In his maiden budget address on May 9, Prime Minister Hon. Allen M. Chastanet presented the government’s plan for Saint Lucia.

He said Saint Lucia would have to rid itself of low growth, high public debt and fiscal deficits, high unemployment, low productivity, lack of competitiveness, structural problems in the labour market, and the high costs of doing business.

“We are determined to lift Saint Lucia out of this economic quagmire by taking the necessary tough policy decisions required to lead us back onto a trajectory of higher growth, sustainable debt, high levels of investment, low unemployment and an improved standard of living,” said Prime Minister Chastanet. “I have listened to many Saint Lucians from all walks of life and I feel inspired by them. I know that they are willing to partner with us in making the changes required to make Saint Lucia prosperous. This budget will lay the foundation for the implementation of programs, projects, and policies over the next four years, that will make Saint Lucia, the success story of the Caribbean.”

The prime minister’s presentation began with a review of the country’s economic performance where from 2006 to 2016, the overall economy has been growing at an average rate of 1.3 percent.

The prime minister lamented the increase in unemployment.

“Over the past decade our unemployment rate has increased significantly, from 14 percent in 2007 to more than 20 percent where it has stubbornly remained. Youth unemployment has followed a similar trend and has remained extremely high at 43.1 percent. It is an extremely sad reality that over one-fifth or 20 percent of our productive labour force is unemployed. This means that we have substantial capacity for expansion, growth and development.”

The prime minister also outlined the main areas of focus.

“We are at a critical juncture in our development, he said. “The new vision for Saint Lucia will require fundamental and structural changes in the economy. Our approach will engage all sectors and be based on dialogue. The strategic areas of focus are creating sustainable employment, reengineering social services, reforming government to make it more responsive to the business community and citizens, improving security and justice, building capacity in renewable energy, and adapting to climate change.

Creating sustainable employment

Government has pledged to work towards an unemployment rate of no more than 15 percent by 2021.

“Investments within the coming months will create employment throughout the island, particularly in the sectors of tourism, agriculture and construction,” Mr Chastanet said. “There will be a comprehensive incentives package which will create employment within the private sector and provide much needed support to businesses within Saint Lucia.”

Tourism projects include the Harbour Club, Fairmont Saint Lucia Resort, The Curio by Hilton, Range Developments (Black Bay), Sandals Resorts International all poised to create more rooms for Saint Lucia, and jobs.

Another major project is the DSH Pearl of the Caribbean project.

“No longer will high rates of joblessness plague Vieux Fort and no longer will the people of the south feel abandoned. This project will make use of under-utilized lands in the south, particularly in Beausejour, and create several ancillary industries and linkages with existing businesses. The opportunities this project presents are endless. We welcome this development and look forward to the job opportunities it will provide.”

The prime minister also stressed a focus on increasing the number of 3-star properties on the island with focus on Saint Lucian investment. Village Tourism will also be a priority with villages being uniquely themed and development plans established in a participatory manner which address the villages’ infrastructure, culinary assets, architecture and capacity. This is in support of expansion of the shared economy in much the same way that Gros Islet continues to benefit from village tourism. The Prime Minister also spoke about the National Apprenticeship Program which will provide financial support for persons in hospitality training.

“Once these persons have successfully completed their programs, they will be eligible for employment with many of the major cruise lines,” he said. “Government has partnered with OJO Labs International to develop an artificial intelligence training and call centre to market and sell the products, services, software and technology of OJO and its clients, including the fastest growing real estate company in the United States.”

The government also outlined plans for the agriculture sector that will “enable the private sector to participate in the development of the agriculture sector and foster a commercialized approach to livestock rearing, fresh produce farming, and fishing.”

Reengineering social services

Prime Minister Chastanet noted that the Ministry of Equity, Social Justice, Empowerment, Culture and Local Government and Youth Development and Sports has been tasked with the responsibility of bringing life to re-engineering social services.

“At the core of this new system is the local government authority. Every intervention, every extension service must now be placed within that context. It means our social transformation officers, family case workers, and youth and sports officers all must work within the framework of that local government jurisdiction and the same must apply to those agencies like SSDF, Belfund and CDF. Our government will develop the After School Program as the model to demonstrate this new arrangement. In recent times, this program has been regarded as a stand-alone intervention, administered through the Community Services Development Unit but there is the potential to realize even more significant benefits.” The Prime Minister also spoke extensively about education and health reform.

Reforming government to make it more responsive to the business community and citizens

The Prime Minister took the opportunity on Tuesday inform about the Inland Revenue Department’s Electronic Payment Platform which went live as of March 21.

“I mentioned earlier that there was need to improve productivity economy-wide if we are to build a competitive and robust economy. This will require a comprehensive re-engineering of the public service given its size and influence on the rest of the economy. The public service continues to operate as it did in the 1980s being guided by the Staff Orders for the Public Service of Saint Lucia issued in the 1980s.”

The prime minister said many services ought to be accessible and available 24 hours a day. “In order for this to happen, there must be comprehensive changes in the legislation, the accountability systems, and the introduction of relevant ICT.”

Improving Security and Justice

“Government will work to improve the administration of justice and the security of our country,” Mr Chastanet said. “Saint Lucia’s courts have been without a home for some time, which has resulted in delays in the hearing of cases and the rising remand population in the prisons.”

He noted that the courts will be temporarily relocated to the grounds of the National Cultural Centre.

“A temporary structure will be erected to house the Family Court, First District Court, the High Court, Magistrates Court and the Offices of the Director of Public Prosecutions while the National Cultural Centre will be relocated,” he said. The government also pledged to increase the resources of the Royal Saint Lucia Police Force by training 46 recruits and providing additional vehicles and other much needed equipment. Another way to strengthen security the prime minister noted, was the establishment of border control. This agency will be responsible for border management and the processing of people, goods, plants and animals at all ports of entry, customs and immigration services, enforcement of relevant legislation, and the protection of Saint Lucia’s borders.

Building capacity in renewable energy

Prime Minister Allen Chastanet then focused on a sustainable energy sector development strategy.

“The strategy will be to increase the demand for sustainable energy services in the economy. To this end, government will seek to continue ongoing work on the diffusion of renewable energy and energy technologies. This means that government will more aggressively pursue the installation of photovoltaic and solar hot water systems on public buildings. Government will also seek to advance ongoing work in the areas of geothermal exploration and solar farm development.”

This will promote increased manufacturing energy enterprises in Saint Lucia and diversify the manufacturing base to include photovoltaic components and energy-efficient street lamps and lighting.

Watch the budget address here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3D2-QI-2QQI

For the full text of the Budget address, download the attached PDF.

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Budget address starts today