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December 13^th, 2018 During his presentation in the St. Kitts and Nevis National Assembly Chambers today, Thursday, December 13^th, 2018, Opposition Leader Dr. Denzil Douglas told a lie on the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB).  This lie has been debunked and the truth is now being revealed.

The Leader of the Opposition said he went to the Central Bank’s website https://www.eccb-centralbank.org/ to obtain financial data on St. Kitts and Nevis and while there, “I was very shocked myself to observe that much of the most recent economic data on St. Kitts and Nevis was also not there.” 

Dr. Douglas added, “I could not help, Mr. Speaker, but wonder if our Central Bank had discovered that the information provided to them by the Government was erroneous and possibly falsified, and as a result out of sheer embarrassment and also out of caution – as being subject of fraud and deception – withdrew the information from its own website.”

This afternoon, the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank said, “According to the ECCB’s records, the Economic and Financial Review for the period, January to June, 2018 was uploaded to the ECCB website on 8 October, 2018 and was never removed.”  The ECCB also gave reassurance to the Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Dr. the Honourable Timothy Harris, that the bank had no reason to remove data from its website and, in fact, never did.

The Quarterly Economic and Financial Review dated June 2018 provides the most recent economic data on St. Kitts and Nevis. 

You can find this document on the Central Bank’s website https://www.eccb-centralbank.org/ – where it has been since October 8^th, 2018 – by scrolling down halfway on the main page and clicking on Publications.  Once you are directed to the Publications page https://www.eccb-centralbank.org/documents, scroll down and click on QUARTERLY ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL REVIEW – JUNE 2018.

Pages 63 to 79 detail the most recent economic data for St. Kitts and Nevis.  Page 63 states, “Data for the first half of 2018 indicate that the economy of St. Kitts and Nevis expanded, at an accelerated rate relative to the performance of the corresponding period of 2017.”  The first page of the report also notes that, “The fiscal position of the Federal Government increased to a larger overall fiscal surplus during the period under review, compared with the corresponding period in 2017.”

The ECCB report also states on page 79, “…the Federation is poised for expansive economic growth, based on existing projects and programmes.”