St. Lucia has long since been considered a people of talk and short memories, evidenced by our responses to a number of issues we are confronted with locally and over a number of years.
This long list includes topics like garbage disposal, sports, politics, food security, water resource management and agricultural diversification.
In 2026, we are still talking about proper garbage disposal when some 40 years ago former government minister Romanus Lansiquot pushed the idea of cleaner streets and beaches against the backdrop of an improving tourism industry. In 2026, we are still talking about using bananas and plantain and oranges to create other products for export or for use locally, as well as agricultural diversification when former agriculture minister Ira D’auvergne spoke of agricultural diversification over 40 years ago. The Taiwan Technical Mission (TTM) seems to be actively pushing and promoting this issue. After 30 plus years in the business of the St. Lucia Jazz Festival (The St. Lucia Jazz and Arts Festival) we are still grappling with, what seem to be small issues, while the event continues to lose market prominence.
It is no wonder that in 2026 we are still talking about removing stray and loose animals from the island’s roadways, an issue that has claimed numerous lives via motor vehicular accidents over the years. This issue has persisted for well over 50 years; however, it has become a larger conversation with the increase in vehicles on the roads in the last few decades.
Agriculture Minister Lisa Jawahir, earlier this week, made pronouncements that may have been welcomed by every single motoring citizen of this country. Speaking at the government press briefing Monday, Jawahir seemed resolute when she said that this issue of stray and roaming cattle would be dealt with once and for all. She explained that considerable effort has gone into assisting the cattle farmers concerned with the removal and relocation of the animals particularly from the Choc area. The minister’s new stance is that of confiscation which is reportedly provided for under local law.
If this agriculture minister can adequately solve this age-old problem, having been on the job for a little over 6 months, she will be applauded by the nation. Granted the issue was never a massively difficult job to accomplish, it had become a situation of the ‘can being kicked down the road’ for the last few decades, a practice she acknowledged.
St. Lucian motorists await the resolution of this issue with baited breath and the minister is fully aware of the gravity of the situation after months of the government’s posture on road safety.
For many of our existing issues we will continue to talk about ad nauseum or ‘until the cows come home’ about how it should or shouldn’t be addressed and about what we could have done. If experience is our teacher, little will actually be accomplished while the talking continues but hopefully not about this issue and not on this occasion.
Madam Minister, selfishly, we wish you the very best in your endeavors to remove the bovine threat to our mutual safety.