Minister of Small Business, Entrepreneurship and Commerce, Dwight Sutherland, listens attentively to Chairperson of Pro Tem CARICOM Regional Organisation for Standards & Quality Council, Dr. Renae Ferguson-Bufford, at the 34th Meeting of the Council of CROSQ, at Baobab Tower yesterday. (A.Husbands/BGIS)
The CARICOM Regional Organisation for Standards and Quality (CROSQ) has been congratulated on the successful implementation of the “Technical Barriers to Trade” component of the 10th EDF programme.
The praise came on Wednesday from Minister of Small Business, Entrepreneurship and Commerce, Dwight Sutherland, as he addressed the 34th Meeting of CROSQ, at Baobab Tower, Warrens, St. Michael.
While also recognizing the role played by CROSQ’s strategic intra-regional and extra-regional partners, the Dominican Republic and Germany, he said: “The overall objective of the programme was to facilitate intra and inter-regional trade as well as the international competitiveness and sustainable production of goods and services within the CARIFORUM States for the enhancement of social and economic development.
“The specific objective was to increase the use of services of internationally recognized regional quality infrastructure institutions in the CARIFORUM States. I understand that the programme achieved over 90 per cent of its deliverables.”
Chief Executive Officer of CROSQ, Deryck Omar, in launching the Regional Quality Policy and presenting it to Minister Sutherland, said it sought to establish ways that each of the national quality bureaus could assist their member states to establish a quality culture in their countries.
Noting it was developed over a three-year consultative process, he stressed it was one CARICOM policy that would be implemented, and could be used to help countries like Barbados “revise and refresh” their national quality policies.
Commending it to delegates, he said: “Since 2017, three member states out of an existing five used the Regional Quality Policy to help their regional endeavours.
“During the course of this year, six member states are now using the Regional Quality Policy to help them develop their national quality policies…. We have basically 11 member states using this Regional Quality Policy, and we only have about three or four more to go. This is one CARICOM document and policy that has been used as a very practical tool.”