JUST five Caribbean Community Heads of Government had confirmed, by yesterday, their participation in the two-day forum on the Caricom Single Market and Economy (CSME) that gets under way today in Barbados.

Among the confirmed, apart from Barbados Prime Minister David Thompson-host for the event-are the Prime Ministers of Trinidad and Tobago (Patrick Manning), Antigua and Barbuda (Baldwin Spencer), St Vincent and the Grenadines (Ralph Gonsalves) and Dominica (Roosevelt Skerrit).

Notable absentees among leaders expected to be represented at ministerial level will be Guyana President Bharrat Jagdeo, current chairman of the 15-member Community, and Jamaica Prime Minister Bruce Golding, who heads the Community’s Prime Ministerial Sub-committee on External Negotiations.

The primary focus of the convocation, to which stakeholders from regional private sector and labour movement organisations have been invited, will be consideration of an ’audit’ on progress made in implementation measures to advance the CSME, viewed as the Community’s flagship project.

The answer to exactly how steadfast the member governments have been in moving the process forward to achieve a single economic space by target date 2015, should be forthcoming with an official statement tomorrow.

Apart from levels and extent of participation, a major concern has arisen, according to organisers of the event. It has to do with the conduct of the event-whether it will be an ’open forum’, as was the original intention, or restricted to primarily closed sessions.

Sensitive issues, such as legal arrangements on regional economic investment and a relevant governance mechanism to drive the implementation process forward, will be among items to be raised.

Participation itself may evolve as an issue among stakeholders’ representatives, dominated by member governments, and including the region’s umbrella private sector and labour movement organisations, as well as some from civil society agencies.

There remained ’concerns’ over participation from opposition parliamentary parties.

The Community Secretariat has indicated that invitations were sent to the opposition parliamentary parties, but no responses had been received by Wednesday evening. It was not clear whether the parties were invited as participants or observers.