1. On behalf of the Government and people of Jamaica I want to welcome the Secretary General, Prime Ministers, Ministers of Finance, Heads of Delegation, other officials, and the media to this the Eighth meeting of the Council for Finance and Planning. (COFAP)
2. Despite the long and imposing agenda before Ministers I hope you will have time to experience our well known Jamaican hospitality.
3. I am sure that beyond the critical areas which we are here to address, that no doubt the additional carrot of a test match in Jamaica, at this time, was not un-important in many delegates attending.
4. This is the third meeting of COFAP that Jamaica will be hosting, and the meeting is occurring at an important time given international, regional and domestic developments.
5. Uncertainty still characterizes the international economy since: 9/11, the problems in Venezuela, oil price movements, the recent war in Iraq, and the SARs outbreak. It is still not clear how long these factors will affect world economic performance, but the general view of most analysts is that it will be yet some time before the world economy experiences the type of relatively high growth that was experienced in the recent past. There appears to be no clear locomotive to spur growth for the world economy at this time, neither from the U.S. economy, Europe or developing countries.
6. These developments are taking place at a difficult period when we are grappling with WTO and FTAA issues.
7. At the regional level, except for oil producing countries, most of us have still not recovered from the unfavorable external environment and are experiencing generally: low growth, pressure on our external accounts; and also on the fiscal side.
8. At the domestic level the external environment is making the management our economies that much more difficult. There are not many degrees of freedom within which most of us have to operate. This is compounded by the high expectation of our peoples, given the proximity to the United States, easy travel, and proliferation of information available.
9. The questions which logically arise at this time are many. I would suggest among the most important ones are:

can the present regional arrangements assist us in overcoming these challenges?

are the present institutional arrangements to promote regionalism and the CSME adequate?

will the present scenario lead us to become more regionally minded or focus more and more on domestic issues and domestically propelled growth?

What are the simple yet critical things we can do during this time to foster the integration movement?

How are we going to deal with the information gap about the CSME that exists between us policy makers, and the ordinary man in the street?

When it comes to dealing with regional issues, will they become a political football, given narrow domestic political agendas?

10. Because of my awareness of these problems, and the need to keep on top of all these issues, especially from the perspective of the Ministry of Finance and Planning, I have appointed Minister of State, Hon. Deika Morrison, to have overall responsibility for CARICOM issues within the Ministry of Finance and Planning. This is despite what obtains on other ministries.
11. I hope that when we conclude our deliberations, that some progress will be made in providing answers to these and other questions. I hope also, at this the 30th anniversary of CARICOM arrangement, some important decisions will be taken at this meeting, to greatly advance the integration movement and that our time will not be taken up merely "noting" issues.
12. One thing is however clear to me, is that there is a dimension of integration that is taking place much faster and deeper than is apparent on the surface. This is clearly evident at the level of our private sectors. This angurs well for the future. Our own financial sector now with the participation of regional companies, is one manifestation of this. In addition Jamaican financial sector interests and manufacturer have also for some time been involved in other regional economies.
13. These developments along with the success of the regional University and the West Indies cricket team provide practical insights, as to the key elements and modalities in moving the regional integration movement forward
14. It is also pleasing that in the formulation of the Regional Transformation Programme, intended to restructure and diversify regional production, that it is the private sector which is leading the process?
15. I commit these few remarks for your consideration, and again welcome you all to Jamaica.

 

 

 




Ministry of Finance and The Public Service Telephone: (876) 922-8600 (switchboard)    Fax: (876) 922-7097 Contact: Ms Cheryl Smith or send mail to cheryls@mof.gov.jm

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