Prime Minister Philip J Pierre has dismissed a six-point plan designed by the United Workers Party (UWP) to lift the economic burden, saying a mature and holistic approach must be taken in order to reverse the situation in-country.
The plan which was proposed by the UWP last week, provides a number of ‘solutions’, however, Pierre indicated that the plan is far from realistic.
“The United Workers Party sounds an urgent call for government to continue and expand on the Electricity Bill Support Initiative that we carried out at the height of the COVID 19 pandemic as many were without work and income; extend a helping hand to our farmers and provide seeds, fertilizer and animal feed to bolster local livestock and crop production; reduce the VAT rate now and add more items to the list of exempted and zero rated items basket,” a statement from the UWP read in part.
In response to these suggestions, Pierre said “when there was a reduction in VAT how many of you saw a reduction in (the) prices in the supermarket? There was no reduction. What it did is help people who were renting mansions and government offices because they paid less.”
According to Pierre, the high cost of living is no fault of government, however, he noted that government will do its utmost best to assist citizens; the Ministry of Infrastructure will be reviewing the Electricity Supply Act Pierre told reporters. However, he emphasized that electricity is not a government entity.
“We must look at alternative means of energy and that’s what’s important,” Pierre said.
“The cost of living has gone up because of issues (with) the supply chain which has nothing to do with us. There was a contraction during COVID. When the COVID situation improved there was a pent-up demand; people began to buy (and) travel because for once there was more demand than supply so the prices went up. No prime minister can do that, no government in a small open economy can change that,” he added.
Although the UWP expressed its disappointment in government for increasing gas prices on Monday, Pierre indicated that their suggestions were ludicrous.
On Monday, the price of gasoline and diesel increased by $1.00 (from $13.95 to $14.95 per gallon); the LPG 100 Pound Cylinder increased from $257.95 to $266.43.
Last week, the UWP urged government to maintain the price for a gallon of gasoline.
The UWP also requested that government “scrap the recent increases in the 20 LBS and 22LBS cylinder of LPG cooking gas and reinstate the original price,” stating that the current increases only add to the burdensome high inflation which continues to pressure many vulnerable households.
In response to that statement Pierre said “in terms of ‘don’t increase the price’ of fuel it’s laughable. That idea is good for the rubbish dump. Forget about that.”
“Incidentally we have some good news for you. Very shortly we’re probably going to begin to ship bananas back to England. Everything is in place so that’s good news. As time goes (by) we’re going to see what (we) can do about having some more zero rated items or some more VAT exempt items,” he added.
Pierre also blamed Opposition Leader Allen Chastanet for Saint Lucia’s fiscal position.
“The former prime minister should tell you why he (left) payables of 154 million dollars on the books of the country; we’ve reduced it to 139 million. He must tell you why he (borrowed) money (for) election roads which we have to pay back at five and a half percent over five years. Of course COVID had a serious impact and we understand that, but the former prime minister must tell you why he (left) this fiscal mess for us to handle.” Pierre said.