The Department of Economic Development, Transport, and Civil Aviation, is spearheading the Medium Term Development Strategy 2019 – 2022, with the aim of achieving an inclusive and sustainable Saint Lucia by 2022.

According to Minister for Economic Development, Hon. Guy Joseph, the strategy will focus on six key results areas: Tourism, Agriculture, and Infrastructure; and three social areas: healthcare, education and national security. Collectively, these sectors represent some of the most important areas that affect the lives of every Saint Lucian.

“We believe that with the discussions taking place in Saint Lucia today, that healthcare is a top priority,” Minister Joseph said. “Most recently from the World Bank it has been clearly indicated that healthcare and education are not just on the social side but have a direct impact on the economy of any country. If you have a healthy nation the level of productivity is greater. If you have a well-educated and equipped workforce, your output is also greater.”

The government is supported by the Caribbean Development Bank through a Technical Assistance Loan to the Government of Saint Lucia to assist in the preparation of the strategy. CDB Director of Economics, Justin Ram, provided insight into the strategy.

“The government will publish details of the Medium Term Development Strategy and the implementation plans that go along with that. And then it is a task of now setting out how you go about implementing these plans. We propose a focus on strategic implementation which means we will also be facilitating a delivery unit within the center of government.”

PEMANDU Associates will be undertaking Phase 1 of the project, which consists of the labs engagement or intensive stakeholder workshops. According to Saint Lucia Social and Economic Labs’ Engagement Manager Christopher Chew, during phase 1, the labs will identify issues and opportunities, priorities solutions and develop detailed implementation plans for execution over the next four years. After the completion of Phase 1, Phase 2 will commence and will involve the establishment of a Delivery Unit within the Government of Saint Lucia.

“The final stage of this process is what we would term the lab stage and during this stage, stakeholders from all the key results areas will detail out implementation plans for the project that have been already identified. These implementation plans include budget requirements, government structures, and any policy amendments that will need to be made. Key performance indicators will also be developed for each project and initiative so that every project that is established will achieve the goal set out for the overall key result area. Also during this stage, details for the establishment of a delivery unit will be finalized, including the structure roles and responsibilities, manpower requirements and other aspects.”

Phase 1 will run from Nov. 19 to Dec. 14. Phase 2 will commence in January 2019.