Regional officials are meeting Georgetown, Guyana, this week looking at ways to
establish a regional regime for the registration of professionals and to standardize a
Professionals Act for the entire region.
The occasion is the Eleventh Meeting of the Regional Services Project Steering
Committee taking place from 29-31 January 2024, at the CARICOM Secretariat’s
Headquarters in Georgetown Guyana.
Deputy head of the Office of National Authorising Officer (ONAO), Barbara
Williams, is chairing the meeting which will among other things carry out an
analysis of the performance of the regional services sector from 2012 to 2021 as
well as an estimated performance for 2022-23 and an outlook for 2024-25.
The meeting will consider the draft regional regime for the single registration of
professionals. Additionally, the other subject heads listed on the agenda include;
Review and Update of the Regional Policy for the Provision of Professional
Services in the CSME
Consideration of the Draft Caribbean Community (Single Registration of
Professionals) Act Rev April 2019
Consideration of Common Regional Qualification Standards for Regional
Registration:
The meeting is already looking at a list of services that will be considered for
registration and for a regime that will facilitate these professionals working across
borders within CARICOM.
The services under consideration include the following;
Legal Services – Attorneys at law
Accounting, auditing and bookkeeping services – Accountants, Auditors and
Book Keepers
Taxation services – Tax Advisers
Architectural services – Architects
Engineering services – Engineers
Integrated engineering services – Engineers
Urban planning and landscape architectural services – Urban Planners and
Landscape Architects
Medical and dental services – Doctors and Dentists
Veterinary services – Veterinarians
Services provided by midwives, nurses, and para-medical personnel –
Midwives, Nurses, Allied Health Professionals
Services provided by pharmacists – Pharmacists
Other
The agenda also calls for consideration of Common Forms for Registration;
consideration of Common Procedures for Regional Registration, as well as
consideration of Specimen Single Registration Card.
A draft Professionals Bill, 2024, is also down for consideration by the officials.
Antigua and Barbuda’s CARICM Ambassador, Dr. Clarence Henry is also attending
the meeting.
