ONE of my closest friends, Colin Smith, before he died a few years ago, was a staunch Catholic. He succeeded Father Andrew Morrison as the editor of the Catholic Standard. Many, many moons ago, Colin said something to me that opened my eyes. That something has remained embedded in my mind, and thus I can remember the ambience in which it was said.

It was a Sunday, and we were returning from Berbice. We were leaning against the wall of the ferry looking down at the Berbice River. I can’t remember what the topic was but I know he said to me that in the 1950s, Guyana’s GNP and GDP were higher than Malaysia and Singapore. I was a university lecturer at the time, and should I have known that fact, I didn’t. I couldn’t believe what he was telling me because, at the time, both countries were economic giants among developing countries.

I checked it and it was right. After 60 years of Independence of the CARICOM family, CARICOM nations are way behind Malaysia and Singapore. In fact, without making any comparison, economic development in CARICOM countries after 60 years of Independence should have been phenomenal.

In 2025, the world is changing rapidly and the CARICOM family is facing an uncertain future. Sir Ronald Sanders, a hugely experienced Guyanese in global economic affairs, recently penned an article in which he attributes the precarious economies of CARICOM as partly self-inflicted.

I quote him: “For decades, many Caribbean nations have grappled with dependence on a small number of powerful countries. These dependencies, while convenient in the short term, have far-reaching implications that undermine the sovereignty, economic resilience, and social cohesion of the region. Yet this vulnerability is not imposed solely by big countries outside the region; it is fuelled by our own choices and the persistence of historically ingrained attitudes of dependence.”

For me, as a Guyanese academic, the most important section of Sir Ronald’s output is the part of our own leaders’ contribution to the Caribbean’s endangered future by their congenital colonial minds. After communism fell in Eastern Europe, the European Union rushed to make the former communist countries members of the EU.

Today, there are 27 members, and with the exception of English-speaking Malta and Ireland, each speak their own language and have their own histories and cultures. In the EU, there are no border and visa restrictions. Compare this with the former British colonies in the West Indies. Some of these islands are micro-states of a few hundred thousand citizens with Jamaica, Trinidad, and Guyana together accounting for four and a half million people.

Yet, the CARICOM family has no firmly integrated economic system. Jamaica sees itself geographically closer to the U.S., and so does the Bahamas. Trinidad refuses to obey CARICOM trade rules. There is still no free movement within the CARICOM family, and visa-exception only last for 90 days. CARICOM nationals are jailed by individual CARICOM countries for either illegal entry or overstaying their time.

It was Naipaul who was reviled across the region for disdaining the CARICOM family as a region that is incapable of inventing anything. His book “The Mimic Men” was a subtle accusation that all Caribbean people can do is mimic their former colonial rulers. What is incredible is that for the past 25 years, CARICOM heads have been meeting yearly. Each year comes and goes, and the CARICOM family remains as it was before the heads had their yearly meeting.

This unchanging CARICOM is now at a crossroads. The world is changing rapidly and the CARICOM family now faces choices that they escaped from the past 60 years because CARICOM countries were happy with their dependence on their traditional friends. The foreign policy of the American Government has to be an urgent discussion for every CARICOM nation.

Two issues directly impact CARICOM economies. One is the U.S. policy of sanctions if CARICOM states continue to have Cuban medical brigades work in the region. The other is the U.S. plan to levy huge charges on Chinese vessels coming to U.S. ports. This would severely damage CARICOM economies because of astronomical increases in prices.

Secretary of State, Mark Rubio, has agreed to have discussions with his Cabinet colleagues on CARICOM’s concern. But the question is if the U.S. government offers to soften the impact of the fee levies and allow the Cuban doctors to continue to work, will that be an eye opener and will the world see a less dependent CARICOM? In the coming crisis, oil-rich Guyana should offer a helping hand to small CARICOM nations. This will be part of the lasting legacy of Dr. Irfaan Ali.

DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the Guyana National Newspapers Limited.