marion williams : information technology and education - investing in our future welcome address by dr marion williams, governor of the central bank of barbados, at the opening ceremony of the information technology fair “ information technology and education : investing in our future ”, bridgetown, 8 november 2004. * * * minister of education and sports, the honourable reginald farley ; partners in this project, representatives of commercial banks, principals of secondary schools, teachers and students of the four schools touring the exhibition this morning, management and staff of the central bank, ladies and gentlemen : it gives me great pleasure to welcome you to the central bank for the information technology ( it ) fair for students of secondary schools. our theme for this it fair is “ information technology and education - investing in our future ”. it is an innovative addition to the bank ’ s secondary schools ’ outreach programme which the bank has sponsored for over two decades. the central bank ’ s outreach programme was started in the 1980 ’ s as the bank attempted to raise the level of economic intelligence in barbados through a sustained educational programme. the bank was of the view that constituents of the bank and future employees, leaders and business people, should be targeted through a continuing educational programme in economics. hence, the schools ’ outreach programme was started. it initially targeted business students through its lectures on the economy, and was coordinated by our first public relations officer, carl moore. in recent times, however, the bank has expanded the programme to include topics such as finance and accounting, investing, the stock exchange, csme and others. the programme has helped the students to better grasp subjects that are often considered too technical, or even too difficult, as we have tried to present the lectures in a simple manner. to achieve this, we have insisted that lecturers draw on every day experiences to explain difficult concepts. additionally, i am informed that students have found that the interaction and exchanges with the bank ’ s economists have assisted them in preparing for the school based assessment projects and their examinations in the caribbean secondary education certificate ( csec ) and caribbean advanced proficiency examinations ( cape ) programmes. on that note, i wish to commend the research department and public affairs for sustaining this programme that is so integral to the bank ’ s community outreach. dr. daniel boamah and his team, and before that dr. delisle worrell and his team, have done an excellent job in making sure that our young people have a fuller understanding of economic affairs to take them through life

competitive products and services. this must be achieved within a government budget that is further reduced to a level that is sustainable over time. the ongoing priorities that are being addressed in this regard are : • consolidation of government functions to reduce government expenditures ; • measures to raise the average levels of productivity, and to improve barbados ’ record for bureaucratic effectiveness. these measures will help to improve barbados ’ international competitiveness and boost the capacity to earn and save foreign exchange ; • the elimination of government arrears of payment. monetary policy plays a supporting role in the barbadian economy. the central bank ’ s target is to keep domestic interest rates in line with international trends, taking account of the tightness of domestic liquidity. in the current circumstances where banks have funding well in excess of their customers ’ demand, interest rates can be expected to decline, as the fiscal deficit falls, arrears are paid off, and confidence in fiscal management returns to the market. bis central bankers ’ speeches the central bank ’ s sole policy instrument is the treasury bill rate, which the bank aims to influence via the t - bill auction. anton belgrave will discuss how this market has behaved, in his presentation to the conference this morning. the financial services commission and the central bank constitute the financial market oversight committee ( fmoc ), which meets to review the health of the financial system. together we issue the annual financial stability report and a mid - year update. this conference provides an opportunity for the fsc and central bank to explore aspects of the financial system and new developments in some depth. randy graham will provide an update on the fsc, and tamara hurley will speak on the latest guidelines on the assessment of credit risk, as we continue the ongoing process of supervisory upgrades. the global phenomenon of low interest rates poses a challenge for pension funds, in their search for investments that provide them with yields sufficient to meet their obligations without eroding the capital value of their assets. charles herbert will make a presentation on the trends in pension investment. the global concern over the action by many international banks to discontinue provision of financial services to certain categories of customer is something we cannot ignore in a conference of this kind. allan wright will make a presentation on this topic. allan is coordinating a caribbean - wide study to garner information on the extent of the problem, under the auspices of the regional central bank governors. marlon yarde will provide us with information on the activities and prospects for the barbados securities exchange. we will