Representatives from the Anguilla Government and civil society are now more conversant with various matters relating to growth and resilience in the region. They were able to acquaint themselves on these matters having attended discussions hosted by the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank in St. Kitts on February 14, 2019.
The main event was in fact the ECCB Monetary Council meeting when the Governor of the Central Bank, Mr. Timothy Antione, usually presents his report which, among other matters, relates to the economic performance of the sub-region. At the same time, however, there was also the 3rd Growth Dialogue which afforded delegates an opportunity to exchange ideas on several regional agenda matters.
The Anguilla delegation was led by Chief Minister and Minister of Finance, Economic Development, Commerce, Industry and Tourism, Mr. Victor Banks. Those who accompanied him were the Leader of the Opposition in the Anguilla House of Assembly, Ms. Palmovan Webster; Dr. Aidan Harrigan, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Finance; Mr. Tim Hodge, Director of Social Security; Pastor Philip Gumbs, President, Anguilla Evangelical Association; Devon Carter, Anguilla’s Caricom Youth Ambassador; Neil Gumbs, President , Anguilla National Youth Council; Sherman Williams, Acting CEO of the Anguilla Air & Sea Ports Authority; and Sherma Hodge, Commerce Officer, Ministry of Finance.
“This was the Third Growth dialogue we have had,” Mr. Banks told The Anguillian newspaper. “One of the key issues we discussed was growth and resilience in the region. This bore in mind the importance of not only resilience in terms of construction, but also in terms of putting aside the kind of financing for the aftermath of weather events like what we had in Anguilla in 2017. The meeting also mentioned the impact that climate change issues had on the region.”
Chief Minister Banks said Leaders of the Opposition in the region were invited to the meeting because it was a non-partisan conference affording opportunities for all persons in attendance to speak on an equal footing. He was pleased that a number of the young people who attended from Anguilla were able to make presentations at the meeting.
Mr. Banks said a number of the Prime Ministers were not able to attend but there were parliamentary representatives at several levels. He thought it was a very useful follow-up on the previous discussions held during the second meeting. He explained that the talks were not centred on any particular island, but rather the growth and development of the region on a whole.
A summary of the key points and the conclusions of the meeting were presented by Dr. Keith Mitchell, Chairman of the Monetary Council.
According to the document made available at the meeting, the key messages were that:
• the ECCU is highly vulnerable to economic shocks and natural disasters which negatively impact its growth performance;
• persistent fiscal deficit positions and high debt levels have limited the capacity of governments to respond to shocks and address infrastructure gaps;
• ECCU member countries have regressed in respect of their ease of doing business indicators;
• Natural disasters have intensified, erasing decades of gains made in infrastructure, economic and social advancement;
• Regional governments are constrained with respect to policy-making and therefore structural reforms and supply side policies remain the best option to facilitate growth;
• Building economic and social resilience is imperative for the continued progress of the region; and
• Improved regional transportation is necessary to operationalize the single economic space and enhance the productive capacity of the ECCU economies.
The section of document, relating to recommendations, listed the following five key matters:
• Coordinate and implement recommendations to address the region’s challenges as articulated in the Action Plan of the last two Growth Dialogues with Social Partners, the ECCB’s 2017-2021 Strategic Plan and the OECS Growth and Development Strategy;
• Adopt measures that would foster greater fiscal resilience. Design and implementation of fiscal accountability frameworks;
• Implement measures to integrate disaster risk financing and climate resilient investments into the national planning and budgeting framework;
• Implement structural and business reforms including key reforms aimed at resolving insolvency, secure transactions, improving access to credit and registering property; and
• Support the initiative aimed at the establishment of a regional fast ferry service through reforms aimed at enhancing customs clearance and port facilities.
How A Regional Ferry Service Would Work
The abovementioned regional ferry service has its beginning in 2018 when the World Bank conducted a pre-feasibility study for a regional ferry service in the Eastern Caribbean. According to the above-mentioned ECCB document, it is believed that such a service would increase intra-OECS tourism by over ten percent.
The report on the feasibility study identified three feasible inter-island fast ferry routes as follows:
1. Trinidad-Grenada-St. Vincent-St. Lucia-Barbados
2. Trinidad-Grenada-St. Vincent-St. Lucia; and
3. The British Virgin Islands-St. Maarten-St. Kitts and Nevis – Antigua and Barbuda-Guadeloupe.
Based on financial and economic net present value in terms and options, 2 and 3 were deemed the most feasible for the region. In addition, the selected options were envisaged to interface seamlessly with the existing ferry services connecting St. Lucia, Martinique, Dominica and Guadeloupe, as well as the services between Anguilla and St. Maarten.
