"Bountiful" Year Awaits St. Lucians

January 9, 2001 – A “bountiful” year lies ahead for St. Lucia as various initiatives to develop a tourism-led services economy bear fruit and compensate for the sharp decline of the once dominant banana industry,  Prime Minister Dr. Kenny D. Anthony said last night.

In a nationally televised New Year’s address, Dr. Anthony also announced that several major development projects, ranging from a multi-million dollar road rehabilitation programme to the construction of a new general hospital and national cricket ground, would come on stream during the year, giving employment a major boost.

Reviewing the performance of the economy under his three-and-a-half-year-old administration, Dr. Anthony said a successful transition had been achieved and St. Lucia today was poised to meet the challenges and demands of the new liberalized global economy.

“If the years 1997 to 1999 were the years of planting the seeds of change, then the year 2000 was the year when we saw the first small shoots of that change beginning to sprout,” said the Prime Minister who holds responsibility for finance.  “The year 2001 promises to provide us with a bountiful harvest as a reward for our toil and sweat over the years,” he added.

After serving as the engine of economic growth for three decades through a guaranteed export market in the United Kingdom, the banana industry began to decline in the aftermath of the 1992 creation of the European Single Market.  This development marked the start of moves by some Latin American competitors to dismantle the longstanding preferences Windward Islands bananas had enjoyed. Economic adjustment became inevitable.

“Whilst in the past there was always an awareness of the need for adjustment, it was only in the last three and a half years that concrete steps were taken to place St. Lucia in a position to respond to the challenges of the global economy,” Dr. Anthony said.

The Prime Minister said St. Lucians should be proud of how they managed the transition. Noting economic adjustment had been accompanied by social unrest in some Caribbean countries, Dr. Anthony said it was achieved in St. Lucia with “comparative political peace and industrial tranquility.” He thanked trade unions and other civic groups for the “maturity” they exercised during the transition period.

“The banana industry will survive but it is no longer “King”,” said Dr. Anthony, urging the private sector to join with government in extending a hand to farmers  through special discounts and credit facilities, for example, to help them through the adjustment.

The banana industry received at least EC$88 million in government support over the last three years and will receive a further $24 million this year to finance irrigation and drainage works, the Prime Minister said.

Besides substantial growth by tourism in recent years, Dr. Anthony expressed satisfaction with the take-off of the new offshore financial services sector.  More than 100 international business companies (IBCs), two international insurance companies and one Class A bank had registered so far in St. Lucia, he said.

Lauding the initiative of broadcast media entrepreneur Linford Fevrier for  establishing an international call centre, an opportunity resulting from the liberalization of the telecommunications market, Dr. Anthony urged other St. Lucian businessmen to follow his example in exploiting new niches resulting from economic change. Helen IT Systems will employ 700 persons when it becomes fully operational by March.

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