preferential arrangements and the need to restructure our economies to meet the current global trading environment ; the second is the critical importance of achieving higher productivity levels and the third relates to the need to strengthen fiscal positions and reduce the public debt burden. first, the loss of preferential arrangements declining aid flows and the transition from traditional agriculture, as preferential access to european markets is eroded, continue to constitute a major economic challenge. these two developments are taking place at a time when exogenous shocks ( be it high oil prices, 9 / 11, or natural disasters ) have become more common place and at a time when governments are facing strong political mandates to improve social and economic conditions. there is no denying the perverse geo - politics of the trade preferences issue – the fact that developed countries argue strongly for freedom of markets while they are reluctant to eliminate their own large agricultural subsidies or their harsh restrictions on freedom of labour. be that as it may, it is difficult to deny that some caribbean countries have not exactly taken advantage of the long period of preferential market access to increase productivity in the sugar and bananas sector. it is largely our fault that after all these years the estimated cost of producing and exporting sugar in guyana and belize – the lowest cost caribbean producers, is 50 to 60 percent higher than that of the higher cost free market exporters. similarly in bananas, the caribbean countries are the highest cost producers in the world, rooted in low land productivity and high labour and transportation costs. given the impending further erosion of preferential arrangements for sugar and bananas, in the next five years, few ( if any ) of the current regional exporters will be able to export profitably. this means that if exports are to be maintained, government subsidies to cover losses could rise to unsustainable levels. this brings us to the imperatives of economic restructuring : with the current open trade regime, the challenge for the caribbean is to quickly develop new high productivity sectors that could drive the region ’ s developmental thrust. the reality in the caribbean is that the regional agricultural sector will find it difficult to be globally competitive for the same reasons that affected sugar and bananas. similarly, labour intensive manufacturing can no longer compete internationally given the region ’ s relatively high wage structures and the rise of china as a major exporter of manufactures. however, the examples of ireland, singapore and cyprus have shown that small economies can be competitive in many service sectors and in niche manufacturing. whatever sectors we target for attention, we must engage

where appropriate, to improve its systems and procedures. while there is a tendency to see the ombudsman as a champion of the consumer, its real value is in providing a fair and balanced approach to investigating, without pre - judging or advocating the cause of either side of the dispute. i can tell you that, all over the world, ombudsmen vigorously defend their independence and for good reason – their independence is the source of their legitimacy ; it is what defines their credibility. the mandate of our financial services ombudsman is to facilitate the resolution of complaints from individuals and small businesses with respect to services provided by the banking and the insurance sectors. in the case of the banks, the ombudsman is empowered to treat with specific types of complaints involving deposit and loan accounts ; investment services, trusts and mutual funds. however, the rules specify that the complaint must not be related to interest rates, fees and charges and other pricing decisions. the ombudsman ’ s jurisdiction, in the case of the insurance sector, covers life policies, individual annuity products, fire and general insurance and third party property damage claims ( up to $ 50, 000 ), under motor insurance policies. outside the terms of reference are complaints involving a company ’ s risk management policies, product pricing or interest rates. the rules specify that the complaint must first be referred to the financial service provider for resolution and only if the complainant is not satisfied, could the ombudsman be approached. it is important to note that the complainant does not surrender his / her legal rights by approaching the ombudsman. if not satisfied the complainant is always free to take legal action. bis central bankers ’ speeches the limited jurisdiction of the ombudsman scheme is an obvious weakness and a source of considerable irritation to complainants. however, even on matters strictly outside its jurisdiction, our ofso has sought to intervene on behalf of aggrieved consumers by bringing the parties together to search for a solution. in many cases the strong relation of trust developed between the ofso and the service providers, has facilitated resolution of complaints that fall outside the formal terms of reference of the ombudsman scheme. mis - understanding of the role and function of the ofso and confusion about the procedures to be followed in making complaints were some of the initial challenges faced by the ombudsman scheme. as suzanne noted the ofso has taken steps to address these issues through various public awareness programmes.