BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – GOVERNOR of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB), Timothy Antoine believes that a five percent and above economic growth in the ECCU could alleviate a number of challenges faced by member states.
He pointed to poverty and unemployment as obstacles that could be remedied if countries seek to grow their economies.
Last year, St. Kitts and Nevis was the only country in the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union that had an economic growth above the benchmark projection; a growth of 6.6 percent.
“We believe that if you grow at five percent and above you are able to address unemployment...it will come down. Poverty is likely to come down with appropriate policies of course and you will also see your debt to GDP ratio come down,” Antoine said.
Grenada had a growth rate of four percent with no other territory matching that figure, the Governor told reporters at a press conference at the Bank’s Headquarters in St. Kitts.
He said the ECCB would not be satisfied until it sees the growth trajectory rate attained by member states.
According to the Governor, the institution is targeting a sustainable growth rate of five percent per annum over a 25-year period.
Meanwhile, Antoine pointed out that the Federation and other ECCU member states have some way to go in improving on the Doing Business Index.
St. Kitts and Nevis is currently ranked 124 out of over 184 countries, while member states of the ECCU are ranked between 77 and 135.
Representatives of the ECCB noted that their goals for the sub-region is for all member states to be rated inside the top 50 when such ratings are released.
“Singapore, a small country, is number one, and if Singapore can do it so can we,” Antoine said.
Governor Antoine declared that the financial institution is urging respective Governments to put systems in place in order to achieve that goal.
