(CARICOM Secretariat, Turkeyen, Greater Georgetown, Guyana)  CARICOM Deputy Secretary-General, Ambassador Lolita Applewhaite has told the Standing Committee of Caribbean Statisticians that despite the general lack of appreciation for statistics as a strategic resource for decision-making, good governance, planning, accountability and management, it is still a vital tool for development, the business of government, and to keep individual citizens informed about what government is doing.