Grenada’s Prime Minister, Dr. the Right Honourable Keith Mitchell, has reiterated CARICOM’s commitment to achieving full elimination of roaming charges and establishing a harmonised regional regulatory framework.
Addressing a meeting of regulators and key stakeholders, organised by the Caribbean
Telecommunications Union on Thursday, the Prime Minister said, “This morning, I say to you without reservation that CARICOM Heads of Government are committed to moving this agenda forward. However, we also recognise our own obligation to address some of the concerns raised by the operators in relation to the complexity of the regional regulatory environment and how this impacts operational costs and the ease of doing business.”
Dr. Mitchell acknowledged that there are other players in the market which do not operate at the size and scale of the dominant providers, but which must be taken into
consideration to ensure that the national and regional markets remain vibrant and
competitive.
The Prime Minister added, “The issue of a harmonised regional regulatory framework is
one that deserves our urgent consideration.
We must turn our attention to this. Rest assured that I, in my capacity as Lead Head for Science and Technology, including ICT, along with my colleague Heads of Government, are fully supportive and will provide the leadership required to take us forward.”
He further stated, “We have always, within CARICOM, respected the sovereignty and
diversity of each Member State within the regional group.
This does not, and should not, prevent us from agreeing on practical, rational and reasonable approaches in regulation of our key sectors, to make our markets more conducive to growth and investment, and the promotion of innovation across all sectors.
We have found and will continue to find ways of doing this, in the best interest of our Caribbean people.”
Dr. Mitchell acknowledged the assistance of key partners and stakeholders such as the
International Telecommunications Union which has undertaken a study of the regulatory environment.
