St. Kitts – Nevis’ PM – Denzil Douglas
Photo By Erasmus Williams
Basseterre, St. Kitts – Nevis
June 15, 2012 (CUOPM)
The Federation’s Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, the Rt. Hon. Dr. Denzil L. Douglas assumes the Chairmanship of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) Monetary Council on June 29th.
Governor of the ECCB, The Honourable Sir K. Dwight Venner says a ceremony to mark the Handing Over of the Chairmanship of the ECCB Monetary Council from Premier the Hon. Rueben T. Meade, Council Member for Montserrat to Prime Minister the Right Hon. Dr. Denzil L. Douglas, Council Member for St. Kitts and Nevis will be held at the Sir Cecil Jacobs Auditorium, Eastern Caribbean Central Bank Headquarters prior to the start of the 73rd Meeting of the Monetary Council.
Sir Dwight will chair the ceremony which begins at 9:00 a.m. following the arrival of His Excellency Dr. Sir Cuthbert Sebastian, Governor General of St. Kitts and Nevis.
Premier Meade, the Outgoing Chairman and Prime Minister Douglas, the Incoming Chairman will deliver addresses after which Sir Dwight will give the Closing Remarks.
The Mission of the ECCB is to maintain the stability of the EC dollar and the integrity of the banking system in order to facilitate the balanced growth and development of member states.
The Bank aspires to be the leading institution for economic policy advice, a model for management in the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU) and an advocate for the ECCU’s regionalisation initiatives.
The Eastern Caribbean Central Bank was established in October 1983. It is the Monetary Authority for a group of eight island economies namely – Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Commonwealth of Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, and St Vincent and the Grenadines.
The monetary arrangements are characterised by the issuance of a single common currency, the flow of which is unrestricted among its members; a common pool of foreign exchange reserves; and the existence of a Central Monetary Authority which decides on the Union’s monetary policy.
The purposes of the Bank are to regulate the availability of money and credit, promote and maintain monetary stability, promote credit and exchange conditions and a sound financial structure conducive to the balanced growth and development of the economies of the territories of the Participating Governments and actively promote through means consistent with its other objectives the economic development of the territories of the Participating Governments.
The governing bodies of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank are the Monetary Council and the Board of Directors. The Monetary Council is the highest decision making authority.
It is comprised of one Minister appointed by each Government of the participating countries. The function of the Council is to provide directives and guidelines on matters of monetary and credit policy to the Bank. The Board of Directors is comprised of ten Directors – the Governor and Deputy Governor, and one Director appointed by each Government of the eight participating countries. The Board of Directors is responsible for policy and general administration of the Bank, while the Governor, the Chief Executive, is responsible for the day-to-day management and operations.
Council members are Honourable Reuben T. Meade, Premier and Minister for Finance, Montserrat; Honourable Hubert Hughes, Chief Minister and Minister for Finance, Anguilla; Honourable Harold Lovell, Minister for Finance, Antigua and Barbuda; Honourable Roosevelt Skerrit, Prime Minister and Minister for Finance, Commonwealth of Dominica; Honourable Nazim Burke, Minister for Finance, Grenada; The Right Honourable Dr. Denzil L. Douglas, Prime Minister and Minister for Finance, St. Kitts and Nevis; Dr. the Honourable Ralph Gonsalves, Prime Minister and Minister for Finance, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Dr. the Right Hon. Kenny Anthony, Prime Minister and Minister of Finance of St. Lucia.