THERE HAS NEVER BEEN A BETTER TIME TO BE IN ST. LUCIA!!!
March 28, 2007
EDWARD HARRIS AT LARGE
THERE HAS NEVER BEEN A BETTER TIME TO BE IN ST. LUCIA!!!
Cricket World Cup 2007 Group 1 matches in St. Lucia ended last Saturday with a win for England and now St. Lucians are eagerly awaiting the Semi Final scheduled for 25th April, 2007. If we are to be guided by the number of non cricket events that were held in several parts of the country during period 13-25/3/07 you can imagine what a partying time it will be to welcome and entertain the thousands of visitors during period of the Semi Final.
The major activities will take place between 24-26/4/07. It is going to be 3 days of non stop partying. It is this period that most of us who reside in St. Lucia are eagerly awaiting. It is going to be Hot like Fire! St. Lucia will be turned into an entertainment venue hard to be matched even by the more developed countries in the region. It is for some unexplainable reason that St. Lucia is just different. It is Simply Beautiful, it is Nice, its people are friendly and they love to fete! I keep imagining twenty thousand people in the Beausejour Cricket Ground, eleven Cruise Ships anchored along the Northern Coast Line, the airports with aircrafts bursting at their seams, etc.. This Semi Final event will test our capabilities on several fronts. I expect our nation to perform, so when doubts try to disrupt my positive thoughts of a happy ending, I console myself by remembering this too will pass. We all have to be the best we can in whatever area we are called to serve, and as a consequence, the results can only be rewarding for everyone and our legacy be assured.
After the capital outlay of over a billion US dollars by the public and private sectors throughout the 9 participating countries, the debate is emerging as to the real benefits that will be derived from the investment. We continue to hear about the Legacy in terms of the countries’ exposure to the world and as a result visitor’ arrivals will be increased, tourism will prosper and investment flows will substantially improved. Those areas could begin to yield results within 3-6 months and be sustained between 3-5 years. The immediate benefit however, is that we have proven that St. Lucians have the ability to rise to the occasion and deliver on their promises. We promised to deliver the best World Cup ever and we are about to prove it. Over the past two weeks there has been no negative reporting on the behaviour of our people and I expect that situation to continue.
I am very involved in the Real Estate Services Sector and the Minister of Tourism and Civil Aviation is on record as citing the Real Estate Sector as a major beneficiary of CWC 2007. From my vantage point the prices for properties listed on http://www.stluciarealtors.com have not moved upward but there is no guarantee that such a development will not occur. My advice to Caribbean people, especially overseas based St. Lucians is to seize the moment and own a piece of the rock that is St. Lucia which continues to be an idea destination for Business, Pleasure and Retirement.
St. Lucians are anxiously awaiting the 2007/2008 Budget which is scheduled to be presented in the Parliament during the month of April, 2007. The Prime Minister has given a signal that it has to be a Budget that will generate savings to be ploughed into development. The Opposition Leader continues to argue that if savings are going to be achieved, there must be job cuts in the Civil Service. The debate on the Budget this year is going to be very interesting and will be worth following in the media and on the Government website http://www.stlucia.gov.lc which will carry the entire budget presentation. You know the party with the majority in the House has the vote, so after all the debate, what is written in the Budget document stands. There is one expectation shared by the majority of St. Lucians is that there will be no new taxes in the presentation but should the need arise, there is always the possibility of a supplementary budget.
There are very exciting times ahead in St. Lucia and during the next six weeks in spite of whatever else is happening, there will be no stopping the party. If you miss out on the cricket, there is always St. Lucia Jazz, May 4-13, 2007. I don’t need to tell you what you are missing, you can check out the English Cricket Vice Captain couldn’t wait to party, he mixed business with pleasure, that’s how luring St. Lucia can be. He could be a great Ambassador to lead a crusade of fun loving English tourists to our island. It is Irresistible Fun in St. Lucia.
As usual Keep the Faith, God is in Charge, Expect Miracles in 2007!
Edward Harris, Email: eaharrisdestiny@gmail.com Website: http://www.groups.yahoo.com/group/edalharris