Steele re-elected head of Chamber of Commerce

Angus Steele has been re-elected to serve another term as the President of the St Vincent and the Grenadines Chamber of Industry and Commerce.{{more}}

At the 83rd Annual General Meeting of the council, which took place on Tuesday, July 14, 2009, at the Conference Room of the Chamber of Industry and Commerce, Steele, the country manager of telecommunications company LIME, was elected to lead the twelve-person board for the 2009/2010 year.

The other council members are: Senior Vice President, Andrew Woodroffe; Vice President, Finance, Samuel Goodluck; Villette Browne, Earl Crichton, Christine DaSilva, Jethro Greene, Wayne Hadaway, Michael John, Martin La Borde, Eugenia Shillingford-Stewart and Marlon Stevenson.

More than forty representatives of the businesses comprising the Chamber of Industry and Commerce met and deliberated on a range of issues, including the acquisition of a building for the Chamber’s headquarters in the city and improving the enterprise potential and revenue base of the organization.

In delivering his Presidential address, Steele, reiterated that private sector growth was essential for the prosperity of St.Vincent and the Grenadines. He noted that despite the significant environmental events such as fluctuating oil prices and global economic crisis, the Chamber has seen unprecedented transformation. He made reference to the work of the Chamber over the past year, which commenced through the endorsement of a 5-year strategic plan, ongoing needs assessment of businesses and the adoption of a work programme to guide the actions of the Chamber.

Some of the key accomplishments noted included: The appointment of new staff, the creation of working committees consisting of persons within the business community; the attraction of new members; the continued active involvement in policy making processes at various civil and governmental levels; increased visibility of the organization; continued dissemination of relevant business and trade information.

In charting the road ahead, the President called for the adoption of a 21st century organization. He pinpointed the following elements which he believed would be critical to future success: Unremitting co-operation between government, civil society and the private sector to address and cope with the ongoing global recession; active participation of the business community in national policy formulation without fear or concern of political ties; bridging the digital divide through embracement of the digital economy in the way business is conducted; transformation of business practices to foster a strong business culture.

Steele noted that the Chamber remained committed in its thrust to engage and represent the business community. He concluded by stating that the collective efforts of the past and current Council and the secretariat must be augmented in order to develop the business community. He further encouraged businesses to participate as one unified body under the ambit of the Chamber to ensure survival in the changing global business environment.