Filling Up With Gas In St. Kitts – Nevis
Photo By Erasmus Williams
Basseterre, Saint Kitts – Nevis
July 22, 2008 (CUOPM)
The Monetary Council of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) is recommending member governments formulate and implement a more targeted social protection interventions which would shield the vulnerable groups from elevated food and energy prices but protect the recent fiscal gains.
This was one of the recommendations that came out of the just concluded 62nd Council Meeting that received and noted a report on the status of inflation across the ECCU member countries, discussed the current policy responses of the member governments and assessed their effectiveness in addressing the issue.
The Council said that the primary source of the recent surge in inflationary pressures was high oil and other commodity prices, and that these were expected to remain elevated over the medium term.
The Council supported the view that there was a need to fine-tune the short-term measures and to place more emphasis on policy responses which would address supply and structural factors, cognisant of the need for member governments to balance social and fiscal responsibilities.
It also recommended the urgent development and implementation of regional energy and agricultural policies with the objective of making the region more resilient to adverse international price shocks.
The Council was of the view that the strengthening of the tripartite arrangement in respect of wages, prices and productivity, the OECS Competition Authority and consumer groups could assist in addressing matters related to the inflation issue.
