In a ceremony held at Paradise Cove on Saturday July 21 at 9:00 am, the Chairmanship of the ECCB was handed over to the Honourable Minister of Finance Mr. Victor Banks. The outgoing chairman, Dr. The Honourable Ralph Gonsalves, Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, as well as the Governor of the ECCB Sir K Dwight Venner sat with Mr. Banks at the head table. Sir Dwight chaired the ceremony and it began with an opening prayer by Reverend Joseph Lloyd of the Methodist Church. In Sir Dwight’s opening remarks, he recognized all of the many dignitaries and members of the Monetary Council in the crowd. He reminded everyone that the chairmanship of the ECCB is handed over every year and obviously this year it goes to Anguilla. He quoted the outgoing Chairman by stating that, “having post colonial economies which are closely integrated at both the national and OECS levels and are flexible, adaptive and innovative in order to be regionally and internationally competitive, is the ultimate goal.” He continued by saying that the following requisites are imperative in order for this to happen; political vision, will, accountability, administrative competence, corporate governance, civic responsibility and social expectations.

Invitees and Dignitaries

Dr. The Honourable Ralph Gonsalves then spoke in great detail of the various accolades of the ECCB during his chairmanship. Various statistics concerning growth in the OECS were highlighted and praise was given to the fact that the EC dollar is the strongest currency in this hemisphere. Dr. Gonsalves also made a call to the young people to get more involved in money and investment clubs. He spoke greatly about the social responsibility people must have with regard to money. He said, “There is a stigma with making money in our society but there is nothing wrong with making money honestly.” He expressed gratitude to all those who helped him during his duties and was honoured to pass it on to Mr. Banks.

The Head table: L-R: Hon. Ralph Gonsalves, Hon. Victor Baks and Sir K Dwight Venner

Mr. Banks then addressed the crowd as he accepted the chairmanship. He said, “I am indeed honoured to accept the Chairmanship of the Monetary Council for the 2007-2008 period. It is a historic time for the members of the OECS as we move boldly forward along the course of deeper integration through the establishment of a single economic international space.”

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