Saint Lucians Called to Work Together to Build a Strong and Stable Nation
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Saint Lucians Called to Work Together to Build a Strong and Stable Nation
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Contact: Rose Marie Harris
Wednesday, May 09, 2012 – “We have come to build a state that is strong, stable and sustainable” this was the commitment given to the people of Saint Lucia as Prime Minister Honourble Dr. Kenney Anthony delivered his much anticipated Budget Address last evening May 8th, 2012, under the theme –“Building Opportunities for Our Common Good.”
Dr. Anthony told the nation that with the difficult economic times the world over, government must find way to manage the country differently and must also have a vision plan to take the country forward. The Prime Minister also called open every citizen to become creative, to develop a zeal to excel and to instil love of country, love of self and each other. “For the continued appeal in today’s world means that as a small, open economy and society, we must be ever mindful of how easy it is for us to become irrelevant. We must define our relevance in this world. We must compete more than we ever have, create more than we ever have; and yet cooperate more earnestly than we ever have. This 2012/2013 statement on Government’s socio-economic policies and budgetary proposals will focus on how we can redefine and reconstruct our economic space to promote much needed growth, how we can engender confidence in our society to be more productive, effective and participatory, while maintaining social peace.”
Government Dr. Anthony reiterated that must do everything in its power to win back the trust of the people. Government must be able to pay its sovereign debts, protect the rule of law, ensure that revenues collected in the name of the people are spent as best as they can, and promote investor confidence. According to the country’s leader, these elements of good governance and confidence in a fair and caring state will ensure investor confidence, freedom of mind and energy to the youth. In the words of the Prime Minister “This is a social contract that we have signed and must deliver.”
“ In these arid days, Mr. Speaker, better days invariably requires that we find better ways. That path through the desert means that we must identify what oases we can maximize as we move towards unleashing the untendered waters of sustainable growth. It means that we must provide measures in the short term to tackle unemployment, reign in on our fiscal management, and review meticulously,
existing modes of doing business. In the medium term, investment promotion and facilitation must take centre stage as we must induce foreign direct investment flows. Also, we must re-skill, re-tool and re-focus our human resources as we seek to promote growth and create new jobs in existing and new sectors.” |
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