The Saint Lucia Labour Party (SLP) held its annual delegates conference on Sunday, when Prime Minister and Minister for Finance, Economic Development, and the Youth Economy, Philip J. Pierre, provided fiscal updates highlighting the party’s performance since its July 2021 election.
“Over the past four years, the country’s fiscal position has improved. We have experienced three years of economic growth, and it is estimated that the economy will grow by over 5% this year,” Pierre stated in front of a crowd of SLP supporters, ministers, country delegates, and officials from Saint Vincent, including Unity Labour Party (ULP) leader and Prime Minister of Saint Vincent & the Grenadines, Dr. Ralph Gonsalves.
“Saint Lucia remains the largest economy in the Eastern Caribbean (EC) Currency Union; 26% of the [EC] economy, and the Bank of Saint Lucia has now become the largest bank in the OECS union,” Pierre continued.
The Prime Minister addressed inflation, one of the challenges faced globally and throughout the Caribbean and a concern for many Saint Lucians.
“There is no denying that the level of inflation is not desirable, but the main causes are due to external forces,” said Pierre, adding, “Rising prices are a consequence of imported inflation, where all major countries continue to struggle. … This is caused by wars that we have no control over. Supply chain constraints and the war in Gaza, and now the threat of widespread war in the Middle East.”
The Prime Minister noted that Saint Lucia has limited options for addressing global economic challenges as a small, open economy.
However, he emphasised that his administration has taken steps to help citizens cope with inflation.
“What we can do as a government is to help mitigate the impact of inflation on consumers,” Pierre stated. “We have taken steps to cushion the impacts of rising prices in food and other basic products. We continue to subsidise flour and rice, and in the case of cooking gas, we have provided heavy subsidies, in some cases as much as $20 per 20-pound cylinder.”
According to Pierre, removing the 6% service charge on controlled goods was also aimed at reducing prices.
He also mentioned the implementation of a local minimum wage of $1,131 per month or $6.52 per hour, announced in August 2024 and effective earlier this month.
The Prime Minister also highlighted a decline in local unemployment rates.
“Unemployment was 13% by December 2023, while the labour force was just over 97,000 workers. Labor force data for the first quarter of 2024 indicates a further decline in unemployment to 11%, the lowest on record since 1991,” Pierre said.
The Prime Minister added that the latest data on youth unemployment puts it at 18%, “down from a high of over 30% under the previous United Workers Party administration.”
In addition, Pierre noted that the SLP government aims to reduce unemployment to single digits by the end of its first term in office.
