But Economic Progress Lags
DESPITE the many promises made by successive governments to transform Vieux Fort into a new economic frontier, the southern town continues to literally beg for the intervention of both the private and public sector to make such promises bear fruit.
Vieux Fort featured in the United Workers’ Party’s manifesto this year; this time the aim was to develop the area as a new tourism frontier, including serving as a home port for the cruise industry.
The party’s manifesto also outlines plans to undertake the Hewanorra International Airport Redevelopment Plan and complete the Vieux Fort Road diversion, coastal promenade and associated development, as well as implementing the Vieux Fort Waterfront Upgrading Plan.
This year’s Saint Lucia Labour Party manifesto, too, promised development for Vieux Fort, including the redevelopment of the Hewanorra International Airport and Port Vieux Fort, exploring sewage options in the Greater Vieux Fort area, and continuing the search for investment to provide employment opportunities in the area.
However, President of the Southern Tourism Development Corporation (STDC), Dr. Anderson Reynolds, said that while there have been many plans to stir up economic prosperity in the southern town, implementing those plans have consistently been lacking.
Dr. Reynolds, who has been president of the STDC Board since April 2015, said the island’s second largest town, is a victim of haphazard development compounded by empty promises, resulting in many residents relocating to the island’s north in search of employment or simply migrating overseas.
“You would just hear a building going up somewhere, the Vieux Fort Square being renovated and an administrative complex and flour mill being set up and so forth,” Dr. Reynolds told The VOICE. “But you do not get the sense that it’s part of a plan that we’re focusing on.”
The STDC was formed in 1998 and is a registered non-profit private organization that coordinates the development and advancement of touristic activities in the south of Saint Lucia. Its mission includes stimulating and facilitating tourism development in Vieux Fort and its environs via mobilization and utilization of public and private resources for advocacy, product development and promotion of the south as an integral part of Saint Lucia’s tourism product.
Since it receives an annual financial allocation from government, the Ministry of Tourism provides some level of oversight in the operations of the STDC which must also submit its annual budget to that ministry.
Dr. Reynolds said there have been as many development plans for Vieux Fort as there have been government administrations. He recalled a development plan for the southern town from as far back as the early 1970s without the political will to implement such plan.
He said Prime Minister Allen Chastanet’s plans to divide the island into five economic zones is no different from a similar plan promised by the late Prime Minister Sir John Compton in his 2007 Budget Address in which Sir John spoke about dividing the island into four economic quadrants.
“What is needed is not another development plan but instead the will and determination to probably synthesize the plans into a definitive one that they can implement on an annual, consistent and systematic basis. That would be better than the haphazard development we now have,” Dr. Reynolds explained.
According to Dr. Reynolds, plans for the Southern Quadrant speak to develope the Vieux Fort Waterfront stretching from the dock right to the second bridge along the Vieux Fort/Laborie Highway. The detailed plan speaks to a marina and malls along the waterway.
When the STDC hosted a symposium last year, nearly 100 people representing various businesses were present. One of the questions raised at that symposium concerned what key activities needed to occur to give Vieux Fort the best hope of attracting development and stimulating economic activity. The construction of a marina, Dr. Reynolds said, topped the list of suggestions.
He said the STDC has since been advocating for the construction of a marina in the southern town, including meeting with former Prime Minister Dr. Kenny Anthony and hosting a symposium and inviting potential investors from Martinique and France specifically to discuss the matter.
Dr. Reynolds said the cost for the basic infrastructure of the marina stands at around US$20 million. He said plans for the project drawn up by Bob Hathaway will include a 100-room five-star hotel, boatyard, retail outlets and convention room.
“We would love to see the Vieux Fort Waterfront developed and beautified and become a visitor attraction with a marina being there as well,” Dr. Reynolds said. “We would also want to be able to take care of the social assets as the town itself develops. It appears that Vieux Fort has a lot of land; however, that land is disappearing.”
He said the Pointe Sable Recreational Park where the Jazz Finale is usually held is an area that needs to be preserved for recreational use and not be bought up for commercial purposes. A business developer, he said, came with a proposal last year to erect a shopping mall in the exact spot.
“All but one of the town councilors were all for it,” Dr. Reynolds said. “However, we (the STDC) opposed it and I wrote a position paper on that.”
Dr. Reynolds said that while the STDC aims to serves as a clearing-house for tourism and other economic development projects in the area, many of the projects undertaken in the area are done without any formal communication to the STDC. The flour mill and the new administrative building are examples, he said.
At the national level, Dr. Reynolds said, government needs to plan the economy effectively and efficiently by planning long-term, including factoring in the number of people entering the workforce each year with the level of foreign direct investment (FDI) and opportunities that can be derived from functioning industries such as the tourism industry, agriculture, manufacture and sports and culture
Dr. Reynolds said there needs to be balanced growth in the country. While the tourism industry has been identified as having great potential in the south, he lamented the vast difference in the development taking place in that sector in the island’s north with the dismal performance in the south. Nevertheless, he believes realizing prosperity in the south is possible.
“Achieving economic growth in Vieux Fort is not farfetched or far removed. Given the right amount of interest and attention, it is something that can happen any day now. But it seems to be more tourism-oriented,” Dr. Reynolds said.
During the swearing-in ceremony of the new Cabinet held in Vieux Fort last week, Prime Minister announced that a team headed by President of the Florida Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA), Michele Paige, was on island to meet with local government officials towards the establishing of a cruise ship pier in Vieux Fort.
Why is it that Dr. Reynolds consistently denies the existence of a proposal to build a 96 room hotel on the Old Il Pirata site in Vieux Fort. This plan has gone through all the DCA approvals and finance for this project was secured and secured at this time. The problem with the development of Vieux Fort lies with how some Vieux Fortians see each other. Dr. Anderson Reynolds must demonstrate integrity and honesty by either denying or acknowledging the existence of the planned hotel for the Old Il Pirata site and stop promoting a project which has difficulty in raising capital.
Dr. Reynolds what do you know or not know about the proposed hotel construction on the Old Il Pirata site and why is it not on your agenda?
Dr. Reynolds, the development for Vieux Fort is not only tourism related. There are plans to construct a Solar Desalination Plan in the South with the capacity to inject millions of dollars in the local economy. There are also plans for the Youth Agricultural Economic Development project for which land has been elusive. There are also plans…plans..plans..Dr. Reynolds, you need to outline a profile of your preferred investors to give one a better understanding on the context from which you plan the development of the South and your interviews. In other words, tell us: who is wanted?