As the National Competitiveness and Productivity Council (NCPC) gets set to observe the 9th edition of Productivity Awareness Week from October 17th to 21st 2022, Director of the NCPC, Lisa Florent-Montoute says national productivity issues must be tackled collaboratively, particularly by expanding the dialog between the private and public sectors.
“And we have teamed up with the Saint Lucia Manufacturers Association as well as the Bankers Association of Saint Lucia in order to bring out a lot of the activities and issues relating to productivity and competitiveness for Saint Lucia.”
Financial Information Month is also observed in October. On October 18th for the first time ever bankers will descend on the Vendors Arcade in Castries to sensitize the vendors on opportunities to maximize their sales productivity via digital banking solutions.
“We see this collaboration as an opportunity to promote digital finance which could also drive productivity. And I speak particularly of our online and mobile banking where persons can access their funds, transfer funds to other parties, manage their payments, initiate wires, and also apply for loans. In fact, the signature event that the Association and the Council will be collaborating on involves the vendors where we will be promoting the use of these digital banking services as being safer and more convenient as well as taking the opportunity to guide the vendors on how they can access loans from our various financial institutions all in the service of improving their productivity and competitiveness,” said Medford Francis, President of the Bankers Association of Saint Lucia.
Other activities for the week include panel discussions on topics such as the Opportunities and Threats to Saint Lucia’s Blue Economy, Energy Awareness – the Reduction Strategy, and an exciting discussion on the framework for the Cannabis industry in Saint Lucia. Paula James, Executive Director of the Saint Lucia Manufacturers Association says her association in collaboration with the Ministry of Commerce will host a Micro Enterprise Expo called “Bêl Ti Bagay.”
“The Saint Lucia Manufacturers Association is keen on participating in Productivity Awareness Week. The reason being we have a number of micro manufacturers who do phenomenal and great work with the production of their products. It’s an opportunity to showcase to the Saint Lucian public what they make, how they make it, and where they make it. Because you might see it in a supermarket and just bypass it not knowing it is a locally manufactured product,” James said.
Productivity Awareness Week aims to amplify the importance of productivity and competitiveness to economic growth and national development. The week-long campaign targets the public and private sectors, NGOs, Civil Society organisations, and the general public to embrace a mindset that continuously strives for excellence.
All activities planned for the week can be access on social media handles such as Facebook and Youtube. The activities will also be featured on the National Television Network (NTN), but widely aired on social media.
The theme for Productivity Awareness Week 2022 is “Expanding National Consciousness Towards Greater Productivity.”