By: Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell
October 15, 2024
It is with a deep sense of honour, pride and responsibility that I deliver this message on the commemoration of the 50th Anniversary of the Standing Committee of Caribbean Statisticians and the 16th Observance of Caribbean Statistics day under the theme “Improving Lives through Statistics, Strengthening and Innovating together”. The year 2024 holds great significance for regional statistics since, 50 years ago the Inaugural Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Expanded Caribbean Community, endorsed the establishment of the Standing Committee of Caribbean Statisticians (SCCS) in accordance with Resolution 54/74/4 of the Fourth Meeting of the Common Market Council of Ministers. This endorsement underscored the recognition of the Heads of Government, of that period, of the importance of statistics in the development of CARICOM.
It is hoped that this recognition of the 50th Anniversary of the Standing Committee of Caribbean Statisticians will signal CARICOM governments to take deliberate actions to strengthen the National Statistical Offices and Systems. This will ensure the provision of high quality, timely statistics for users including, government policymakers, the private sector, researchers/academia and all citizens, particularly our Youth who must be armed with evidence to detect misinformation in this digital era. Therefore, we need to find creative and innovative ways of engendering Statistics as a math’s-based science in our schools in cultivating the next generation of statisticians, data scientists, and related experts who can drive innovation in statistics and lead our region into the future.
As Chair of CARICOM and Lead Head responsible for Science and Technology in the CARICOM Quasi Cabinet it is incumbent on me to stress that Statistics are not just numbers on a page; they tell a story of the people we serve. This information is the bedrock of good governance in guiding national and regional policies that seek to improve the lives of our people.
In addition to celebrating Caribbean Statistics day and the 50th Anniversary of the Standing Committee of Caribbean Statisticians (SCCS) a number of milestones are also being observed this year. These include:
30th Anniversary of the adoption of the United Nations Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics and the 10th Anniversary of their endorsement by the UN General Assembly.
The 4th High Level Advocacy Forum on Statistics which is scheduled to be held in the Member State of Belize in the periphery of the 49th meeting of the Standing Committee of Caribbean Statisticians, and
The midpoint of the implementation of the CARICOM Regional Strategy for the Development of Statistics (RSDS), which was endorsed by the 39th Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of CARICOM.
Together, these milestones underscore the indispensable role of statistics in the sustainable development of our region and unearth the need for greater commitment to its enhancement. They also highlight the region’s obligation to transparency, accountability, and excellence in data production. The CARICOM Quality assurance framework and Code of Good Statistics practice are both grounded in the UN Fundamental Principles of Official statistics. Meeting these obligations and achieving the ultimate outcome of the CARICOM Regional Strategy for the Development of Statistics requires strengthening partnership in mobilizing resources for statistics development.
As we enter into another decade of our statistical journey, we must reflect on the last five in which the Standing Committee of Caribbean Statisticians (SCCS) embraced and promoted regional collaboration through strengthening the ability of our countries to collect, analyze, disseminate and use data. The success of the Committee is testament to the commitment and dedication of our statisticians, who often have limited resources to work with but have managed to maintain the production of data in core areas of statistics. The invaluable support of our development partners and stakeholders must be recognized and commended in this regard. Much has been achieved and much more can be done if the infrastructure of National Statistical Offices and other data producing agencies are strengthened.
The recently adopted Antigua and Barbuda Agenda for SIDS highlights the need to invest in building human and institutional capacity in SIDS to collect quality, accessible, timely and reliable, disaggregated data and to strengthen and modernise national data infrastructure and systems to better integrate data into development planning, thereby enhancing the capacity of Statistical Offices.
Natural disasters continue to erode our development progress and thus weaken our ability to achieve the targets of the Sustainable Development Goals. My country, Grenada along with Jamaica and St. Vincent and the Grenadines are among the latest victims of the climate crisis having sustained severe damages from the ravages of Hurricane Beryl. It must be emphasized that Statistics is critical in saving lives and restoring livelihoods as well as in reporting on our social, economic and environmental vulnerabilities. Thus, good statistics are needed to strengthen our region’s case in the fight for climate justice.
Good statistics are also essential in the pursuit of sustainable tourism, renewable energy, the blue and the orange economy, agriculture and food and nutrition security as well as in the context of monitoring free movement and the impact of the changing dynamics of our region’s population.
Let us recognize, in a greater way, the vital role that statistics continue to play in shaping the future of our region. By strengthening our collaboration and embracing innovation, we can ensure that our statistical systems remain robust, resilient and relevant. Thus, producing better data drives better decisions that ultimately results in better lives for all our citizens.
In closing, I would like to re-affirm my commitment to the CARICOM Regional Strategy for the Development of Statistics in advocating for greater investment for its implementation to ensure the development of this highly important sector. Let us commence our journey of the next 50 years with great optimism and a spirit of determination as we continue to improve lives and strengthen our statistical systems to produce better data.
Thank you
(The author is the Prime Minister of Grenada)
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