Fellow Anguillans/ My People!
As the Minister responsible for Statistics it is my task to address you on the occasion of the celebration of Statistics Week in Anguilla. I have also been asked to centralize my comments around the theme: “Building Resilience of the Caribbean Community – Monitoring and Evaluating the SDG through the use of quality statistics.”
This is the eleventh year since the idea started of designating a week to bring attention to the importance of quality statistics to the development of the region. And I must commend the Anguilla Statistics Department for their diligence in finding ways and means to highlight the vital role of statistics in a very engaging manner.
The truth is, statistical data can be very intimidating to many people — but I have noted that every year the department strives to make the week of activities more appealing to citizens, particularly young people. Obviously, that strategy is to develop an awareness of the value of statistics to students at primary school levels with the objective of getting them proficient in the discipline at an early age. The outcome will inevitably be a citizenry better equipped to make the right decisions for themselves; their families; their businesses; and in some cases, dependent on their station in the scheme of things, the management of their country as well.
There are two terminologies in the theme for this year that may require some explanation/definition, namely, “Resilience” and secondly, “SDG” the latter being the acronym for Sustainable Development Goals.
Resilience according to dictionary.com means: “the power or ability to return to the original form after being bent, compressed, or stretched” or “the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties”.
And the United Nations has defined SDG as follows: “The Sustainable Development Goals are the blue print to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all. They address the global challenges we face, including those related to poverty, inequality, climate, environmental degradation, prosperity, and peace and justice”
I believe the importance of “building resilience of the Caribbean” is critical because of the region’s high vulnerability to external shocks, including severe weather events; the ever-increasing effects of climate change; and global financial contagion. As a consequence we need to build the capacity to recover, which can be a factor of our preparedness, but most definitely a factor of available accurate data for decision making both before and after the situation in question.
With regards the sustainable development goals quality statistics is indeed the only practical tool to measure how far we have progressed in achieving these highly desirable conditions within our islands and to make accurate comparisons with the rest of the world.
When we have such acceptable/reliable data this can trigger many sources of assistance from international agencies that are committed to creating a better world environment for all peoples.
In this increasingly globalized system, developed nations are beginning to understand that their prosperity depends on a stable world environment.
They are beginning to appreciate that the greater the purchasing power of developing nations is — the greater the possibility for the export of their goods and services to those new markets.
They are beginning to grasp the importance of using the skilled human resources of developing nations for the manufacture of products outside of their borders at competitive costs.
And very importantly they are beginning to realize that the smallest developing states may have strategic value beyond the scope of their size and population because of the advances in Internet and communication technology.
These realities afford us a chance to derive benefits for Anguilla. The fact that the world view with regards the importance of developing nations has changed and developed nations are more willing to assist in improving our economic conditions —- demands that we meet the necessary criteria to qualify.
How can our Government formulate policies without an accurate assessment about what is happening in the economy? Obviously, if you start from a premise that is not substantiated by sound facts you will end up coming to the wrong conclusions; making the wrong decisions; and as a consequence having undesirable outcomes. To put it bluntly garbage in can only result in garbage coming out.
And it is not only the public sector or Government that has a stake in ensuring we have accurate statistical data. It is very important for the private sector as well. Every single business, no matter how small, should have a clear understanding about the market in which it is operating as well as the level of demand for the particular products and services it is seeking to sell.
Such information can be derived from available statistics on the strength of the economy and in particular the income and employment levels. In this way we will be creating a sound environment for building resilience and improving our ability to achieve the sustainable development goals that will benefit our entire society.
The wider community must therefore take responsibility for achieving this important goal of having accurate statistical information.
It is for this reason that during this week the statistical department will be reaching out to the schools as well. Indeed the appeal must be to every institution and group within the society — because reliable data is the cornerstone of every social project both at conception and during the operational phase.
The importance of statistics to the society is why the laws to ensure data accuracy include strict penalties for non-compliance to surveys conducted by the Department of Statistics.
Such disciplinary measures are necessary to achieve the highest level of data integrity. In fact it can be deemed unpatriotic to refuse to participate in surveys that have as its objective the proper rating of your country.
The 2020 World Population Census Programme for which out Statistics Department is now making preparations is a case in point. How can anyone believe that being uncooperative in such an exercise makes sense?
It is the way we compare ourselves with rest of the world in all aspects of our living. And in this way we as a People can consider our shortcomings as well as our successes and determine where we need to focus our attention for the betterment of our entire nation. This approach must increasingly form part of our development agenda as a building block of the decision making and planning processes. And as a consequence build a more resilient Caribbean.
Our focus on statistics in a participatory way during this week is a brilliant move in that direction. I therefore take distinct pleasure in declaring this week of activities open.
God bless you all and God bless Anguilla!
