Question 1:
Absent from the eight point stabilisation and growth programme is a strategic policy initiative that targets the promotion and attraction of direct investments by foreigners and domestic entrepreneurs in the growth sectors of the economy to create jobs and hasten the recovery and return to economic growth. What role should private sector investments play in the stability and growth programme approved for OECS economies and could this be pivotal enough to be included as a 9th point in the stabilisation and growth programme?

Answer: Honourable Victor F. Banks, Minister of Finance
The private sector element is implicit in all the points of the Programme, particularly as it relates to the social safety nets. It is recognised that successfully sourcing external financing and spurring the growth of the private sector is a key component of driving our growth. The process of stabilisation would require incentives for foreign and local entrepreneurs to invest in the growth sectors of the economy.

Answer: Dr the Honourable Ralph Gonsalves, Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, St Vincent and the Grenadines
Countries have announced stimulus programmes with resources being dedicated to the private sector. Resources from external sources such as the ALBA fund are being made available in Dominica and St Vincent and the Grenadines and being used to drive private sector activity

Economic Union
Question 1:
The OECS has suffered for many years from a significant and persistent financial constraint that limits its ability to efficiently and effectively discharge its mandates and functions. Given that the move to an Economic Union will mean an expansion of existing and the creation of new administrative and functional arrangements requiring bigger budgets, how is it proposed to generate adequate and sustainable revenues to enable the OECS organizations and institutions to adequately fulfill their expanded and diversified mandates and facilitate the creation of better lives for the people of the Member Countries?

Answer:
It is envisaged that the Economic Union will usher in the free movement of labour and capital throughout the sub-region and also expand the market size for businesses and entrepreneurs. It is expected, therefore, that increased competition for goods and services would result in productivity and efficiency gains, leading to higher levels of output growth and increased revenues for member governments. This would be vital in boosting governments’ capacity to honour their obligations to the revamped OECS organisation. In addition, to the extent that a regional approach will be taken to address key sectors such as tourism, agriculture, education, marine environment and disaster response, among others, the burden on local governments will diminish, thereby freeing up vital resources for the effective functioning of the OECS organisation.

ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA

Economic Union
Question 1:
Are the factors which led to the dissolution of the federation still alive taking into consideration the discussion of political/economic union?

Answer:
The OECS has come along way in its development and it can be argued that it is much more advanced than the West Indies Federation ever was. Some of its key successes include a common currency and central bank, a common monetary policy, the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, the pharmaceutical procurement system and joint diplomatic overseas missions in Ottawa, Brussels and Geneva. In addition, the OECS countries have already established features of a free trade area, a customs union, a common market and an economic union. The last feature is evidenced by a common currency and common monetary policy.

Despite the aforementioned, some key challenges remain. These include the ability to enforce decisions taken by the OECS Authority in the respective member countries. Further, issues pertaining to the harmonisation of taxes and fiscal policies would have to be hammered out. Lastly, a firm commitment to funding the new organisation would have to be demonstrated by the participating members, so as to give credence to the organisation’s ability to effectively carry out its new mandate. In respect of the enforceability of decisions taken by the Authority, the revised Treaty proposes the transfer of power from national parliaments to the Authority in specific areas which include: a common market and customs union; monetary policy; trade policy; maritime jurisdiction and maritime boundaries; and civil aviation.

Question 2:
How quickly can we expect action instead of words as it relates to our total union?

Answer: Dr the Honourable Ralph Gonsalves, Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, St Vincent and the Grenadines
Constitutional reform is ongoing in St Vincent and the Grenadines and this process is a critical aspect of furthering regional integration. The aim is to sign onto the Treaty by December 2009 and to follow up in the first half of 2010 by giving the OECS Economic Union Treaty juridical footing in the domestic law, in order to create the basis for the community law within the OECS. These timetables are not mandatory, but directory by their very nature because there are several national events that could slow down or speed up the Economic Union process.

Question 3:
Did we not have joint representation in Montreal under WISA and later in Ottawa. What happened to those? Did we not have ECTA was that not continued?

Answer:
The OECS member countries still benefit from joint representation not only in Ottawa, but also in Brussels and Geneva, resulting in tremendous cost savings for the member countries. These joint diplomatic missions play a vital role in conducting trade negotiations based on the directives of the Secretariat. They are also important partners in pushing the tourism product of the member states, among other things.

GRENADA

Marine Resources
Question 1:
What plans are there to use our Marine resources? Our joint economic zone is massive but is generally ignored.

Answer: Honourable Baldwin Spencer, Prime Minister, Antigua and Barbuda
With respect to marine resources, we have to coordinate our efforts. We have to do the necessary scientific research to ensure that our resources can be utilised for the benefit of our member states.

Answer: Governor, ECCB
At the Joint Meeting of the Monetary Council and the OECS Authority held on the 15th and 16th of January 2009, a number of items were identified and embodied in an Action Plan. The Action Plan focuses on specific areas. In the productive sectors, the role of fishing is underscored.

Harnessing the resources of the people in our Diaspora
Question 1:
No one thus far has discussed a vital resource – our Diaspora and the involvement of those persons who are also best educated workers. What role?

Honourable Baldwin Spencer, Prime Minister, Antigua and Barbuda
Clearly, the Diaspora is key for the development of the region. They play a very important role in respect of remittances. We have to look at the Diaspora as a very important element of our development strategy. We have to be able to attract more of these individuals who are involved in business to become engaged in the development of their countries. But this has to be done in a coordinated and organised manner, by developing synergies between us and the Diaspora.

Question 2:
Who is planning to coordinate with us in the Diaspora and since we want to see greater civic leadership of Diaspora activities, how can we create dialogue?

Answer:
The importance of tapping into the technical expertise as well as the wealth of the Diaspora has not been lost on the regional governments. Consequently, islands such as Grenada have established a Diaspora desk to engage in dialogue with members of the Diaspora and seek ways in which their talent and expertise could be used for the benefit of the country and the wider region. It is very likely that those islands that have not yet done so will establish a similar entity to forge closer ties with the Diaspora.

Economic Union
Question 1:
To move to regional institutions will cost money, as with any transformation, private, public or otherwise. To reduce ambassadors requires change, for example, and that costs money. Has a budget, shared across the OECS, been considered or developed to cater for the costs of transforming our sub-region. Also, where will the funding come from?

Answer:
The members of the OECS contribute to the Organisation’s annual budget. These funds are supplemented with contributions from members of the international donor community e.g. the European Union and the government of Canada, through the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), who fund several OECS programmes and projects. In addition, the OECS Treaty has a provision that allows for the establishment of special budgets (to be funded by the OECS members) to meet any extraordinary expenditures of the Organisation.

ST KITTS AND NEVIS

Leadership and development
Question 1:
Creativity and innovation will be the critical drivers. Is a leadership development institute considered in the transformation?

Answer:
The critical driver for future economic expansion is the private sector. In order to remain competitive and deliver high quality services, new and innovative ways of conducting business will have to be adopted. While the creation of a leadership development institute has not been formally announced, OECS member governments have recognised the need to put structures in place to provide the necessary start up capital for small businesses as well to provide technical assistance in respect of the efficient management and marketing of business entities.

LIAT
Question 1:
What can be done by this OECS Economic Union about LIAT? They are disrupting lives and livelihoods significantly and very soon we won’t be able to visit none of the islands of the OECS.

Answer:
The aim of the Economic Union is really to establish a single airspace and open skies within the sub-region, with a single set of rules and regulations governing civil aviation in all member territories. The intention is that by opening up the OECS skies the groundwork would be laid for increased competition, with the consequent lowering of airfares. There are also plans coming out of the Union discussions for possible standardisation of travel-related taxes that should also contribute to the reduction in the cost of travel. Essentially, therefore, the overall aim is to move beyond the notion of a single carrier and increase air traffic and airlift capacity within the OECS.

Regulation of insurance companies
Question 1:
A number of persons have complains of foreign owned insurance companies not paying out after hurricanes, how is the region planning to regulate that?

Answer:
Efforts are currently underway, at the regional and national level, to regulate more effectively the non-bank sector of the financial system, which includes the insurance industry. At the national level, the efforts include the enactment of the 2009 Insurance Act. In addition, there is a thrust towards the establishment of the Single Regulatory Units (SRUs) in each territory, with the responsibility of regulating the non-bank sector, which covers entities such as the money services businesses, building societies and the insurance industry, to name a few.

At the regional level, the Regulatory Oversight Committee (ROC) has been established and comprises the SRUs, the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) and the Eastern Caribbean Securities Regulatory Commission (ECSRC). The objective of the ROC is to strengthen the regulatory framework of the financial sector (including the insurance sector), by facilitating the harmonisation of legislation affecting the financial sector and identifying and eliminating conflicts, redundancies and supervisory gaps in financial sector supervision.

ST VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES

Education on the Economic Union
Question 1:
What avenues are being put in place or already in place to educate ignorant persons about the features and benefits of the Economic Union?

Answer:
The leaders in the OECS have committed to engaging the public in dialogue on the issues that are pertinent to the regional integration process; the Regional Interactive Discussion, held via videoconference on 23 July 2009 is evidence of this commitment. In addition, the OECS Secretariat has published, on its website, a series of articles on the Economic Union and is also a great resource for documentation on the integration process. At the country level, National Economic Union Task Forces have been launching public consultations in their respective countries to bring awareness of the OECS Economic Union to the people of the sub-region and further afield in the Diaspora. These public discussions have been taking place for over a year.

LIAT
Question 1:
Though we heard the leaders going to meet with the pilots, what urgent solutions are going to solve the current situation with LIAT? I would have gone to Dominica for cricket but was afraid I would have been stranded in a departure lounge instead of cricket. The human resources in the islands are also irritating the situation. There are numerous issues with LIAT. CHC St Vincent.

Answer:
The latest information coming out of the 26 July 2009 meeting with shareholders and pilots of LIAT indicates that the impasse between management and pilots is now in arbitration. It is hoped that, through this process, the burning issues (salaries, retroactive payments, work hours, etc.) that both parties may have can be sufficiently addressed to their satisfaction. In the interim, the pilots have decided to discontinue all forms of industrial action pending the outcome of the arbitration. Non-mechanical flight disruptions should therefore be limited during the process of arbitration which should come to an end by September 30, 2009.

Harmonised legislation
Question 1:
A number of countries may now be passing Legislation or Bills in their respective territories. Are we going to harmonise these for our region or continue to pass these independent laws that affect our people in different ways. An example can be the draft constitution St. Vincent is about to pass?

Answer:
The member states of the OECS have been engaged in harmonising their legislation to facilitate the creation of the single financial and economic space, in keeping with the development of the OECS Economic Union. The member states have already produced harmonised securities legislation and banking legislation, among others.