Analysis by

RICKEY SINGH

PRIME MINISTER BRUCE GOLDING was in New York recently to address the new session of the United Nations General Assembly and chose another forum – Jamaica-American Association – to launch an uprecedented attack on unnamed CARICOM leaders he caricatured as "panhandlers on the street begging the world for assistance".

It is the first time in the 35-year history of the 15-member Caribbean Community a leader has chosen to engage in such an unprovoked emotional public outburst at his counterparts over a perceived mendicant attitude in going around capitals of the world like beggars appealing for development aid.

Golding is credited as being too experienced a regional politician not to realise this cannot be the way to influence your counterpart colleagues in the Caribbean Community by demonising them "begging bowl" leaders.

It was also quite a contradictory assessment when related to his own sober, mature address to the UN General Assembly on the socio-economic development assistance that CARICOM states require of the international community.

In addressing the General Assembly Golding made a spirited call for re-designation of the CARICOM bloc of states to be recognised as "small vulnerable and highly-indebted middle-income countries", instead of a prevailing international ranking as "middle-income developing countries".

His appeal, he said, was on behalf of Jamaica and its CARICOM partners who were proposing the new definition as a consequence of difficulties created by their "peculiar needs as well as their exposure to natural disasters . . . ."

No previous announcement by the Community Secretariat is recalled in favour of this new defined category of CARICOM states, although it could be located within earlier concepts/definitions of small and vulnerable economies to economic shocks and natural disasters.

Although not mentioned by name, CARICOM countries like Haiti, Jamaica, Guyana and Belize are easily recognised among those with "peculiar needs" that require special arrangements for development assistance.

The concessionary aid made available to CARICOM states, Jamaica among them, under the Venezuela-created Petrocaribe project, stands as an example of the kind of "special assistance" required.

Yet no one will sensibly confuse CARICOM beneficiary countries of Petrocaribe aid with the unflattering image painted by Golding of our community's leaders as "panhandlers on the street" begging for development assistance.

The Jamaican leader would also have known that definitions, concepts and vulnerability indices have been available over the years for access in policy formulation and strategising.

For example, from the World Bank, Inter-American Development Bank as well as the Commonwealth Secretariat and our own premier regional financial institution, the Caribbean Development Bank.

Where Golding seems to have gone quite wrong was in deviating from his reasonably informed address to the UN General Assembly in favour of an emotional assessment of unnamed CARICOM leaders as mendicants when he addressed the Jamaica-American Federation's luncheon meeting as reported in the region's media.

The Jamaican Prime Minister's bitter attack against unnamed CARICOM colleagues was as contradictory to his appeal for the international community for practical responses to the "pecuiliar needs" of this region's "vulnerable and highly-indebted middle-income countries", as it was an unjustified characterisation of fellow heads of gGovernment.

Take this sample of "Goldingism" on perceived mendicancy by CARICOM leaders: "They go around, hat in hand," he said, "to every capital of the world like panhandlers on the street, telling people how we are like the wretched of the earth; we are poor and that we need all sorts of charity ....

"Not only am I tired of it," he added, "but I believe that we have allowed it (this attitude) to cause us to put off indefinitely the need to confront some of our own weaknesses and deficiencies and to deal with them..."

I could hear Golding's critics of this characterisation of CARICOM leaders crying out for names and examples. Such accusations, after all,could be exploited to "mash up" CARICOM..

However, no one need hold his or her breath for either names or examples from Golding. Such a response will not be forthcoming.

I doubt that even those of his colleagues known to have philosophical and other differences with him, may bother to seek at least a "clarification" when they meet.