Need for Closer OECS Coherence - Says Outgoing Director General

Contact: John Emmanuel

Tuesday, June 12, 2001 -Outgoing Director General of the OECS has underscored the need for closer coherence among OECS member states in bringing about a much-needed single economic space. Mr. Swinburne Lestrade expressed disappointment that over the past two decades, with the exception of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank, the sub-regional grouping had made little progress in this regard .

“It seems difficult to get our governments to accept the current position and what it represents, that is, that we are in a monetary union. You use the term and people think that maybe you are being a little too ambitious or you’re trying to pull them into something to which they are not necessarily committed, but the fact is that we are in a monetary union,” said Lestrade.

The common Central Bank, common currency and the ongoing work towards an OECS Stock Exchange he notes, “constitute the key pillars of economic union. Therefore what we need to do is to put the additional measures in place to get us there.”

He has recommended a set of measures aimed at assisting OECS countries in fostering closer coherence. They include a common customs administration, the harmonization of other policy areas such as tax administration and fiscal systems and a common developmental strategy.

Closer coherence he says will allow OECS member counters to cease being just passive observers at critical regional and international fora.

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