Nicholls: Caribbean needs several engines

BRIDGETOWN—Caribbean countries have been warned not to lose sight of the bigger goal of economic transformation and development even as they remain pre-occupied with overall economic growth. Former deputy director of the Central Bank of T&T Dr Shelton Nicholls said Caribbean countries “need to ensure that the strategies and that we are currently grappling with to rekindle economic growth do not just address the immediacy of current challenges but really take us some distance along the road to achieving a sustainable development path”. Addressing the Central Bank of Barbados Annual Review Seminar, Nicholls said while the pre-occupation with economic growth in the region is undoubtedly critical, the Caribbean region should ensure that it does not lose sight of the bigger goal of economic transformation and development. He warned that “short-term tinkering alone “with our macroeconomic and financial environment while crucial for economic stablisation may not give us the fillip that we really need to push our economies out of the current stasis.