Reports

The fisheries sector of the Eastern Caribbean has been historically perceived as having relatively minor importance. There is, however, increasing recognition of its potential significance to such problems as balance of payments, unemployment, stimulation of local economies, and nutrition. Due to a variety of limitations, the scale of development that is possible in Eastern Caribbean fisheries is modest in global terms yet significant on the
small island scale. The issue of scale and applicability to local circumstances is critical to effective development of the fisheries sector in the RDO/C region.

Throughout the 1980s the fiscal situation in Antigua and Barbuda exhibited severe weaknesses . Although fiscal measures, mainly for increasing revenue were introduced, demand management measures were not successfully implemented. Thus, inspite of the high average growth rate achieved during the period, fiscal imbalances prevailed.

This report examines the cost efficiency of current leaf spot control measures, with particular emphasis on aerial spraying. and identifies constraints to more cost effective control procedures. Proposals are presented for the restructuring of various facets of the disease control process, together with the estimated costs and benefits of undertaking such changes. Organisational, financial and implementation requirements are specified for the recommended approaches.

This paper examines the theoretical basis for integration and presents the objectives and functions of the OECS secretariats with respect to regi onal integration. Describes developments in OECS regional integration over the period 1982-1991 and traces chronological stages in the process. Analyses the impact of the integration movement on growth and development of the OECS as a sub-region. concludes that regional economic integration provides the most powerful means of overcoming the economic disadvantages of small size from which all OECS economies s uffer. Fear and resistance to regional economic integration cont inues because of a lack of knowledge of some of its beneficial effects.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The Secretariat of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States wishes to acknowledge the significant assistance provided by Dr. Vincent Little of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation in Agriculture (IICA); Dr. Aidan Harrigan, Director of Economic Planning of Anguilla; and, Ms. Aldean Moore, Social Policy Advisor to the Government of Montserrat, the three of whom participated as members of the ten person OECS Team.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The Secretariat of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States wishes to acknowledge the significant assistance provided by Dr. Estaban Perez and Ms. Asha Kambon of the United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, Ms. Laurel Bain of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank, Mr. Anthony Payne of USAID, and Dr. David Smith of Smith Warner International, all of whom participated as members of the ten person OECS Team.

Emergency short-term Technical Assistance Programme to be delivered to the SME
Productive Sector in Grenada
Objectives

This programme will focus on the manufacturing and services sectors. Initially, clients of the
GIDC and the OECS SMED programme will receive priority attention. The objectives are as
follows:

1. To present a holistic short-term emergency response to the hurricane ravaged SM E
sector

2. To formulate a plan for rapid reemployment and retraining of employees to align to
new business strategic direction.

3. To facilitate the repair, refurbishment and replacement of damaged plant and
machinery

4. To assist in establishing the raw material segment of the agro-processing supply chain

5. To develop a coordination mechanism for the administrative, procurement and
marketing support to meet short and medium term needs of the enterprises.

Background and Purpose

This Annual Progress Report (APR) presents the progress towards results and main achievements of the
OECS Secretariat (OECSSEC) during the July 2012 to June 2013 fiscal year. The purpose of this report is to
provide stakeholders with an analysis of actual results in relation to the over-arching Strategic Objectives
which guide the work of the Secretariat. These Strategic Objectives provide the high-level results
framework for the Secretariat, and frame the results identified in the 2012-2013 Annual Work Programmes
(AWPs) developed by each of the Secretariat’s Divisions and Units. In addition to presenting the status of
progress towards these results, the report also identifies contextual developments which have affected
the work of the Secretariat, as well as the main challenges and lessons learned that will guide programming
in the coming year.

PREFACE

The first field survey, on which this report is based, was undertaken in July 2005. The
results of this survey were presented to stakeholders in St. Kitts in August. Additional
fieldwork was undertaken in September, in order to further disaggregate the data that
had been collected in the initial survey.
The OECS team was made up of Jacqueline Massiah and Sean Curtis Mathurin both of whom were responsible for data collection and analysis. Other persons in the OECS team included Beverly Best, Rodinald Soomer and Ezra JnBaptiste. Vasantha Chase coordinated the preparation of the report. The services of the OECS Secretariat in the field were made possible through funding from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

The Fourth and Final Report of the Regional Constituent Assembly of the Windward Islands (R.C.A.) can usefully begin with a restatement of the tasks which it was charged with undertaking. These are set out in paragraph 4 • 1 of the Agreement between the Governments which participated in the setting up of the R.C.A. and read -

"The Constituent Assembly shall undertake -
(a) to consider and advise on the question of Windward Islands political union with specific reference to the economic and social viability of the union, the economic cost of union and the external relations and administrative implications of the union;
(b) to consider and advise on the possible forms of union, that is, whether the proposed union should be a state which is federal, unitary or of some other form;
(c) to consider and advise on the structure of government and elements of a constitution which would be most appropriate to the union, including the administrative and electoral mechanisms."

This composite document is drawn from two reports on assessments of education and training needs in several Eastern Caribbean countries. The College of the Virgin Islands had commissioned these studies with the following
terms of reference communicated to the consultants:

The Report would "include and identify training needs in the [several islands]; it would ''.identify those needs as they exist in the public and private sectors, and it shall identify them according to subject matter. The document shall include recommendations as to where the College can best allocate its resources in implementing some short term education and training courses; such recommendations shall include, but not be limited to, sites within the island where such courses can be delivered, persons to be contacted within the island who will act
as liaison, specific courses which could be offered, approximate number of persons to be served and costs associated with delivery of services."

This study has investigated the development of special education policy and practices in six of the nine Eastern Caribbean States, in the context of the Education Reform Strategy of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States.
The six countries participating.in the research were Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia and St Vincent and the Grenadines.

This assignment began effetively from ,March 6, 1983, following UWI approval of a request from the Director General of the OECS for services. While the task of designing an appropriate programme of tertiary education development for seven (7) distinct political units is quite demanding and ·continuous, some of the difficulties to be faced in the short time available were considerably eased by the fact that many of the pertinent issues have been extensively documented in reports of various committees of the University of the West Indies, as well as to some extent in reports prepared by or on behalf of the Governments of the Eastern Caribbean States (ECS) which are Non Campus Countries (NCCs).