|
|
Address by the
Governor for The Bahamas |
|
James H. Smith
Annual Meeting Boards of Governors of the IDB and the IIC
Milan, Italy. March 24th-26th
 The text is in PDF
and ZIP format. You must have Adobe Acrobat Reader. If you do
not have it, you can download from here free.
|
 The
countries of the Caribbean have, like others in this region, been victims of
these circumstances, even as there was a glimmer of hope that the impact of the
9/11 events might eventually be overcome. The year ended with stagnation in real
income growth in The Bahamas and Barbados, while in Guyana and Trinidad and
Tobago real growth – though positive – decelerated. In the case of Jamaica,
while registering positive trends, the fiscal situation remains a cause for
concern.
In these circumstances, policy responses have been mainly a mixture of defensive
strategies, such as restrictive monetary and
 budgetary
policies, and the concentration of investments on export earning activity, like
tourism and energy, and on poverty reduction. Caribbean governments will
continue to strive in the period ahead to protect and advance the gains made in
the
traditional sectors, to institute transitional and emergency adjustment
mechanisms, and to embark on ambitious programs of structural diversification.
However, the near-term future is also one of unprecedented uncertainty for the
Caribbean, therefore continued access to the Bank’s facilities is important at
this time. This uncertainty also presents a major challenge to the Bank, in
cooperation with our stronger member States, to work out timely contingency
measures.
Barbados was successful last year in securing funding for a coastal
infrastructure program. The objective of this project is to ensure a healthy
environment and continued sustainable economic development of Barbados through
improved management and conservation of the coastal zone.
[Document
PDF]
[Document ZIP]
Revista INTER-FORUM is affiliated with
(ICCAP) Any reproduction in part or whole is strictly forbidden without the authors written authorization
Top
March 30, 2003
|
