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Contact:
John Emmanuel
Tuesday, March 11, 2003 – Work is continuing full speed ahead on the
drafting of a comprehensive policy to guide government and its stakeholders in
ensuring the development of a mindset and culture of independence and
self-reliance among Saint Lucians.
Over the next six months, the Ministry of Social Transformation, which is
overseeing the process, is hoping to present a Green Paper to the Cabinet of
Ministers for consideration on the adoption of the policy. “The Government of
Saint Lucia is committed to a society in which the pursuit of justice, equality,
economic stability, efficiency and resource management are seen as development
imperatives,” said Fortuna Belrose, who serves as Assistant Director of
Community Services and Local Government in the Ministry of Social
Transformation.
She indicated that, “these objectives cannot be realized without building the
country’s human and social capital – ie, social cohesion, social integration and
social stability.” Belrose noted that a consultant in the person of Yves Renard
has been contracted to spearhead the development of the policy. A technical team
comprising personnel from across the public service involved in social work,
tourism and agriculture has also been put in place to help draft the document.
Said Belrose, “for one thing in Saint Lucia there is no shortage of date as
there is a lot of material available and as a result we are going through it to
extract what is relevant in this case. The next issues is that within the
Ministry itself we have oversight of the social funds namely the STEP Programme,
the Poverty Reduction Fund, the BelFund, the National Conservation Authority,
etc, they are all part of us and we have been able to bring them on board with
us in terms of social development.”
It is the Ministry’s view that social investment will guarantee that every
citizen will have access to a basic standard of living, accessibility to
critical services and an environment that provides to opportunity to learn and
develop ones potential. With these basic facilities, it is expected that
citizens will be creative, innovative, confident and better prepared to take on
the challenges of contributing to the fulfilment of their needs.
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