sir k dwight venner : caribbean growth forum – dominica chapter remarks by sir k dwight venner, governor of the eastern caribbean central bank, at the caribbean growth forum – dominica chapter, st kitts, 15 march 2013. * * * this launch of the dominica chapter of the caribbean growth forum is the last for the countries of the eastern caribbean currency union. following this, it would be necessary to carry out an objective assessment of our efforts as a group before we move on to the next stage which would be the wider regional engagements. the reason for this is that our governments have now established by law and treaty a new entity, an oecs economic union, which requires a new conceptual approach to our growth and development strategies. the unit of economic activity in this new entity comprises 8 countries within a single economic and financial space. given the scope of the new treaty with its supporting organs and institutions, we have in effect created what i refer to as a state nation with a dual system of government and governance. this state nation in the treaty has an executive, the oecs authority, which has both executive and limited legislative powers, an oecs assembly which is selected from national assemblies or parliaments and a regional judiciary which has been in existence since 1967. the grouping has also had a common currency from 1983. there is therefore, by law and treaty, a framework for addressing the growth and development challenges at the regional level. this framework takes into account the very important matter of the characterization of our economies as small, open, and vulnerable and gives a viable way to deal with these major issues. this means that when a decision is to be made on such issues, our decision makers must now think in “ dual mode ”. can this problem be resolved solely within the confines of dominica or do we have to go beyond? this new possibility and focus must become a part of the mind set and solution kit available to both the public and private sectors in the oecs countries. as i have emphasized at the other launches which i attended in st vincent and the grenadines, saint lucia and st kitts and nevis, there are two critical elements of the approach being used for the growth forum which have been of great value in and of themselves : 1. the bringing together of a wide cross section of the stakeholders in the growth agenda to discuss ideas and exchange knowledge in a structured setting, and 2. the methodology which is being used to conduct the discussions

the activities in which they are engaged, the difficulties they have as a private sector generally, and the specific impediments to operating in the export sector. this would also involve the use of the “ doing business survey ” carried out by the world bank and a more targeted survey with the oecs environment as its base. the next step would be to identify actual and potential sources for entrepreneurs in the oecs domain. the following are being suggested : 1. the transformation of some of the traditional trading firms by providing incentives for them to enter the export sector ; 2. citizens of the oecs in various diasporas involved in business ventures who may be enticed back to their countries, or more appropriately, to the single economic and financial space. they need not move completely, but have a branch of their business in the space as an outpost of the original business. there is a publication entitled the “ new argonauts ” by annalee saxenian which chronicles such operations by entrepreneurs in the united states from ireland, india, israel, the peoples republic of china, the republic of china on taiwan and south korea. 3. middle level professionals who have good networks, local and regional knowledge, and business acumen who could be incentivized into becoming entrepreneurs. two forms of organisation are available to them, namely, production cooperatives and investment clubs. these are critical in small societies which require joint activities to establish the critical mass necessary to ensure success. 4. another potential source would be the excess workers in the public and banking sectors who have the regulatory and organizational skills to participate in entrepreneurial projects. the key factor would be the use of separation packages which provide funding, training in business development and management, a menu of projects carefully developed to identify the areas in which we have a comparative advantage which can be leveraged into a competitive advantage, and the establishment of clusters of export - oriented activities which have the critical mass to attract complementary and supporting functions which are commercially viable, such as research facilities. 5. finally, a robust investment in encouraging young people in primary and secondary schools and recent school leavers to become entrepreneurs through targeted programs. examples of these could be the widespread establishment of science clubs, savings clubs, 4 h clubs, and the junior achievement programme. a very important exercise would be the identification of focal points in each country where scientific activities are being conducted. organizations such as ministries of agriculture, education, health and public works are all heavily involved in scientific activities,