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Caribbean’s role as a voice of reason in a fractured OAS

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By Sir Ronald Sanders

On May 31, the Organization of American States (OAS) faced a prolonged and contentious debate that lasted from 2:30 in the afternoon until well past midnight. This episode, marked by acrimony and political undercurrents, which was webcast publicly and instantly to the world, is likely to be revisited during the upcoming OAS General Assembly from June 21 to 23 in Washington, D.C., the headquarters of the OAS.

The discussion on May 31, was officially about the Budget of the Organization, but there were many undercurrents in the contentious debate. Among them were antagonistic attitudes by a few countries toward the OAS Secretary-General which were unreasonably morphed into hostility to the OAS as an institution.

At the end of the debate, which was characterized by classic filibustering techniques by representatives of 4 countries, a ceiling for the Budget, proposed by Antigua and Barbuda on behalf of all 14 CARICOM countries, was adopted by 25 of the 32 active member states of the Organization, with 5 countries against and 2 abstentions. The 5 countries that opposed were: Bolivia, Chile, Costa Rica, Colombia and Mexico, and the abstaining countries were El Salvador and Honduras.

The current estimated cost for the Organization to fulfil its mandates is $115 to $120 million, but its real Budget for 2023 is a mere $82.8 million. This had led to a severe reduction in staff and many of the beneficial programmes in development, security, functional cooperation, technical assistance and even in human rights monitoring. The proposal by CARICOM countries for a Budget ceiling was $92.1 million, woefully short by as much as $28 million of actual costs but, nonetheless, an attempt to keep the Organization from ineffectiveness and inefficiency. Yet, resistance persisted.

The OAS has been in a financial crisis for many years. Over the last 7 years, there has been no increase in the contributions of the member states to the Organization, except by 14 countries since 2021. The quota increase for the 14 countries was occasioned by a decision of the U.S. Congress to limit the U.S. share of the Budget to no more than 49.9 percent. It fell to 14 countries to fill the gap; among them were 9 CARICOM countries whose quotas increased by 33.33 percent. At no time did the 14 affected countries threaten or seek to disrupt the functioning of the Organization by refusing to pay the increased burden that fell upon them.

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Yet, a few countries, faced with an increase in their quotas – at the highest end, of approximately 36 per cent – a mere 3 percent higher than the sum that 9 CARICOM countries have been paying for the past 3 years (2021-2023) -strenuously objected to the Budget ceiling proposed by CARICOM countries in the contentious budget debate of May 31.

The OAS is the only regional or international organization in which there is no penalty if member states never pay their assessed contributions. Hence, there are member states that have not paid for years, affecting both the actual money available to the Organization and its cash flow. The truth is the organization is limping along, a shattered shadow of its former self.

The External Audit Committee of the OAS has officially warned the member states that “For over a decade, the in-year budget is dramatically insufficient to meet the programmatic and administrative requirements of the OAS.”  It repeated 5 recommendations to improve the dire situation. But no action has been taken as the OAS drifts relentlessly into paralysis.

Ministers and Ambassadors of the 32 active member states of the OAS will gather from June 21 to 23 for the OAS General Assembly with little prospect of revitalizing and rejuvenating the OAS whose ancient Charter and outdated rules desperately require change to save the Organization from being strangled by them. The Charter has not been amended since 1993 and it is not fit for purpose in a world where events connect every nation. The Organization’s rules also urgently need change.

So why should CARICOM countries care? The answer is that, properly functioning, the Organization has the capacity to maintain peace and security in the Hemisphere, which is crucial to trade and investment, political stability and economic growth. The OAS also provides valuable mechanisms for functional cooperation between states on a range of issues such as combating crime; drug abuse control; advancing the interests of women; and education.

Further, the OAS is the only hemispheric organization in which small states have a voice and a vote equal to the larger states, like Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Mexico and the US.

It is in the OAS that CARICOM countries can influence decisions and advance ideas in the Americas that redound to the benefit of its own peoples. That is why CARICOM’s role in the work of the OAS, including at the General Assembly in a few days’ time, should be that of an honest broker, providing a bridge to narrow differences between others, and a voice of reason when reasonableness can be of the greatest benefit to all.

(The writer is Antigua and Barbuda’s Ambassador to the United States and the Organization of American States. He is also a Senior Fellow at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies at the University of London and Massey College in the University of Toronto. The views expressed are entirely his own. 

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In Other News

REQUEST FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST

(CONSULTING SERVICES – INDIVIDUAL SELECTION)

 

OECS MSME Guarantee Facility Project

Loan No.: IDA-62670, IDA-62660, IDA-62640, IBRD-88830, IDA-62650

Assignment Title: Senior Operating Officer (SOO)

Reference No. KN-ECPCGC-207852-CS-INDV

 

The Governments of Antigua and Barbuda, Commonwealth of Dominica, Grenada, St. Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines have received financing in the amount of US$10 million equivalent from the World Bank towards the cost of establishing a partial credit guarantee scheme, and they intend to apply part of the proceeds to payments for goods, and consulting services to be procured under this project. 

The consultant will serve as the “Senior Operating Officer (SOO)” for the ECPCGC and should possess extensive knowledge of MSME lending with some direct experience lending to Micro, small and medium-sized businesses, knowledge of the internal control processes necessary for a lending operation and the ability to design and implement risk mitigation procedures. The ideal candidate should possess an Undergraduate Degree from a reputable college or university, preferably in Business, Accounting, Banking or related field, with a minimum of 5 years’ experience in lending, inclusive of MSME lending. The initial employment period will be for two years on a contractual basis. Renewal of the contract will be subject to a performance evaluation at the end of the contractual period. The assignment is expected to begin on September 30th, 2021.  The consultant will report directly to the Chief Executive Officer of the ECPCGC.

The detailed Terms of Reference (TOR) for the assignment can be viewed by following the attached link below. 

 

https://bit.ly/3iVannm

 

The Eastern Caribbean Partial Credit Guarantee Corporation (ECPCGC) now invites eligible “Consultants” to indicate their interest in providing the Services. Interested Consultants should provide information demonstrating that they have:

  • An Undergraduate Degree from a reputable college or university, preferably in Business, Finance, Banking or related field; and
  • Minimum of 5 years’ experience in MSME lending. Applicants should also have:
  • The ability to design and implement risk management procedures 
  • Extensive knowledge of MSME lending with some direct experience lending to small and medium-sized businesses
  • Extensive knowledge of MSME banking operations
  • Knowledge of the internal controls necessary for a lending operation and the ability to design and implement risk management procedures
  • Experience developing and presenting information in public, including responding to questions in real-time
  • Experience lending to MSMEs located in the ECCU
  • Knowledge of marketing and communicating with the MSME sector
  • Ability to draft procedures to be used in a lending operation
  • Familiarity with the mechanics of a loan guarantee program
  • Exceptional written, oral, interpersonal, and presentation skills, and
  • Proficiency in the use of Microsoft Office suite.

The attention of interested Individual Consultants is drawn to Section III, Paragraphs 3.14, 3.16, and 3.17 of the World Bank’s Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers July 2016, [revised November 2017] (“Procurement Regulations”), setting forth the World Bank’s policy on conflict of interest. A Consultant will be selected in accordance with the Approved Selection Method for Individual Consultants set out in the clause 7.34 of the World Bank Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers. 

 

Further information can be obtained at the address below during office hours 0800 to 1700 hours:

Eastern Caribbean Partial Credit Guarantee Corporation

Brid Rock, Basseterre,

St. Kitts.

Expressions of interest must be delivered in a written form by e-mail by August 11th, 2021, to [email protected]. 

 

For further information, please contact:

Carmen Gomez-Trigg                                                            Bernard Thomas

Chief Executive Officer                                                          Chief Financial Officer

Tel: 868-620-8144                                                                  Tel: 869-765-2385

Email: [email protected]                                          [email protected]