the Bureau of Heads were scheduled for the next two weeks, and following those interviews, an appointment would be announced “in short order.”

The post of Secretary-General became vacant when Sir Edwin Carrington – the longest serving Secretary-General – retired at the end of last year, having served in that capacity for 18 years. Since then the Deputy Secretary-General Ambassador Lolita Applewhaite has been acting in the post.

In the wake of the announcement, Ambassador Applewhaite made it clear that she was not among the five vying for the top post, and expressed her profound gratitude to the staff of the CARICOM Secretariat for the sterling support and commitment during the past six months.

She added that she was looking forward to the completion of the review of the Secretariat which would define clearly its goals and direction, making it even more viable.

Source: Caribbean360