and where it has mattered to them. they have sought only the holding together of the west indian nation and, as a means to that, the construction of one single integrated and effective west indian party. at issue here is not an election party of course, but a political party in the proper sense : a private voluntary and considered community instrument deployed to public purpose. ” i have quoted at length from our colleague lloyd, to remind you of the tremendous institution we have created over the last 35 years and to alert you to the challenges ahead which will reach their zenith in the year 2007. four arrangements will literally peak in that year. these are the ftaa, the cotonou agreement, the wto, and of course, the cricket world cup. economic reform will have to be greatly accelerated to get past this turning point. from an optimist ’ s point of view, this is a golden opportunity. the conditions to hold the world cup are so commercially stringent that satisfying them will have an impact on our ability to treat with the trade arrangements. also, using cricket as a reason and given our passion for the game we should be able to get our public and private sectors to attain standards they thought were unattainable in the past. once we get past that year, when freedom of movement will be a condition to host the games, there will be no possible return to the status quo ante. i would simply like to say in conclusion that there is an inevitability in our circumstances about economic reform and we must get down to business without delay. once again, quoting from the west indian commission of 1992, “ this is the time for action. ”

insistence on a raft of standards and codes, rating agencies in not only the financial sphere, but also in governance in democracy, the environment, etc. on the other hand are the insistent demands of our populations, a large section of which experiences poverty and unemployment, for education, health and social services. it must also be borne in mind that standards of living are relative and ours is not that of bangladesh or sub saharan africa, but that of the americas. the weighted, undemocratic voting systems as well as the lack of participation in the decision making process of major international institutions introduce significant biases into international decision making, which on many occasions presents difficulties for developing countries. these, however, while they are current givens, should not be permanent showstoppers for our development process. this is contingent on how we approach the solutions to our domestic and regional economic, social and political problems. these approaches should be based on our vision, our technical capacity and a broad societal consensus on the goals of our societies and how to achieve them. with respect to the vision, the broad outlines are fully accepted. that is, the solution to our problems lies in the closest possible integration of the caribbean countries. this vision is devalued by raising it to utopian proportions and stating that it would not be possible in our own lifetimes. this, one could posit, in fact represents a clear disjuncture between the fact of political authority where it now resides, and the recognition of economic efficiency, which requires a larger contiguous economic space. consideration of the economic benefits to the mass of people is in a sense not a primary objective, to the extent that there is no clear articulation of the economic benefits of such a wide space. a recent opinion survey in jamaica revealed that 61 % of the population were not, so to speak, averse to a federal arrangement. a similar poll in that country some time ago, revealed some uncomfortable views on the issue of independence. these two results in the largest and probably best - endowed country in the region poses significant questions for us as caribbean citizens at the beginning of the 21st century. the answer to one of the unspoken questions is that independence is a necessary, but not a sufficient condition for economic and social progress. independence gives us the capacity but then we must exercise policy choices which lead to sustainable economic and social progress. we have never doubted that a collective regional approach is also a necessary condition for social and economic progress. the impediment