Basseterre, St. Kitts, February 10, 2014 (SKNIS) -- Minister of Tourism Hon. Richard Skerritt, is encouraging the private sector to play a greater role in development, in the wake of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank’s (E.C.C.B.) Governor, Dwight Venner’s review of the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (E.C.C.U.)
“The Central Bank Governor is in effect asking for the private sector to become better organised and to take a greater share of leadership in economic development in our OECS sub-region,” Minister Skerritt said. “This is the very same message that our Government has been espousing with several programs and policies established to strengthen our partnership with the local and regional private sector.”
Minister Skerritt was in agreement with Governor Venner who noted that three agents, namely, the state or government, the private sector and the financial sector are vital to the success of a new economic model in the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (O.E.C.S)
Governor Venner detailed that the state has a very important role to play in this new dispensation, but it must be complemented by the activities and performance of the private and financial sector.
“The current situation is that the structure of the private sector does not lend itself to performing a major role in the development process,” he stated. “Based on census and survey data, the private sector is currently two-thirds informal and one-third formal and concentrates its activities primarily in the wholesale, retail, real estate, construction and services sectors.”
These sectors Venner said, are referred to as the non-tradable activities as opposed to the export or tradable ones. He further stated that the ratio needs to be reversed so that a new private sector can emerge which can contribute significantly to economic growth and development. Governor Venner also gave his take on the financial sector.
He mentioned that much more coordinated efforts at both the national and OECS levels need to be the hallmark of policies in the coming year.
“We must enlarge our perspectives to realise that while there is a lot to be done within our borders, we will not succeed if we do not combine our efforts across our countries,” he stated. “This is one of the stark realities we must face, for in this, lies our hope for sustained and equitable development.”
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