Basseterre, St. Kitts, October 24th, 2020 (ZIZ News): The Ninety-Seventh Meeting of the Monetary Council of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) was held on 23 October 2020, via videoconference, under the Chairmanship of Prime Minister and Minister for Finance, Saint Christopher (St Kitts) and Nevis, Dr the Honourable Timothy Harris.
The Council welcomed the new member for Grenada, Minister for Finance, the Honourable Gregory Bowen and offered expression of thanks for Dr the Right Honourable Prime Minister Keith Mitchell’s long and distinguished contribution to the Monetary Council and extended best wishes to him.
As part of discussions, The Council reiterated the key demands of ECCU and CARICOM Governments presented during the recently concluded IMF/World Bank 2020 Annual Meetings. These demands are: Adoption of Vulnerability Index (first developed by the Commonwealth Secretariat in 1989), Debt Relief and Liquidity Support, Ring-fencing and Refinancing of COVID-19 Debt and Adjustment of Fiscal Anchor (Debt to GDP Ratio target was 60.0 per cent pre-COVID).
During the conference, The Council approved the Programme of Action for Recovery, Resilience and Transformation of the ECCU Economies subject to a further discussion on the fiscal anchor that is the Debt to GDP Ratio target of 60 per cent, which would need to be adjusted in light of the current circumstances presented by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Council agreed that collective action among member governments, citizens and residents, regional institutions and development partners, is crucial for the successful execution of the Programme of Action for Recovery, Resilience and Transformation.
It was also decided that the 98th Meeting of the Monetary Council will convene on Friday, 12 February 2021 via videoconference.
The Honourable Dr Ellis Lorenzo Webster, Premier and Minister for Finance, Anguilla, The Honourable Gaston Browne, Prime Minister and Minister for Finance, Antigua and Barbuda, The Honourable Roosevelt Skerrit, Prime Minister and Minister for Finance, the Commonwealth of Dominica, The Honourable Gregory Bowen, Minister for Finance, Grenada, The Honourable Easton Taylor-Farrell, Premier and Minister for Finance, Montserrat and The Honourable Allen Chastanet, Prime Minister and Minister for Finance, Saint Lucia also participated in the meeting.