Both Sides of The Coin: The Story of The Central Bank of Barbados 1972-2017

End Notes 305 82 One whole-day retreat took place on September 22, 1998, at the Sherbourne Conference Centre. Almond Beach Resort in St. Peter was another meeting place. 83 Bank Notes , Vol.16, No. 1, May 2002, p.33. 84 See Central Bank of Barbados Act, Section 5 (e). 85 Between 1990 and 2000, the number of offshore banks rose from 19 to 52. 86 The most important agency in this regard was Invest Barbados , the entity charged with attracting foreign investors to the island. 87 Canada was by far the most important source of foreign investment in the IBFS sector. 88 Novaline Brewster took over the editing responsibilities from Carl Moore in 2001. 89 For what was one of the largest construction projects in Barbados to date, work stoppages at the site were rather infrequent. On October 17, 1983, nearly 100 workers staged a one- day strike to demand better wages and in February 1984 there was another work stoppage because of an alleged pushing incident. 90 As it turned out, chairs had indeed been brought in because of a misunderstanding between the Bank and its consultant on the furnishings. The necessary import licences were not issued and the chairs were “deported”, ironically to the Barbados Mission in Washington D.C. where Dr. Blackman would later serve as Ambassador to the US. 91 In December 1985, some second formers from Harrison College toured the building and wrote essays about their impressions. The Bank gave prizes for the best essays. One essayist recorded her reaction when they were told that the windows in the building could withstand hurricane and gale force winds. Sceptically, she wrote: “Personally, I thought they looked quite fragile.” 92 The Parliament of Barbados first met in a building in the vicinity of the Bank’s Vault and Secure Block in June 1639. On June 26, 1989, Prime Minister Erskine Sandiford unveiled a commemorative monument on this location. 93 Early in 1992, the IDB confirmed that Barbados was one of only four member countries to have maintained the same exchange rate for the previous ten years. 94 Dr. Frank Alleyne resigned from the Board soon after. 95 In addition to the lunchtime lectures, the Bank and the School of Continuing Studies co-sponsored a Youth Business Forum in the Law Lecture Theatre on February 26 and March 4, 2000.