ECCU promotes OECS Development Stratgey

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Published on Tuesday, 03 July 2012 08:03

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St. Kitts and Nevis (WINN):  Finance Ministers of the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU) are recommending the finalisation of the OECS Development Strategy and the introduction of the   arrangements to ensure its implementation.

The Monetary Council recommended expediting the preparation and implementation of medium term economic strategy papers and for them to be circulated for discussion, feedback and consistency.

Member governments are also to structure their Public Sector Investment Programmes in three areas. Namely:

(i) short-term employment to create growth generating projects, with immediate payoffs;

(ii) infrastructural projects to help the transition from agricultural to tourism based economies and public/private partnerships and

(iii) regional projects in the areas of energy, transportation and education/skills training.

In the area of Fiscal and Debt Sustainability it was recommend that best practices in cash flow managment be implemented and Medium Term Debt Strategies be prepared for debate in parliament. 

Other measures include engaging the international institutions on the development of a “Highly Indebted Middle Income Country” facility to alleviate the debt burden.

And exploiting the low yields on the Regional Government Securities Market (RGSM) as a means of reducing debt servicing costs.

It was also recommended that governments review the operations of financial intermediaries, particularly as it relates to long term instruments on the Regional Governments Securities Market to determine avenues for cost savings.

And to expand the use of the RGSM and make special efforts to forge a secondary market to increase liquidity on the RGSM.

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