ECCB 2016/2017 Annual Report

ECCB ANNUAL REPORT 2016/2017

hrough the Canada-Eastern Caribbean Debt

Management Advisory Service (CANEC-DMAS)

Project, the Bank provided capacity building to the

ECCB member countries in a number of debt areas

including: debt management strategies; debt portfolio

reviews; debt bulletins; and improvements in the

quality and timeliness of debt data.

One of the major achievements under the Bank’s debt

management agenda was the Junior Debt Managers

Programme (JDMP). The programme was a joint

venture between the ECCB and the IMF, with funding

from the Government of Canada. The six-month

training course was held at the ECCB Headquarters

over the period 3 October 2016 to 31 March 2017. The

purpose of the programme was to strengthen public

debt management in the ECCU by training young

professionals with the skills and knowledge required

for modern and effective public debt management.

Programme participants were selected on a highly

competitive basis by a panel, which comprised a

representative from the ECCB, IMF and the debt

manager of the country from which the candidate

was being recruited. The countries represented were:

Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada, St Kitts and

Nevis, Saint Lucia and St Vincent and the Grenadines.

The offer was also extended to member states to

nominate existing staff from the Debt Management

Offices (DMOs) for specific modules. The ECCB staff

also participated in selected modules.

The officers received training in the technical areas of

debt management and in developing soft skills such as

communication, presentation and writing techniques.

In addition to the classrooms style training, the junior

debt managers benefitted from a study tour to Ireland

and Italy which exposed them to advanced debt

management practices. The experiencewas alsomeant

to inspire their future work as well as build a channel

of communication and cooperation with the DMOs at

the forefront of public debt management. They also

received hands-on exposure to debt management

during a two-week attachment at the DMOs in their

respective countries.

Governor Timothy N. J. Antoine (Front Row: fourth from left) with Junior Debt Managers Programme participants and facilitators