National Competitiveness and Productivity Council Launches This Month CASTRIES, St. Lucia, October 18, 2013 - The changing contours of the global political economy characterised by the erosion of preferential trade arrangements; dwindling grants and aid; increased competition for foreign direct investment and donor fatigue, demands that the Government of St. Lucia maximizes the use of limited resources. To this end, the Ministry of Finance, Economic Affairs & Social Security will host the inaugural meeting of the National Competitiveness and Productivity Council with technical support from Compete Caribbean on Friday, October 18, 2013. Compete Caribbean is a private sector development program that provides technical assistance grants and investment funding to support productive development policies, business climate reforms, clustering initiatives and Small and Medium Size Enterprise (SME) development activities in the Caribbean region. The program, jointly funded by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID) and the Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada (DFATD), supports projects in 15 Caribbean countries. Projects in the OECS countries are implemented in partnership with the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB). The launch of the NCPC is consistent with Government’s goal to ensure the efficient and proper use of available resources, increased levels of productivity, enhanced national competitiveness and provision of greater economic opportunity at all levels. Responsibilities of the Council include identification of key issues related to competitiveness and productivity in St. Lucia. The Council and its secretariat are committed to providing the necessary advocacy and research to produce timely and effective recommendations to policymakers on issues that affect both competitiveness and productivity in St. Lucia. Additionally, the NCPC can monitor and support the implementation process of these recommendations through advocacy and the conduct of the NCPC. It is not, however, accountable for implementation where this relates to government decision making and/or reform. The NCPC will largely place a greater focus on the following key areas: • High level consultations on competitiveness and productivity • An output oriented Council • The development of a process that leads from issue identification to implementation • To become a best practice Council in St. Lucia and the wider region • To be a leading driver of advocacy and research that leads to fundamental decisions that improve competitiveness and productivity in St. Lucia • To be a Council that is inherently flexible to adapt to the needs of the country and the demands of its membership Finally, The NCPC secretariat will be a professional service that enables council activities to create impact; a repository for accessible competitiveness and productivity data and analysis; a secretariat that is flexible but operates within the parameters of the NCPC mandate and a focal point for national and international agencies on Competitiveness & Productivity.
Posted on: Fri, 18 Oct 2013 11:28:18 +0000