There were two documents that caught my attention this week, Edwin St Catherine’s Analysis of St Lucia Labour Market Needs Assessment Survey 2012 and the Budget Statement 2013-2014 . The irony is that one should have informed the other. There are some startling conclusions generated from the excellent statistical work done by Edwin in that Analysis, and he continues to be a good servant of St. Lucia. It is one’s hope that his work will be used more frequently in the development of policy within St. Lucia. One would wish to highlight some of the conclusions developed and to examine how these can shape policy decisions in St. Lucia. The Analysis was done based on a sample size of 498 firms excluding agricultural farm holdings/firms and central government entities. The Assessment therefore provides some insight as to how the private sector is contributing to reduction in unemployment...

Recently, I read an article penned by Dr. Ronald Ramkissoon in which he reviewed an IMF Report entitled Caribbean Small States: Challenges of High Debt and Low Growth (February 20, 2013). The IMF Report outlined the following issues facing Caribbean States:a. An extreme version of low growthb. High debtc. Significant vulnerabilitiesd. Limited resilience to shocks e. Low productivity and high costs Dr. Ramkissoon generally agreed with the diagnosis of the economic disease but expressed some concerns on the prescription for the economic disease. All five issues stated above are relevant to St. Lucia and thus we must accept that St. Lucia is in a challenging period in its history. I had a read of this IMF report to see what the prescription was provided to the Caribbean. I would preface my comment by first saying that the economists at the IMF still do not seem to have an understanding of...

What makes the Church relevant in a society? Is it to bash politicians and calls them evil, corrupt and involved in witchcraft, or should the Christian be following the principles set out in God’s word and pray for the leaders and nation. St. Lucia is at a critical time in its history and every prayer released for our government is a prayer that can be effective in causing change. The battle we face is a spiritual one, not flesh and blood, and thus the rules of engagement cannot be the same. When Jesus spoke of the core purpose of every believer, he called them salt and light. You are the salt of the earth, and a little bit of salt can influence much. Salt effects the environment around, so when there is gloom and doom, the believers speaks of the grace and love of God and instills confidence in a society. When there is violence, the believer releases words of peace and joy....

Recently, I was reading an article about the debt crisis in Cyprus and the author was making the point that debt is a silent killer. I started to draw comparisons with the ‘silent killer’ that we face in our own daily lives called hypertension. We fail to exercise discipline in what we eat, we do not exercise our bodies and the arteries get clogged over time and it takes a lot more to push the blood around the body. For a country, the nation fails to exercise discipline in their spending habits, and over time the debt slows down the ability to push resources around that nation, and sometime there is a sudden upsurge of violence, the national heart attack. As it is in the natural so is it also for the nation with such issues facing it. There is need to diagnose the problem and start the therapy. A stimulus package can be the defibrillator for any economy, but the discipline in...

The following is an excerpt from an article written by Ralph Maraj a former PNM Minster, but moreso known as in the arts. It is an excellent description of the political parties in the Caribbean and one can replace any two political parties in any country and the same will apply. These two parties continue to prevent the development of our politics. They have no structures or culture to hold leadership accountable; fora for genuine analysis and fearless selfexamination; intellectual rigour to banish blindness; curriculum for a depth and nobility in the politics; syllabus for selflessness in leadership. How can courage surface to question anything when you are branded ‘neemakakharam’ and traitor to the tribe? The parties offer no meaningful politics and so even their own enlightened avoid direct engagement, treating them like a shameful past. The political swampland therefore denies the...

While the focus has been on the CSA’s strike action and the bizarre events we have observed, life goes on. The governance of the State has to be pursued despite the challenges. We are ending a financial year and very soon the Minister of Finance has to present his plans for the financial year 2013 – 2014. I believe this is the most important budget that will be presented as it will be “a line in the sand” defining of fiscal policy. The OECS is at its most crucial hour, and the role of St. Lucia as the largest economy within the Union, carries a huge responsibility. We have to see ourselves as not merely striving for the betterment of St. Lucia but also having a pivotal role in stabilizing the region. It is in this context that the demands of the unions must also be placed. In the Budget Address of 2012, the Minister of Finance outlined three point plan for recovery: 1. Jobs Creation ‐...

Ahead of the statement to the nation by the Honourable Prime Minister and Minster of Finance, I wish to comment on where we should be going as a nation. Undoubtedly, from the preview comments to HTS news, the PM will indicate that the nation cannot afford the 15% wage increase proposed by the CSA. It is instructive to note that the CSA, which composes those within the Gov’t providing the same information to both parties have indicated that they have done the needed research to show the capacity of the Gov’t to pay these increases. This is only possible if some party in the negotiations has been engaged in truth conservatism. If the CSA is saying that they can show that a government approaching fiscal deficit of 10% of GDP can alter course and generate surpluses to pay civil servants 15% increase, then in all fairness this case should be made to the people of St. Lucia. The...

On Tuesday August 21st 2012, the Government of St. Lucia unveiled its Construction Stimulus Package to the media and a select group of individuals representing various organizations. The Association of Professional Engineers received an invitation the day before ( much to the chagrin of some members) and I attended in my capacity as Vice President. There were some interesting statements made in the addresses that were presented, which can be summarized as follows: a. Government of St. Lucia is foregoing an estimated $ 45 million dollars in revenue for the Construction Stimulus Programme b. Bank of St Lucia has set aside $ 100 million for the initiative, with a 5% for 5 yrs and graduating increases to market rates to year 10. c. CIBC/FCIB has set aside $ 135 million for the initiative, with a 5.9% for 5 years d. The Bar Association has reduced their fees by 30% for related transactions...

The Government of St. Lucia needs as a matter of urgency to up the tempo if it is achieve economic growth in this financial year. It is becoming a matter of great unease that we are into the second quarter of the financial year and the plane is still taking fuel, when we should be at takeoff. The metaphorical symbolism is chosen to show that there is a time lag between policy declaration and resultant effect, and the function of effective governance is to ensure a closing of that gap. I wish to again stress that there is need to look at the implementation capacity of the public service, and to be bold to recognize that the commercial mindset is not evident within our public service. This is not organizational bashing, but the expression of realistic expectations. In small island states, the Government will always be the largest employer and largest investor, and thus efficient spending...

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...