BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – THE ministers of finance of the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU) have committed to policy arrangements and communication strategies that would transform the region’s financial objectives and appropriately inform the public.
The advent of the current global economic and financial crisis caused the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) Monetary Council to carry out high-level dialogue with many financial experts in the Caribbean. This was done in order to identify the vulnerable areas in the region’s financial sector and find appropriate responses to those weaknesses.
During last week’s 65th Meeting of the Monetary Council, the regional finance heads underscored the importance of finding policies that support both short-term and long-term responses to the financial crisis, and would not only facilitate growth but maintain the stability of the ECCU financial sector.
According to a communiqué issued following the event, “Council agreed to recommend to member governments a recommitment to the implementation of the recommended Policy Making Framework and Architecture for the ECCU, in order to strengthen the linkages between the regional and national policy making structures which would facilitate the achievement of the goals of economic integration and transformation of the member countries.”
The Council noted that such a policy-making framework would facilitate the identification of national and regional issues and best options. This, according to the release, would allow for “wide-ranging consultation and collaboration” with stakeholders in government, the private sector, civil society and regional and international institutions.
The Council also stressed the importance for member governments to give strong support to the regional policy authorities in developing and implementing appropriate communication strategies relating to the general public. The body decided that although policy-making is necessary, it is also critical to update a nation’s population on the current state of the economy and the implications for households, firms and governments.
Much emphasis was placed on the reverse responsibility of households, firms, trade unions and other civic sectors in responding appropriately to the crisis. The report further outlined the role of governments and regional institutions in responding to the crisis by maintaining a regional approach.
The Council agreed to the holding of an interactive videoconference with the public across the ECCU involving the OECS Authority, the Monetary Council and the Economic Union Task Force on July 23 to discuss the such communication strategies.
