New economic model needed for the OECS says ECCB governor

Tuesday, March 2, 2010 – Governor of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB), Sir Dwight Venner, has called for a conscious and coordinated approach to socio-economic growth across the OECS.

The ECCB governor says OECS member states are at the cross-roads of their economic development, and must urgently rethink their economic and development models in order to realise sustainable growth.

The Saint Lucian born economist advises that OECS economies need to record an average of 7% growth annually.

“We are now at the crossroads where the low rates of economic growth are no longer tolerant and there has to be a turnaround in the structure of OECS economies through its diversification, to a more efficient intermediation system so that we can attain the magic number of seven percent growth.”

The governor of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank says the reality of running modern economies while maintaining social indicators, at acceptable levels is becoming a greater challenge. He says this is evident by increases in the rate of unemployment and poverty.

Sir Dwight says in the realignment of their economies, OECS governments must ensure that the new development model is less susceptible to external shocks like the Wall Street fallout.

“The current global crisis has simply revealed the structural imbalances that extremely small states like ours have to cope with. If anything, the current crisis should be a reality check for us presenting the opportunity for new thinking and a different approach to resolving our development issues.”

Sir Dwight Venner was the guest speaker at a recent luncheon in observance of the first anniversary of the Saint Lucia Development Bank (SLDB).

He spoke on the topic of “The Development Needs of the OECS and the Role of Development Banks to promote Economic Growth”.

Sir Dwight has been the governor of the ECCB since December 1989.

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