OECS Director General, Dr. Didacus Jules, said the OECS Commission has recorded an 81 percent accomplishment on its key performance indicators for the period 2015/2016.

This notable accomplishment was realized amidst a challenging year for the OECS Commission, which has had to navigate financial and other constraints.

Addressing the 64th meeting of the OECS Authority in Saint Kitts and Nevis last week, Dr. Jules said the Commission is deeply conscious of the need to show value for money and to find opportunity in adversity. As a result, the Commission has had to find more cost effective ways of working, focusing on essentials.

“Performance matters and whether they be regional, or national, public or private sector, all entities are being increasingly held accountable on this score. This 64th meeting of the OECS Authority, we will have to think strategically about our collective positioning in a world where all grounds are shifting, all alliances are fluid, and the old certainties have become the new unpredictable.”

According to Dr. Jules, as the economies of small vulnerable states like the OECS are being threatened, the only viable option for survival will be to find common cause. The time is rife, he said, to advance the efforts for regional integration for a more unified approach to challenges.

“In many simple ways, the deeper convergence of efforts and resources is the way to go. Designing common approaches to optimize pooled resources and to strategize in our dealing with the wider world [is essential], whether it be extending the procurement of medicine to the pool procurement of essential supplies and widely needed services; or the use of virtual working groups comprising the best expertise in member states in trade, diplomacy, tourism, or health.”

The Director General assured the Heads of Government that the OECS Commission was moving rapidly to structure itself as a facilitator of deeper and wider collaboration from decision making at the top to implementation and delivery at the bottom.

Dr. Jules also formally welcomed the newest members of the OECS Authority, His Excellency Alfred Marie-Jeanne, President of the Territorial Authority of Martinique, and Saint Lucia’s Prime Minister Hon. Allen M. Chastanet.

The 64th meeting of the OECS Authority concluded on April 12, in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.