Chronicles of a Chronic Caribbean Chronicler
By Earl Bousquet
The 2026-2027 Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure in the Appropriations Bill presented by Prime Minister Philip J. Pierre contains the widest spread of social expenditures that underline constant application of the ruling Saint Lucia Labour Party’s (SLP) philosophy of always Putting People First.
Born almost eight decades ago with a motto of ‘Bread, Freedom and Justice’, the SLP put working people first in all its three phases of governance: under Founder-Leader George F.L. Charles (1951-64), Prime Ministers Allan Louisy (1979-82) and during Prime Minister Dr Kenny D. Anthony’s three terms (1997-2006) and 2011-16).
Prime Minister Pierre abruptly became SLP Leader in 2016 on the night Dr Anthony conceded defeat in that year’s elections — and five years later he led the SLP into its first five-year term, performance during which earned it a second in 2025 — and with a stronger mandate.
The latest Budget Presentation — his fifth in succession — again revealed the Prime Minister’s ability, as Finance Minister, to do the Maths of Governance well-enough – to add, subtract, multiply and divide the science of numbers into popular metrics and develop the matrix to make them work to meet people’s needs.
But this time around, while PM Pierre started the exercise of penning this presentation in March, the accountant in him used a heavier wand, weighted by the ‘profound global tensions’ casting dark shadows over his projected expenditure estimates.
Accordingly, in his first four-year term, he saved the savings from fluctuating monthly fuel surcharges well-enough to now use it to buffer current energy price increases, even though not forever.
And like all four before, his fifth budget came with growth — and no new taxes!
One of the advantageous disadvantages of appearing to be a holder of a magic wand is that everyone expects it to work forever – so, just imagine if and when the administration finds difficulty resisting energy price increases it has no control over.
Long before the current international energy crisis, however, while watching his first grandson grow in 2021, the popular economist in the SLP Leader has been warning there’s nothing his magic wand can do to erase “imported inflation”.
International economists have no doubt the hellfire US $200/barrel price tag is more possible than not, so, while hoping for the best, governments everywhere must also expect and prepare for the worse.
Oil-producing Caribbean states are no-less affected by the enormity of this world energy crisis, as with Guyana that doesn’t yet refine its oil to Trinidad & Tobago (T&T), where refineries have not-enough to refine.
T&T is looking to make-up with Venezuela over the shared Dragon fields and Surinam is just getting off the Guiana Shield oil bloc.
Grenada is looking to drill its share of Black Bold near Tobago — and while Jamaica smells oil, it’s already being ‘warned’ by naysayer economists to ‘stay away’ to avoid the so-called ‘Dutch Disease’ that Guyana has proven to be as racist as those who warn against it.
Small non-oil producing island states have to balance between protecting the citizenry and keeping the economy running as close as possible to normal, but it all depends on the state of the national treasury and the applicable skills of their Finance Ministers.
Since taking office in 2021, PM Pierre has successfully avoided reducing social expenditures to cut other costs.
Instead, five times in succession, he’s been able to record economic growth and positive results from all fronts, while maintaining the benefits keep Putting People First.
The heaps of praise and adulation PM Pierre received from ministers and MPs on his side was because each clearly understand, by experience and instruction, that their roles are to serve the people who elected them – and the entire nation.
After his administration’s first four years in office, this Prime Minister introduced two new ministries in his second term, both under his charge — Constituency Development and People’s Empowerment — to, alongside The Youth Economy, Sovereign Wealth Fund and other like initiatives, better deliver on Putting People First.
Unable to ‘debate’ a budget that has something for everybody and more for those most in need, the lone Opposition Leader will naturally keep playing to the national partisan gallery by opposing for opposing sake, spinning facts like coins without heads or tails.
But everyone else will agree that the latest of the five budgets this PM ha presented, is, by-far, the best.
G.F.L. Charles and Dr Anthony’s legacies laid the foundations Pierre has steadily built on, easily becoming the most-popular leader in the least time.
In 2021, his leadership ended the unprecedented revolving-door elections results that returned alternative 11-6 majorities three times (2006, 2011 and 2016) for the two major parties.
And then the December 1, 2025 second-term victory, with a larger majority.
The PM and his finance technocrats are undoubtedly aware that if and when world oil prices reach the feared US $200 per barrel, resulting price increases will be simply disastrous for all Saint Lucians – an existential threat to national economic security that’s also life-threatening to the most vulnerable.
But, bad as the future can look, it could have been worse for the average Saint Lucian John and June Public, had it not been for the grandfather in the PM who grew-up in the cash-pan era, knowing it’s always wise to save pennies for rainy days.
Luckily, he is aware that what others call his ‘magic wand’ is not a silver stick with a red star forever shooting Dollars and Common Sense into the air.
Instead, it’s his demonstrated ability to translate the SLP’s historical eight-decades-old quests for ‘Bread, Freedom and Justice’ and his brand of ‘Putting People First’ into figures that change the cost-of-living and facts-of-life for people-most-in-need — and ease the squeeze for everyone else.
As a wiser elder of the growing cash-pan generation in this age of online banking, that’s Philip J. Pierre’s brand of what Good Governance is all about!