The Prime Minister of St. Lucia, Hon. Philip J. Pierre is standing firmly behind the fulfilment of the basic human needs of his St. Lucian People and at the same time growing the economy of St, Lucia. That was clearly articulated at the last Conference of Delegates held in the community of Babonneau.
The Prime Minister caters for the needs of his people from the womb until they become Super Seniors, or 80 years plus. In fact, the prime minister makes people the centrepiece of the development of St. Lucia.
Let us now focus on some of the areas in which the prime minister is focusing his attention.
Indeed, I wish to highlight here Maternal Health Care which has been introduced as a free service to women through prenatal care.
Now what is prenatal care? Prenatal Care, also known as antenatal care, is a type of preventative healthcare. It is provided in the form of medical check-ups, consisting of recommendations on managing a healthy lifestyle and a provision of medical information on the pregnancy such as changes in pregnancy, biological changes, and prenatal nutrition including prenatal vitamins, which prevents potential health problems throughout the course of the pregnancy and promotes the mother and child’s health simultaneously.
Pregnant women who go to private doctors would tell you that Antenatal Care is a very costly service, and not many of our women could meet that cost. The women of St. Lucia now have free access to that service which is being provided by the government health service.
We come now to the Castries Urban Polyconic.
The Victoria Hospital has been repurposed. The hospital will now be used as the Castries Urban Polyclinic. The hospital will focus on three main services. The first is Primary Health Care; Urgent Health Care; and Secondary Health Care. These health care services will be brought across all sectors of our society.
We often use the slogan, “A healthy nation is a wealthy nation”. The government is ensuring that its people are healthy and ready to participate in the process of national development. Indeed, no one is left behind in that process.
We come now to the Youth Entrepreneur Programme. This programme is intended to engage the young and healthy people in our nation in a very meaningful way.
The Youth Economy was carefully addressed in the 2023-2024 budget. The Youth Entrepreneur Programme is already taken root in St. Lucia. Many young entrepreneurs are currently responding vigorously to the YEP.
The Youth Entrepreneur Programme is already providing the desired impetus for the young people. The aim is to provide finance, grants and loans; training; mentorship; and marketing for young people to establish and grow their businesses.
Government has injected more than $4 million in the Youth Economy Programme for young people who wish to pursue their business interests in Sports, Music, Entertainment, Designing and the Creative economy.
Interestingly, more than 7000 persons have visited the YEA social Media Site. There has been more than 800 follows and more than 150 walk-in-visitors to the YEA Office.
I have spoken to several young people who told me that they have called the YEA office my telephone.
I have noted that several young persons have been engaged in various self-employment projects. They have also been receiving the requisite training from the YEA.
We come now to the Golden 80 Plus Health Care Package.
The Government of St. Lucia has offered a health care package to the Super Senior citizens of St. Lucia. The programme is currently being implemented by the Ministry of Health and Elderly Affairs. Our super seniors can now receive prescription drugs at the Community Wellness Centres all around the island. They also have access to eye screening and surgery at the Cuban Eye Clinic at the Victoria Hospital. The Super Seniors now have access to a hearing test annually in the north and south of the island.
As I write, information reaching me indicates that government, through the Ministry of Equity, has commenced an income support programme for 2023. A one-time payment of $1500 is being offered to households that are non-contributors to the National Insurance Corporation (NIC), and who suffered loss of income as a result of COVID-19.
The prime Minister has also offered government retirees a one-time payment of $600 this month and a review of their pensions in 2024.
My dear reader, all of these actions point directly to the mantra: ‘Putting People First.’
Indeed, while the government is taking care of the basic human needs of its people, the economy continues to grow by ‘leaps and bounds.’
I am quite aware that the Prime Minister of St. Lucia is an economist by profession, but the rate at which the economy is growing, is unprecedented. The economy moved from a negative growth rate of 23.59% in 2020 to an unprecedented positive growth rate of 15.67%. This economic growth was accelerated by the buoyant Tourism and construction sectors. Indeed, St. Lucia depends primarily from revenue from Tourism and the Banana Industry.
As I close, I wish to say that the government is making significant progress in the management of the economy. I pray that God would continue to give members of the government the wisdom and foresight to bring economic freedom to the people of St. Lucia.