One cannot start a discussion on Housing without mentioning the efforts of former Minister of Housing – Michael ‘Mikey’ Pilgrim for his outstanding contribution to this sector. Many know Mikey as a man for all seasons. For those who were with him at St. Mary’s College would remember his scholastic achievement and his records in sports. For those who have interfaced with him professionally would know his business acumen and knowledge in the accounting field. For those who have faced him in the political arena would know him as a firebrand politician with a charisma that is the envy of many. The aspect of his contribution to St. Lucia which is least spoken about, is his contribution as Minister of Housing in the period 1992 – 1997. If one goes on the website of the National Housing Corporation, you would observe that in that period the most houses and the most housing lots were...

The Caribbean Development Bank was recently downgraded by Moody, of interest is the fact that the President of CDB – Dr. Warren Smith lamented the paucity of implementation of projects by the various member countries. Dr. Smith revealed some startling statistics in his commentary of the bank’s performance for 2011. For Cletus and Thecla who engaged in an interesting debate on the way forward, I say time is running out and drastic and creative approaches have to be found to solve this regional crisis. GEORGE TOWN, Cayman Islands – The US based rating agency, Moody Investors Services has downgraded the credit ratings of the Barbados-based Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) by one notch from Aaa to Aa1. CDB president Dr. Warren Smith told the bank’s annual board of governors meeting yesterday that the downgrade followed a routine examination of the region’s premier development...

On Tuesday 8th May 2012, the Hon. Prime Minister presented further details of the Budget for the year 2012-13. One must agree that it was an informative presentation with varied and incisive policy positions on the economy. As we say locally we can ‘ christen’ the budget as The Construction Budget, as the core policy is to use the construction sector as the avenue for economic growth. Before commentary is presented on the specifics, it is instructive to review some of the issues raised in the presentation. The Prime Minister presented four crucial matters facing the country: 1. Rising Debt levels 2. Recurrent expenditure outstripping revenue 3. Need to stimulate the economy 4. Job creation There is indeed an interrelationship among the above four matters. A stagnant economy will result in reduced revenue to the Government. There will be need to borrow to stimulate the economy,...