PM predicts continued economic growth for St Lucia
CASTRIES, St Lucia, (CMC) — Prime Minister Allen Chastanet is predicting continued economic growth for St Lucia this year after indicating that the island had recorded growth of 2.5 per cent in 2017.
Chastanet, delivering the EC$1.48 billion (One EC dollar=US$0.37 cents) budget to Parliament on Tuesday night, said that St Lucia has seen renewed investor, business and consumer confidence in local economy.
“Several foreign direct investment projects in the pipeline are at an advanced stage and are expected to come on stream in 2018,” he told legislators.
He said that preliminary figures for 2017 indicate that the economy has started to grow again by the notable margin of 2.5 per cent.
“However, I wish to repeat, it is imperative that we remove the impediments to further growth. If we do not accommodate growth through investment, it will be temporary, unreliable and therefore unsustainable.”
Chastanet said that growth over the last year was driven largely by a strong recovery in the tourism sector and also reflected increased activity in construction, wholesale and retail, and manufacturing sectors with positive spin-offs on other sectors.
He said overall growth was tempered by a decline in output from the agricultural sector, which was affected by the passage of Tropical Storm Matthew late in 2016.
Prime Minister Chastanet said that among the projects earmarked for 2018 is the construction of hotels in Choiseul, Pointe Seraphine, Micoud and the Gregg Norman Golf Course, as well as “continued development of the Pearl of the Caribbean Project” in the south of the island.
But he said in spite of these positive developments “a number of factors are limiting our growth potential” and that his Administration is addressing them through what he termed “the foundation for growth”.
He said these initiatives include “investing in our people, upgrading our physical infrastructure, improving public sector efficiency, and managing the cost of debt”.
“These four planks …will be critical in positioning St Lucia and St Lucians to maximise our growth potential and the benefits to be derived therefrom.