Michele Robinson |Debt Management Consultant

The inaugural meeting of the Caribbean Association of Debt Managers was held at the Half Moon Hotel, Montego Bay Jamaica, in October 2011. At the meetings, Caribbean debt managers elected an executive to carry out the Association's mandate, namely to:

• Facilitate continuous sharing of information and technical discussions
• Help improve best practice in debt management in the region
• Help improve institutional framework for public debt management
• Help to reduce borrowing costs for member countries
• Help foster innovation
• Help strengthen technical capability in public debt management

The Executive comprises: Mrs. Pamella McLaren (Jamaica) - President); Mrs. Michelle Doyle-Lowe (Barbados) - Vice-President. Ms. Marlene Jeffers (St. Kitts and Nevis - Secretary);  Mr. Francis Fontenelle (St. Lucia), and Ms. Patlian Johnson (British Virgin Islands).

The 1st Annual Meeting of CARADEM hosted jointly by CARTAC and the Commonwealth Secretariat was opened by the Financial Secretary in the Ministry of Finance, Dr. Wesley Hughes.

The inaugural opening address was made by Mr. Ransford Smith, Deputy Secretary General of the Commonwealth Secretariat, while Mr. Andres Uribe of the Inter-American Development Bank and Mr. Michel Marion of CARTAC also made opening remarks.

The CARADEM meeting had a full Agenda covering the following areas:

• Redressing the Debt Probelm in the Caribbean Region - Issues and Challenges
• Adopting a Strategic Debt Management Framework
• Implementing Reforms and Building Capacity in Public Debt Management
• Establishing an Association of Caribbean Debt Managers

Among the presentations were the following:

• Towards Sound Debt Management in the Caribbean (Mrs. Michele Robinson)
• Recent Debt Iniativies to Strengthen Debt Management in ECCU countries (Mrs. Teresa Smith)
• Supporting Strategic Debt Management in the Caribbean through ComSec Technical Assistance (Mr. Carilus Odumbe)
• Strengthening Debt Management in the ECCU Countries - CIDA/Eastern Caribbean Debt Management Advisory Services (Ms. Juletta Jeffers)
• Recent Institutional Reforms in Public Debt Management (Mrs. Pamella McLaren)
• Proposal to form an Association of Caribbean Debt Managers (Mrs. Michele Robinson)

Following the meetings, a communique was drafted by the delegates. Click here to read.