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ST
LUCIA/LONDON FORUM
Second Policy Dialogue
Address by the
Honourable Prime Minister
DR KENNY D
ANTHONY
St Lucia
November 17-18, 2003
Participants
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Hon George Foulkes (MP, Chairman
of the Caribbean/Britain Business Council in London) |
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John Bowers (London Chairman of
the St Lucia/London Forum) |
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David Jessop
(Co-secretary-London) |
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Sue Monteath (Representing David
Jessop and the Caribbean Council) |
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Adrian Augier (Co-Secretary-St
Lucia/London Forum) |
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Members of the UK Delegation |
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Richard Peterkin (President of
the National Economic Council) |
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Other distinguished
participants… |
1. INTRODUCTION
The Global economic equation,
by its very nature, will never be static:
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there will always be uncertainty
and grave concerns about geopolitical tensions in many parts of the world; |
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the situation in the Middle East
continues to be unclear; |
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the casualties from the aborted
Cancun Round are still being counted; |
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The US recovery is tentative at
best; |
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lead economies in Europe remain
sluggish. |
The regional equation is
equally dynamic:
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we are on the verge of creating
a single market and economy; we share a common currency with the six other
OECS economies, |
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some of which are facing severe
economic problems; |
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compared to some of our
neighbours, St Lucia has limited advantages in manufactured exports; |
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as the region’s economies are
both integrated and open, sluggish growth rates are infectious; |
At the domestic level these
realities take on economic as well as political dimensions. In order to sustain
that vibrant and equitable society which most St Lucians desire, where there is
opportunity for self-development and the achievement of acceptable standards of
living, Government must address critical issues such as:
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Productivity Enhancement |
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Employment Maximisation |
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Poverty Reduction |
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Crime Abatement |
In the face of these realities
and other ongoing priorities – domestic and regional – St Lucia has to achieve
and maintain a discernable growth path. This is achievable if St Lucia:
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Husbands the resources at its
disposal |
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Optimizes the development
options available |
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Develops strategic partnerships |
This third ambition, of
developing strategic partnerships, best explains the St Lucia/London Forum and
the delegation’s participation in this second dialogue.
The Forum exists because St Lucia
recognizes:
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the need for inbound investment; |
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the need to be both pro-active
and responsive to opportunity; |
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the need to attract the best in
human expertise, new technology and modern practice. |
St Lucia is therefore seeking
mutually beneficial – indeed mutually profitable – partnerships with like-minded
individuals, corporations, agencies and governments. In so doing, St Lucia hopes
to:
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create synergies; |
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expand economic opportunities, |
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and accelerate the pace of
economic growth. |
2. ST LUCIA’S PRIORITIES
We propose to adopt an
integrated development strategy in order to:
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Engage a broad cross
section of economic actors in the acceleration of growth and development |
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Maximize the gains and
sustainable effects of development |
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Ensure the effective
distribution of the development benefits among the population. |
Consistent with this approach
we are focusing on expanding investment, output and exports. In order to do this
St Lucia will develop partnerships which help us to:
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Modernize the structure
of the economy to enhance private sector growth and international
competitiveness |
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Reform the national
institutional framework to make the public sector more proactive and more
responsive |
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Improve labour-force
productivity and efficiency. |
This translates into three
discrete but reinforcing priorities:
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Private Sector Diversification
and Development |
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Public Sector Reform |
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Labour Sector Reform and
Productivity Enhancement |
The Government of St Lucia
believes that addressing these three primary concerns will:
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Reshape the private and public
sectors of St Lucia |
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Position us to take advantage of
growth opportunities, and |
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Directly address the critical
constraints already mentioned. |
In applying this logic, St
Lucia’s target areas include the following growth sectors:
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Tourism and related services |
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Cultural Industries |
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Export Manufacturing |
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Financial Services |
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Information and Communication
Technology |
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Education and Human Resource
Development |
3.
THE POLICY AGENDA
As such, some of the critical
activities on the policy agenda include:
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the adoption of an integrated
economic development strategy (National Economic Council); |
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a comprehensive revision of
business incentives regime to stimulate investment (Ministry of Commerce,
Tourism, Investment and Consumer Affairs); |
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liberalization of the Duty-Free
shopping regime (Office of Private Sector Relations; Customs and Excise
Department); |
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a refocus of the national
tourism marketing approach and the establishment of a single tourism
authority; |
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special technical assistance and
financing programmes that target rural and heritage tourism (National Heritage
Tourism Project); |
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the development of the cultural
and entertainment sector to consolidate linkages into special events tourism
(St Lucia Festivals Ltd); |
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entrepreneurial training skills
development for young people (National Skills Development Centre); |
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financial support to jump start
rural economies, enhance community management and reinforce social support
systems (Poverty Reduction Fund, Basic Needs Trust Fund, etc); |
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new Public/Private partnerships
(National Economic Council); |
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privatization in critical
sectors (Bank of St Lucia, Water and Sewerage Authority); |
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modernization and liberalization
in potential growth sectors (e.g. the telecommunications sector); |
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grant support to existing
private sector companies to enhance productivity, profitability and
international competitiveness (OPSR) |
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grant assistance to new
businesses in non-traditional areas (Rural Credit Scheme); |
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public sector reform initiatives
(Public Sector Reform Unit, OPSR, Ministry of Commerce) |
4.
DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES
We believe that the development
equation is a dynamic one. Thus, there will always be challenges as there will
always be opportunities.
The task of Government is to be
visionary and pre-emptive while maintaining clear development priorities.
Thus the thrust forward in a
renewed development approach is appropriately based on a wholesome view of the
opportunities as well as the threats.
Critically speaking, the threats
are only as important as the degree to which they impact on the realization of
St Lucia’s development priorities and the prospects of those who partner with St
Lucia in that endeavour.
Some prime opportunities for
development in the current era are as follows:
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the discernable global growth
trend in export services in key areas such as Tourism, ICT Science and
Technology, Financial Services, Professional and Financial services; |
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the well-founded expectation
that small island states like Saint Lucia can find ample opportunity for
development in a wide scope of services for which demand is increasing
globally; |
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the rapid growth in electronic
commerce presenting new and cost effective ways to promote trade and
information trafficking for development purposes; |
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increased mobility of labour
both regionally and internationally enhancing opportunities for acquisition of
expertise to address critical skill gaps, and permits nationals to seek
employment opportunities abroad; |
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the appreciation among
developing states of the need for close collaboration among themselves in
pursuing their development goals; increased opportunity for influencing the
international economic order and for working together with developed countries
on common concerns; |
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the relative attractiveness of
the Caribbean as an investment area compared with other more volatile areas of
the world; |
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the relative strengths and
advantages that St Lucia enjoys within the Caribbean region. |
Ultimately, the Government is
determined to ensure that the quality of the emerging human resources is such
that the labour force will be increasingly more competitive.
The overall development aim is to
transform the economy into a more service-oriented economy. Hence priority is
assigned to education, training and human resource development.
5. POLICY IMPERATIVES
In the interim, the Government
of St Lucia sees the following imperatives:
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Stabilization to
accelerate growth rates, improve fiscal management and contain debt; |
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Stimulation by way of
critical infrastructure projects supported by enhancement of national
implementation capacity particularly as relates to the public sector
investment programme; |
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Transformation involving
broad societal consensus and institutional reform to change and improve
existing social and economic structures; |
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Modernization of
institutional infrastructure to expand the economic space and encourage
the optimal allocation of resources for increased output and productivity; |
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Revision of domestic legal
systems required for the maintenance of law and order and the efficient
operation and regulation of modern financial systems and procedures; |
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Improvement of fiscal systems
critical for efficient public service delivery. |
This agenda demonstrates the
scope and intensity of policy measures required by the current economic context.
The Government of St Lucia is determined in its efforts to accelerate economic
growth and development into the future.
6. THE CASE FOR
COLLABORATION
We see the presence of this
delegation in St Lucia as an indication of a willingness to partner with St
Lucia in the achievement of development goals, where they are complementary to
and consistent with private investment agendas. Therefore, The Government of St
Lucia invites all views, so that together, ways can be found of expanding the
scope and range of that complementarity.
The Government of St Lucia wishes
to listen and learn as much as to converse with interested partners and is
grateful for the expressed willingness to be part of St Lucia’s future. It is a
future laden with hope, and opportunity.
St Lucia cannot do this alone and
does require and welcome collaboration and support. While such collaboration
will be substantially on our terms, we also believe that those terms are
sufficiently enlightened that they embrace a prosperous future for St Lucia and
those who partner with us.
The Government of St Lucia
believes that our aims can be mutually reinforcing: Sound pro-investment
policies, supportive programmes, visionary projects, private sector
participation, profitability and prosperity.
The willingness is all.
I thank you
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