Dr. Justine Ram
On Wednesday, February 18, the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) hosted one of its 2015 Annual Press Conferences at the Hilton Resort in Barbados, where its President, Dr. William Warren Smith and Director for Economics, Dr. Justine Ram, addressed media correspondents from around the region. Anguilla was represented by Felicia Hennis of Radio Anguilla and Esther Ward of The Anguillian newspaper.
Dr. Smith discussed the performance of the bank in 2014 and the focused areas of 2015, while Dr. Ram addressed the regional economy and the outlook for 2015.
Asked for his view about the performance of Anguilla, Dr. Smith stated that in 2014 Anguilla’s economy grew by about 2% which, when compared with other Caribbean islands, was not such a bad performance but, given some of the challenges faced in Anguilla, that type of growth rate was not sufficient. He said the CDB was committed to deepening its dialogue with Anguilla to help to come up with a programme that is focused on improving growth prospects, and where the CDB would be able to assist most.
He further said that there were other aspects of Anguilla’s fiscal consolidation that the CDB would be discussing with the Anguilla Government which were now the CDB’s primary focus.
Dr. Ram stated that on a recent visit to the island they were able to speak to authorities as well members of the private sector on what is required to enhance growth prospects in Anguilla. Furthermore, there needs to be a streamlining of the Government processes to make it easier to do business in Anguilla.
He continued to say that when they spoke with the private sector, the number one issue that arose was the high cost of energy. He stated that the CDB would recommend that Anguilla looks at perhaps encouraging the greater use of renewable energy in its current energy mix to reduce the overall cost of energy and the cost of doing business.
Asked whether or not the ECCB’s takeover of Anguilla’s two local banks posed a challenge to the island’s relationship with the CDB as regards building resilience in savings, President Dr. Smith responded that the CDB was very familiar with the challenges within the financial sector in Anguilla, and that it has been in partnership with the ECCB and other development agencies on the question of resolution of the problems of Anguilla. He added that to the extent that the CDB can be helpful, it would be a part of the solution.
In a separate interview after the press conference, Dr. Ram stated that currently the CDB is in the process of preparing a country strategy paper for Anguilla.
The strategy paper is to set out the relationship which the CDB would have with Anguilla over the next three to four years; and to indicate how the CDB, after considerable consultations, would be engaging with the Government and the private sector, as to what would most likely promote growth enhancement measures within Anguilla.
Anguilla’s previous country strategy paper has expired and a new one is due, so that is why the CDB is having discussions with the Government: to look at what development priorities Anguilla should aim at over the next three to four years. The discussions will also take into account how the CDB can be a development partner in the planning of a new strategy paper, and what resources and technical assistance it can provide to assist the Anguilla Government to achieve an overall sustainable economic growth rate for the island.
“Before 2009, Anguilla was experiencing stratospheric amounts of growth within its economy, but once the great depression hit, that growth collapsed and a significant amount of output in Anguilla was lost,” Dr. Ram observed. “Now, Anguilla is starting to see the recovery at a very slow climb, and if we want to improve the overall level of growth in the economy in Anguilla, then there is a need for some growth enhancing reforms.”
As to how Anguilla can improve efficiency by getting people to the island, he stated that there was need for investment in infrastructure development such as the Blowing Point Ferry Terminal. As for the Airport, he stated that a feasibility study should be carried out to see if it could be possibly expanded and how feasible that may be.
He went on to state that Anguilla being a niche market in tourism needs to make very clear the type of tourism markets it is promoting – whether high-end tourism or not.
Dr. Ram also spoke on diversifying the economy and said that Anguilla should not be heavily dependent on one sector; that there are other sectors that Anguilla can look into such as providing offshore financial services. He also pointed out some of the ways in which the private sector can be involved in economic growth, and invest in sectors that Anguillians are not necessarily accustomed to, including the environment.
