A promise made by the Prime Minister of Saint Lucia, the Hon. Philip J. Pierre, has been fulfilled, as 95 vendors displaced by the redevelopment of the Castries waterfront received ex-gratia payments during a ceremony held at the Castries City Hall on Tuesday, September 22. The payments form part of Government’s commitment to vendors who participated in the structured allocation and relocation exercise associated with the redevelopment of the Castries waterfront and the development of the new cruise facility by Global Ports Holding (GPH).
The vendors were required to vacate the Castries Vendors Arcade and temporarily forgo their regular income-generating activities to facilitate the redevelopment works. Recognizing the financial impact of the displacement, Prime Minister Pierre had committed to providing compensation to affected vendors for the period of disruption and loss of income. That commitment was realized on Tuesday, as cheques were presented to eligible vendors at the ceremony attended by Prime Minister Pierre, the Hon. Stephenson King, Acting Minister for Local Government, Geraldine Lendor-Gabriel, the Mayor of Castries, and Lancelot Arnold, the Director of Global Ports Holding.
Government had made an allocation of EC$500,000 for the ex-gratia payments. Based on an equitable distribution of the allocation among the 95 eligible vendors, the indicative payment would have been approximately EC$5,263.16 per vendor, assuming all vendors were up to date with their rental obligations.
However, the final payments took into consideration outstanding rental balances owed by individual vendors. Vendors were therefore placed into three categories: Low Balance, Medium Balance and High Balance. Vendors classified as Low Balance Vendors received the full ex-gratia payment of EC$5,263.16, based on the equitable distribution of the allocated resources. For Medium Balance and High Balance Vendors, outstanding rental balances were deducted from the applicable ex-gratia payment. In some cases, vendors classified as High Balance Vendors had outstanding arrears that exceeded the amount of the ex-gratia payment. As a result, these vendors did not receive a payment and remained in arrears. Following the application of the outstanding balances, the total amount actually disbursed to vendors was EC$433,143.30.
The initiative demonstrates the Government of Saint Lucia’s commitment to recognizing the economic realities faced by small business operators and ensuring that persons affected by major national development projects are not overlooked. The Prime Minister’s commitment to the vendors has now translated into tangible assistance, reinforcing the Government’s stated principle of putting people first while advancing national development.
A promise was made. A promise was kept.