By Debbie Ransome At the Caricom Summit in Antigua

	Guyana's Bharat Jagdeo held firm on revisiting the Epa

As Caricom leaders started their final day of lengthy plenaries on foreign relations, trade and other vexing issues, across the road, author and academic George Lamming said the regional integration process had already lost thirty years.

Like the ghost of Christmas past, Lamming called a news conference to state what he thought was wrong with a political integration process sidetracked decades ago.

On the week’s discussions dealing with fuel and food crises, trade, and foreign relations, Lamming said these issues had been looked at decades before by the 'finest minds of the past'.

He said that politicians and technocrats needed to deal with their 'discourse' with the Caribbean public.

"We have lost about thirty years….nearly all being discussed today could have been resolved," Lamming told journalists on the final day of the Summit.

And implementation of the big ideas has been the bugbear of this Summit.

Even while leaders said in their final communique that they needed to do more to get their message across to Caribbean people, Caricom officials were herding local, regional, and international journalists away from the event.

'Effective' working

It was the message and the technocrats that incoming Caricom chairman Baldwin Spencer has his sites set upon.

Hear Debbie Ransome's interview with Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer

Asked by BBC Caribbean about his goals as chairman, the Antiguan leader said: "Ensure that the organs of Caricom work and work effectively."

The prime minister of Antigua and Barbuda added that he wanted a more hands-on role of the Bureau of Heads of government – that is the team of the outgoing, current, and incoming Caricom Chair leaders.

"To make sure that the overall agenda of Caricom is moving forward at a pace."

Gains

The leaders did sign off on a Regional Development Fund (RDF).

The RDF is aimed at bolstering the lesser developed industries and companies to bring them up to speed for a Caricom single market.

US60 million of fund money is already earmarked but the leaders still need $220 million which Caricom will seek from third countries.

	The single market and freedom of movement caused much discussion

The other big 'win' is the $60-million joint Caribbean marketing plan to advertise the region as one destination from winter 2008/9.

However, the final plan will come to a meeting of finance ministers and officials in late July.

Delays

What didn’t go so well was the attempt to get unanimous backing for the Economic Partnership Agreement (Epa) with the European Union (EU).

Financially-challenged Guyana, which says it has the most to lose from a one-size-fits-all all-emcompassing trade deal with the EU, stuck to its guns throughout the three-day summit.

When Guyana did not cave in to richer Caricom colleagues, the leaders agreed to take one more look at the Epa before final agreement for national sign-off by each territory in late July.

Guyana maintains that the Epa will give Europe a favoured trading partner status which could impact on possible future deals with other parts of the world.

Guyana’s president Bharat Jagdeo also argues that there had been a basic mistake for the Caribbean to sign quickly under pressure from Europe for a deal to replace former EU preferential trade access for the African, Caribbean, and Pacific (ACP) grouping.

Zimbabwe

Leaders made some time for a statement expressing "concern" about the electons in Zimbabwe.

"(Caricom) condemns this unacceptable trampling of the democratic and electoral process in Zimbabwe."

On other foreign relation matters, Caricom repeated its support for Guyana's 'integrity' in its border dispute with Venezuela.

In other decisions, they set up a task force on climate change.

Leaders also expressed 'deep disappointment' at Britain denying Montserrat's request to take part in the single market.

Signings at this summit included a Caricom arrest warrant treaty, a regional disaster emergency management agency, and an aviation safety and security oversight system.

'Broken record'

But even as leaders climbed into their air-conditioned cars and were whisked off in their convoy to another diary event, veteran author George Lamming came back to haunt them.

The ageing academic and author made the journey to the Media Centre – a bloc from the conference and three flights of steps up – to make his final day point.

He said that the issues of 2008 were the same ones regional politicians should have come together and resolved thirty years ago.

"When I hear politicians speak of food security (and other issues)…I feel I am listening to an old gramophone record being replayed," he told journalists.

Lamming, who is now a visiting professor at Browne’s University in the US, suggested Caricom’s future hope lay in regional schoolchildren to produce a 'Caribbean concept' in the next twenty to thirty years.