Prime Minister and Minister for Finance, Economic Development, and the Youth Economy Philip J. Pierre says, his administration is not daunted by what he describes as “the distressing economic and social conditions” it inherited from the previous administration, led by Allen Chastanet. He promised to restore the country to financial and economic stability at his first press conference for 2022 on January 17.
The Prime Minister, while acknowledging an expectation of an economy in poor health because of the previous administration’s bad policies, said “the fiscal and economic situation of the country was far worse and its economic development far more badly-retarded than we had imagined…”
According to the PM, “The stark reality is that we are dealing with disastrous public finances, an economy damaged by incompetent management and pushed into further decline by the COVID 19 Pandemic, a huge sovereign debt of unprecedented levels and the enormous mess of an unfinished St. Jude Hospital and the Hewannorra International Airport Re-Development project.”
He, nonetheless, assured his audience that “We are not intimidated by the magnitude of the task that the people of Saint Lucia entrusted us with” on Election Day.
“Be not afraid, for we in this government are up to the challenge,” he said.
PM Pierre reminded Saint Lucians that the SLP’s 2021 manifesto promised to “restore Saint Lucia to a level of financial stability and to create an enabling environment for wealth creation and employment, particularly among the youth”.
“Therefore,” he added, “we are confident in our ability to accomplish our mission” and “we will overcome the challenges that five years of bungling and irresponsible UWP governance bequeathed us.”
