We are at the cusp of yet another February 22, the day in 1979 when Saint Lucia gained its Independence from Britain – 43 years ago to be exact. And just as in the last 42 years, government is set to launch a programme of activities to honour the day.
A look back at 43 years of Independence to see how far we have come, or how far we should have been at age 43 is a worthy exercise, one undertaken with the hope that the powers that be recognise the need for introspection, an exercise we deem valuable in planning the country’s foray into new activities or spheres, this year and the years ahead.
Looking back, however, is just as important as looking forward if we want to avoid past mistakes and tackle unexpected obstacles effectively as we forge ahead.
We believe in exposing our achievements over the years, not only as a reminder to the naysayers who believe we are incapable of success, but to serve as a catalyst for us to keep on striving forward for bigger and better successes.
Many Saint Lucians over the years have made us proud. They have earned the respect of their peers locally, regionally and internationally in their respective fields and showed the world that a micro-size country like ours can produce the very best.
Today we uplift the Saint Lucia Electricity Services, LUCELEC for short. Wherever we may roam LUCELEC stands proudly in the hearts and minds of Saint Lucians as a company which has the island’s electricity on lock, meaning island wide steady electricity coverage. The company has not only moved into the modern age, but has a work ethic that brings joy to consumers.
The National Insurance Corporation (NIC) is another outstanding success story in Saint Lucia’s 43-year-old history. Its importance to almost every Saint Lucian, irrespective of political leaning cannot be overstated.
The harmonisation of our air and sea ports under the Saint Lucia Air and Sea Ports Authority (SLASPA) is another achievement Saint Lucians can be proud of.
Our indigenous banks and credit unions are success stories as well as they have played and continue to play significant roles over the years in how we live, how the country develops and keeping businesses afloat.
The Water and Sewerage Company (WASCO) could have done better over the years but we cannot deny the genius of the Roseau Dam and the water treatment plant at Ciceron.
We have had our failures as well over the years, thanks in large measure to political shortsightedness, political greed and a lack of political will by too many of our leaders and a large swath of a clueless population, bent only on seeing their political party in power.
There is no reasonable explanation for our road structure to be in the poor condition it is currently in when a road tax is being paid to maintain it. We are still lost for words over the amount of time spent travelling from Castries to Gros Islet.
Too much productivity time is lost traversing this short stretch of road on any given day, a statistical fact which should have been acted on long ago to shorten the travel time, which if done would automatically increase the productivity levels in certain areas.
Too many problems besiege our educational system, which were exposed by COVID-19. Our experiment with online education due to the closure of schools as a result of COVID-19 showed how backward we have been on that score, despite our Ministry of Education being chockful with university graduates in all fields relating to education.
Then there is political tribalism. This overly loyal affinity Saint Lucians have to their respective political party results in a lack of continuity in the country’s development as is regularly seen when an incumbent party loses an election, as projects are stopped, funds are redirected or halted and jobs are lost, sometimes permanently.
Political tribalism in the Saint Lucian context has had devastating consequences as has been seen in times gone by. The country has suffered through civil protest and disorder, drug smuggling and abuse, civil disobedience, horrifying criminal acts, outright disrespect for its leaders, just to name some of the ills of political tribalism.
We could go on but the point has been made. As we join every Saint Lucian and friends of our beloved country in celebrating our 43rd Year of Independence, we call on our political leaders to rely not only on their own collective strength to move the country forward, but also seek wisdom and strength from above, as only through divine help can Saint Lucia truly overcome its obstacles.