St. Lucia – South Hive of Activity!!!
EDWARD HARRIS AT LARGE!!!
ST. LUCIA – SOUTH, A HIVE OF POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC ACTIVITY !
On Sunday August 28, 2005, there were two major events in the South of the island. In the Vieux Fort – North Constituency, the St. Lucia Labour Party held a run off for its Representative for the up coming elections scheduled for the 1st half of 2006. This constituency was served continuously by Honourable Cecil Lay for almost a quarter of a century. He indicated his intention sometime ago not seek another term and as a result a very aggressive campaign was launched to fill the vacancy. A the three cornered race, Mr. Moses Jn Baptiste secured victory with excess of over five hundred votes more than his nearest rival, Mr. Vernon Valmont. The other contestant was Mr. S. Jeffrey who made a poor showing with 25 votes out of a total of over 1,400 hundred votes.
Just a few minutes away from the political conference which saw Mr. Jn Baptiste securing the election to represent his party at the upcoming national elections, The St. Lucia Industrial and Small Business Association (SLISBA) was holding its 16th Annual General Meeting at the Coconut Bay Resort, originally Halcyon Days which was subsequently owned by Club Med and recently acquired by a Jamaican Group and was completely refurbished and reopened a few months ago. Special guests at the AGM included Acting Prime Minister Hon. Philip J. Pierre, Minister of Commerce, Tourism, Investment and Consumer Affairs, Senator and Honourable Sandra Husbands of Barbados who attended the AGM in her capacity as President of the Caribbean Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (CASME), an umbrella organization representing Small Business Associations throughout the Caricom Region. Senator, Hon Sandra Husbands is also the current President of the Barbados Small Business Association.
President Patrick Joseph in his report to the meeting was very critical about the way the Caribbean Single Market and Economy is proceeding without adequate consideration for the implications that will arise in dealing with the problems of small States such as St. Lucia. However, Hon. Philip J. Pierre assured the meeting that the critical component of the Regional Development Fund is to be made available for small states to be assisted in their thrust to be competitive which is a prerequisite to any formal agreement on the CSME. Hon. Owen Arthur, Prime Minister of Barbados is responsible for putting together the machinery to establish of the Fund.
Senator Husbands informed the meeting that CASME will assist member associations to serve their members in keeping with the demands of today’s business environment. In a few years Senator Husbands increased the membership of the Barbados Small Business Association from 100 members to 500 with associate organizations boosting the membership by another 800. She spoke of the initiative being undertaken by Ms Lynette Holder, Executive Director of CASME to negotiate a special Loan Programme for the membership of the various associations within CASME.
The meeting was attended by in excess of 100 businesspersons from across the island.
The By Law relating to the term of the Directors was amended by resolution from one year to two years. The motion was approved with one abstention. Mr. Patrick H. Joseph was re-elected unopposed for a third extended term, 2005 – 2007. The Management Committee comprises of eight members including the Immediate Past President.
With assistance from the Government of a grant of One Hundred Thousand EC Dollars (100,000.00), SLISBA has a new Secretariat and with the support of CASME the association seems set to fulfill the mandate of the membership. The Secretariat is located in the American Drywall Building on the Vide Boutielle Highway, Castries.
While the debate continues on the CSME, Barbados Coalition of Service Industries (BCSI) is leading a delegation of businesspersons to St. Vincent and St. Lucia during the period August 29 to September 2, 2005. The businesspersons are seeking to form alliance with their counterparts in the two islands and intend to continue this thrust throughout the region. Joint Venture, Franchise and Distribution opportunities are being offered in areas of Training, Business Services, Events Management, Computer Sales and Service, Real Estate, Janitorial Services, Natural Skin Care Products, Professional Photography, etc.
Lots of interesting developments are in the making for St. Lucia. The negative impact of increased oil price which is now EC$9.50/US$3.50 per gallon at the pump does give cause for concern but the positive trends in the economy give hope. These are very exciting times in the Caribbean. There is never a dull moment in St. Lucia. The sun shines everyday, even when it rains.
Keep the Faith, God is in Charge!!!