“This week was no different”, states St Lucia Deputy PM Hillarie as shares highlights

St Lucia: MP for Castries South and Member of Cabinet and Deputy Prime Minister of Saint Lucia – Ernest Hillarie shared his previous week’s highlights on March 13, 2022 (Sunday).

He stated that the week was no different, and every day is about an opportunity to achieve something new and build on what we have started.

Here are the week highlights, shared by the Deputy Prime Minister of St Lucia:

“The week started off with Cabinet as usual. As we have always said, this Cabinet of Ministers is dedicated to putting the interests of Saint Lucians first, and making the pie bigger so everyone can benefit. It is one Saint Lucia for all Saint Lucians,” he mentioned while stating about Monday.

“Tuesday was the highlight of my week. It was memorable for several reasons. Above all else, it was International Women’s Day. Let me again wish all the women of Castries South and Saint Lucia, happy women’s day. Women have proven to be the backbone of our progress and the SLP will always fight to put them first. Tuesday was also Parliament. We passed two historic bills, the Domestic Violence Bill and the Community Tourism Development Bill. The Domestic Violence bill has been in the pipeline for over 20 years. It is also one of the most progressive bills that has been passed in our Parliament. The other Bill, the Community Tourism Development Bill will help to grow the local tourism pie and help Saint Lucians own more of our Tourism product. I can’t wait to see this fruit blossom,” he added.

While providing a brief of Wednesday, the deputy PM said, “The next day was constituency day, by far my favourite day of the week. It’s the day where I get to meet with my constituents and talk about issues they are facing and the plans we have for Castries South and Saint Lucia. However, the day started with a trip to Fond St. Jacques where they presented the Fond St. Jacques Agro Tourism Park Project to government officials and the media. This project represents the philosophical underpinning of Community Tourism and brings tourism to every square inch of Saint Lucia by helping Saint Lucians to bring more offering authentic local experiences to visitors. On my return to the constituency, I passed through Barre St. Joseph where the much needed works on the road have begun. The day ended with a town hall meeting with the residents below the Hospital along the La Toc road discussing critical housing and land issues.”

He further stated, “Thursday was spent with top management at the Citizenship by Investment Unit to discuss the challenges facing the industry presently especially with the situation with Ukraine. We will act accordingly to the international agreements and action. We will always be guided by the dialogue and discussion with our international friends who will advise on global responses. We join the international community in condemning the actions of Russia and calling for collective action to end the hostilities taking place.”

“Friday was spent in meetings and discussions on various policy matters which will be addressed shortly. Most notable is the review of the tourism concession and incentives regime which presently exists.”

“On Saturday, the Women’s Group of SLP Castries South Constituency held a dinner to celebrate all the women of the constituency. It was a tremendous occasion. We missed gathering and celebrating for the last two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” he further stated.

He concluded and outlined that from next week the government of St Lucia will commence the “preparations for Budget Debate.”