By Peter Richards
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, Apr 10, CMC- Caribbean Community (CARICOM) leaders will meet virtually on Friday afternoon to discuss several issues, including the controversy surrounding the re-appointment of Dr. Carla Barnett, the Secretary General of the 15-member regional grouping.
CARICOM chairman and St. Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister Dr. Terrance Drew said that the meeting, which was originally scheduled for April 7, had to be rescheduled to 2.00 pm (local time) due to the state funeral in Suriname of that country’s former head of state, Chandrikapersad Santokhi.
Trinidad and Tobago had been calling for a meeting of CARICOM to deal with the re-appointment of the Belizean economist, insisting that it was “deliberately uninvited” to the meeting where the agreement had been reached in St. Kitts and Nevis in February.
The country’s CARICOM and Foreign Affairs Minister, Sean Sobers, said earlier this week that Port of Spain would be seeking a meeting of CARICOM to challenge the reappointment and that fresh elections could also be placed on the table.
Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar has already condemned the “surreptitious and odious process” used regarding the reappointment of Barnett, saying it could have long-term effects for the people of Trinidad and Tobago.
In a statement posted on her Facebook page, Persad-Bissessar said that she was again calling on the 15-member regional integration grouping “for transparency on the surreptitious and odious process used to reappoint” the Belizean-born economist for another five-year term.
But in an April 8, 2026, letter to the Trinidad and Tobago government leader, the CARICOM chairman said he “sincerely” hopes she would participate in the 25th Special Emergency meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of CARICOM, which will “allow a discussion of the issues”.
Drew in his letter provided details surrounding the February 24-27 CARICCOM summit in Basseterre, where the re-appointment of Barnett had been decided upon during a retreat of the leaders.
“The Programme of Work for the Retreat. included the following two Agenda Items of the Conference: 11 Geopolitical Developments and 12. Financing and Governance of the Community, the latter which would normally include matters related to finance and operations of the Secretariat, and any other matters any Head of Government may wish to raise”.
Prime Minister Drew recalled that Persad-Bissessar left the summit on the “evening” of the first day of the summit and that during the retreat the regional leaders “considered and agreed to the reappointment of the Secretary General as provided for under Article 24 of the revised Treaty of Chaguaramas, which specifies a role for the Community Council on first appointment and indicates that reappointment is determined by the Conference.
“The Secretary General was not in the room during the discussion of this matter,” Drew wrote in his letter, adding that the meeting had also agreed on a delay in announcing to allow, “as a matter of courtesy,” heads who were not present to be informed of the outcome of the meeting.
“I attempted to reach out personally to each of these Heads of Government, by email and telephone calls, to inform them of the decision taken, but was unable to speak with you. I did not receive a response from you by email and, after some delays, I was informed I should speak with your Foreign Minister”.
Prime Minister Drew said that it is “unfortunate that statements are being made and letters are being released in the public domain, rather than using the existing channels for internal discussions and clarification of matters”.
But speaking at a post-Cabinet news conference on Thursday evening, where he acknowledged that Prime Minister Drew had written to Prime Minister Persad-Bissessar, the Trinidad and Tobago CARICOM and Foreign Affairs Minister told reporters that the response to Port of Spain’s concerns is not satisfactory.
“Satisfactory? Respectfully, no. And that is why, based upon receiving the correspondence, which we are grateful for, although it took some time to receive, we have, in fact, prepared a missive which went out today (Thursday),” Sobers said, adding that there were certain issues that were “extremely relevant and important” to respond to.
Asked whether it is the position of Trinidad and Tobago to have the reappointment process declared null and void, and a new process undertaken, Sobers said at this juncture, Trinidad and Tobago wants answers.
“We have certain questions that remain unanswered. I believe as soon as we get those responses, we can move forward in terms of what our next steps are,” he said, emphasising that the Revised Treaty of Chaguaramas clearly sets out how the process should be carried out, and that did not occur.
Sobers sought to reassure the country that Trinidad and Tobago is not seeking to withdraw from CARICOM, saying “I would say to those persons—fear not, and perish that thought”.
But he insisted that while Trinidad and Tobago does not have a problem with CARICOM, it has with its operations, effectiveness, and efficiency, and that what transpired demonstrates CARICOM is not operating effectively and efficiently.
He also reiterated support for Prime Minister Persad-Bissessar’s stance, demanding transparency and indicating this country would re-examine its Caricom allocation.
“I think is a fair retort to the discourteous behaviour that has been meted out to Trinidad and Tobago…the mere fact that the situation unravelled in the way in which it did, the mere fact that we received a telephone call about an agenda item that was not included, and an issue that was raised at a retreat where we were not present demonstrates then that something has to happen, something has to change. It cannot be business as usual,” he said.
He told reporters that Trinidad and Tobago has no “horse in the race” as it pertains to the appointment of a secretary general and that Barnett’s tenure is set to end in August and that the reappointment could have been raised in April, when there is a virtual Heads of Government meeting scheduled, as well as at a meeting in St Lucia in July.
CMC/pr/ir/2026