Mottley Presses CARICOM on Key Regional Issues

By Deanzer Roberts

Outgoing Chairman of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), Barbados Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley, has delivered a wide-ranging and stirring address at the 49th Regular Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government, calling for bold regional action on transport, digital misinformation, and justice reform.

Speaking at the Montego Bay Convention Centre on the weekend, the Barbadian leader wasted no time in urging fellow heads to prioritize the reintroduction of regional sea travel, stressing that the cost of inter-island movement remained a barrier to regional integration and economic development.

“We have allowed ourselves to become purely at the mercy of air travel,” Mottley said. “We are islands in the Caribbean Sea. We have the ability to reach each other in good time and at cheaper fares if we re-embrace maritime routes.”

She revealed that a presentation on an inter-island ferry service would be delivered during the summit and challenged leaders to finally exercise the political will needed to bring affordable passenger sea transport back to the Caribbean.

Mottley also addressed pressing economic concerns, expressing gratitude to the Caribbean Private Sector Organisation for its support and commitment. She revealed that over 500 private sector representatives recently participated in a Zoom call with CARICOM leaders—an unprecedented show of regional unity.

“If we can open up greater supply routes and increase domestic production, we can begin to recognize that we do have the capacity to feed ourselves more,” she said, adding that two CARICOM member states are in the process of acquiring cargo planes to improve intra-regional logistics.

Another key issue tackled by Mottley was the rising threat of fake news and misinformation, which she warned has the potential to destabilize Caribbean democracies if left unchecked. She recounted recent false reports targeting Barbados, including one that falsely claimed former U.S. President Donald Trump had been banned from the island and another that circulated a non-existent travel advisory.

“It is about time that we as a region come up with a CARICOM validation mechanism. We need our own ‘blue tick’ to validate truth in this community,” Mottley declared. “If we fail to do so, we put seriously at risk the stability of our democracies.”

On matters of citizen security and justice, the Prime Minister praised a “historic” meeting between CARICOM leaders and the region’s judiciary—a first of its kind. She backed Jamaica’s proposal for a regional justice and security framework and called for the full adoption of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) as the final appellate court for all member states.

“There is no country in this region that is not facing some level of citizen insecurity. It is our duty to respond with unity and structure,” Mottley emphasized, saluting the newly appointed CCJ President, Justice Winston Anderson.

As she passed the baton of CARICOM Chairmanship, Mottley’s parting message was clear: the time for action is now. Whether tackling the high cost of living, defending the truth, or securing justice, she called on regional leaders to be courageous, coordinated, and committed.

“We have a duty to our citizens,” she concluded, “and history will not forgive us if we squander the opportunity to act.”