of water and electricity. this task is now being fulfilled by the bureau of telecommunications and post ( bt & p ). bis central bankers ’ speeches ladies and gentlemen, i would like to turn now to the best practices that have evolved during the last several years. for effectively regulating the water and energy infrastructure services some form of regulation is needed. best practices in recent years point at the creation of autonomous and independent institutions. this is only possible if there is a political commitment to facilitate this development as the regulatory decision making powers are transferred from the government ( minister ) to an independent regulator, sourced out through a regulatory contract or to an expert panel. the commitment of the government should be shaped in a constitutional and legislative framework. the aim of establishing an independent regulatory board is to encourage efficient, low - cost, reliable service provision, to ensure financial viability and to facilitate new investments. furthermore, it will insulate tariff setting from political opportunism and make decisions more transparent and predictable. one of the constraints of setting up independent regulatory agencies is the institutional capacity. it is often difficult to find a competent institution and staff. in this and next sheet, i will give an overview of the status of energy policies in selected caribbean countries. a number of caribbean islands already have depoliticized the decision making process and instituted regulators. bis central bankers ’ speeches in barbados – we often mirror ourselves against this caribbean island – a regulatory body exists since the middle of last century. from 1955 till 2001 the public utilities board was responsible for regulation. on january 2nd, 2001, the fair trading commission was established with a much broader mandate than its predecessor. its duties include among other things : determining principles, rates and standards of service for regulated service providers ; monitoring general business conduct ; investigating possible breaches of the acts that it administers ; educating and informing businesses and consumers about the requirements of these acts ; and taking enforcement action when needed. ladies and gentlemen, choosing a regulatory framework for curacao ’ s energy and water sector is not an easy task. however, we can draw upon international best practices and the experiences of our neighboring caribbean islands to help us making the right decisions. we must keep in mind though that best practices do not mean that we should simply apply these concepts to our environment. we have to adapt them to our own specific circumstances. thank you for your attention. bis central bankers ’ speeches

be used by the supervised institutions to identify and report unusual transactions to the financial intelligence unit ( mot ). our commitment to deter and detect money laundering and terrorist financing amongst supervised institutions, has also been recognized and highlighted by the imf. in its final report issued in february 2004 on the former netherlands antilles, the imf concluded on page 7 of its report that : ( quote ) “ overall the legal and institutional framework for financial supervision meets high standards. it is comprehensive, effective, and to a great extent in line with international standards. the central bank ’ s staff is highly capable, well trained and dedicated, … ….. to perform its functions ” ( end quote ). nonetheless, the central bank realized the importance of not becoming complacent. the bank has continued to intensify its efforts by taking the necessary measures to further strengthen its supervisory regime by continuously upgrade the aml & cft requirements in line with international standards. you will certainly hear more about these efforts during your visit. bis central bankers ’ speeches to conclude, i would to say that significant progress has been made in our jurisdiction over the past years in the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing. it is therefore imperative for the market participants to continue to work closely with us and other competent authorities to combat money laundering and terrorist financing. the central bank is in that respect striving to constantly promote a compliance framework that ensures the soundness and stability of our financial sector and to promote an effective compliance environment that not only deter problems, but also detect problems at an early stage. we are committed to continue to promote an aml & cft regime that is dynamic and constantly adapting to international standards. we wish you all the best with your assessment and want you to know that our staff is available to provide you with any information you need concerning our activities and to answer any inquiry you may have. once again thank you for your support and your commitment to combating money laundering and terrorist financing in the caribbean region. bis central bankers ’ speeches