The opposition leader proposes an economic stimulus package to combat the economic impact of COVID-19 in Saint Lucia. The package includes: direct income support for those laid off; fuel subsidies for fishermen and bus drivers; agricultural support for farmers; utilities and rental relief; short-term job creation; grants for small businesses; and support for the tourism industry. The estimated cost is over $250 million for the initial three month period. The leader calls for extraordinary measures to protect lives and the economy during this crisis.

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ADDRESS TO THE NATION BY LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION,
HON PHILIP J PIERRE
ON ECONOMIC STIMULUS TO COMBAT THE COVID-19 VIRUS
SUNDAY 29th
March, 2020.
EXTRAORDINARY MEASURES FOR EXTRAORDINARY TIMES
My Fellow St. Lucians, Good Night.
Tonight is the third time that I am addressing you in less than two weeks. This
is extraordinary but we are living in extraordinary times that have been
generated by an extraordinary pandemic- the Corona virus called COIVD 19-
which has been the subject of my two previous addresses and to which I return
tonight. As we have been witnessing, this pandemic is ravaging the globe –
developed and underdeveloped countries, First World and Third World States,
continental military powers and no powers island states - all lie stricken in its
path; and all over the world Governments and Legislatures are taking
extraordinary actions to combat it.
Our world is in a crisis that, and at the very least, can be likened to World War
Two or the financial crisis of 2008. Governments and international institutions
in both cases were required to respond, albeit in different ways, to these crises
to return the world economy to normality. Immediately after WW2,

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governments responded by adopting heavy deficit spending to rebuild damaged
infrastructure and getting people back to work. And in the case of the financial
crisis, governments and central banks around the world were bailing out
financial institutions and providing financial capital to shore up the banking
system. In the case of Covid-19, government interventions are required again,
but this time it is to ensure citizens are protected and able to sustain themselves.
While social distancing, good personal hygiene and testing are all necessary to
reduce the spread of Covid-19, displaced workers, who will be unable to work
for a while, need money in their pockets to feed their families. We must do all
we can to avoid panic and social disorder. And of course our health facilities
need to be dramatically improved to look after those infected and requiring
health care.
Let me thank our health and medical professionals who have been giving so
much of themselves for us already on the front line in fighting this disease. We
are heartened that the Government has at last been made to move you and the
patients of Victoria Hospital to the new OK EU hospital which the St. Lucia
Labour Party completed five years ago. You and the citizens of this country
deserved no less.
My appreciation and gratitude also goes out to the personnel of the St. Lucia
Fire Service and The Royal St. Lucia Police Force who are also on the front
lines in this theatre of the world war against COVID 19.
I want to thank the Government and people of Cuba for once more coming to
our assistance in our time of need with the dispatch of 128 medical
professionals to assist us at this critical time. Our relations with Cuba have been
long-standing and deep and Cuba has never failed to answer our calls. We speak
of extraordinary times but Cuba is an extraordinary country. The SLP pledges
its unwavering support to the Government and people of Cuba in their struggle
against the unjust economic sanctions to which they have been subjected.
I take this opportunity also to thank the Government and People of The
Republic of China- Taiwan for their contributions to our battle against the
disease. Taiwan has always been a steadfast friend to St. Lucia and also
deserves our gratitude.
We are also concerned that the Government appears to be ignoring some of the
very guidelines that it has called upon the public to observe in relation to
COVID 19. The Government has asked our people to observe social distancing

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in line with the advice of the health authorities and so it has closed down all
non-essential services in the country. So why is the government undertaking
new projects in some communities like the construction of new roads and
buildings and work on some playing fields? Are these activities absolutely
essential at this time? On Wednesday 25th March, the Director-General of the
WHO, Dr. Tedros, in an address to member states on the policies they should be
taking to combat COVID 19, recommended six actions, the sixth of which was:
“ Refocus the whole of Government on suppressing and controlling COVID
19.” The Prime Minister has told us before, that on COVID 19, he is following
the advice of the WHO, PAHO and other regional organisations. I therefore
commend this recommendation to this Government.
We are cooperating in trying to stem the onslaught of COVID19 on the health
of our people but it has already devastated our economy. Our tourism industry,
the economic backbone has been shut down; thousands of our citizens have lost
their jobs and small businesses and the self-employed are adrift. We as a
country must therefore deal with the implications of this economic shock whilst
simultaneously counter-attacking the virus on the health front. In my previous
addresses, I called upon the Government to introduce measures to overcome the
economic fallout of COVID 19, particularly in relation to workers who are now
unemployed. In the spirit of continued cooperation and national unity against
COVID 19, the St Lucia Labour Party is proposing the following initiatives to
assist in cushioning the devastating economic impact of the virus. I have sent
the proposals to the Prime Minister for the consideration of his Government and
I now wish to share them with you.
Health Services
We estimate that over the next three months resources will be required to handle
the actions required to fight COVID 19 directly. These include steps to expand
and increase testing, community tracing, quarantine and isolation when deemed
necessary, education and information dissemination, hygiene and sanitation,
costs of additional staffing as well as costs related to commissioning the OKEU
Hospital. -$45M
We also propose the following measures that will form the basis of an economic
stimulus aimed at providing relief to the thousands of anxious Saint Lucians.
The package is designed for an initial three month period but the situation is
dynamic and will require monthly monitoring and or adjustment.
The Economic Survival and Support programmes that we propose for
implementation for the next 3 months are:

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1. Direct Income Support
2. Fuel Support
3.Agricultural & Food Support
4. Domestic Utilities & Rental Support
5. Short Term Employment
6. Small & Medium Enterprise Support
7. Travel & Tourism Support
Those broad programmes are further broken down into sub-programmes, to
cover those critical areas, as I shall explain.
A. Direct Income Support
This programme calls for government’s intervention to provide
direct income support to all sectors which have been impacted by
layoffs and inactivity. A monthly cash stipend maximum $1000
should be paid to all qualified persons whose regular income have
be cut-off or substantially reduced.
1) Pay-roll, formal hotel and restaurant employees, self-employed
vendors, taxi drivers, tour guides active NIC contributors and
others falling in that pool will qualify for assistance. Working
through the NIC, taxi and vendors associations, Village Councils,
hotels, eligible citizens can be identified for this assistance. ($129
M)
2) There should be an Increase in public and social assistance.
Additional assistance should be provided to needy persons and
those who are presently on government’s assistance and persons
with disabilities because of the extra difficult circumstances they
will face during this period. Any other assistance that they might
have been receiving from family members will be scare during this
period. ($2.6M)
3) Food vouchers through the SSDF should be distributed to
deserving families based on the population of the 17
constituencies. -($5M)

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4) Starting from April, a monthly bonus should be paid to the front
line health workers, including nurses, doctors, and first respondents
for their extra-ordinary efforts in the fight to contain this
coronavirus and protect the population. ($1.2M)
B. Fuel Support
This support would provide direct subsidy on fuel purchase for high
consumers of fuel namely, fisher folks and public transport operators.
1) Fishing boat operators, especially registered fisher folks would need
fuel subsidy in order to remain in business to supply much need
protein to our people without the need to increase fish prices. A fuel
voucher should be introduced as a direct subsidy to that industry. The
voucher can be the equivalent of the excise tax amount of $4.00 per
gallon of gasoline. The value would be based on the monthly
consumption rate of the fishers. This measure could be easily
implemented through the various fisher folk co-operatives island wide
and would greatly assist in our food security-($2.2M)
2) Mini-bus operators, should be provided with direct fuel subsidy
through a similar fuel voucher mechanism to enable that sector to remain
viable, providing an essential service to the country under very difficult
circumstances. The imposition of social distancing on public transport has
affected those operators financially and every effort must be made by
government to support this sector directly. ($3.6M)
C. Agricultural and Food Support
1. We propose income support for the farmers who have not been paid by
NFA for produce sold to Winfresh ($2.5M)
2. income support for the farmers who sell directly to the hotels and
restaurants who will no longer be receiving any income -($3M)
3. To enhance our food security we recommend that inputs of seeds,
fertilizers and other planting material together with irrigation support be
provided to our farmers - ($3.6M)
D. Domestic Utilities and Rental Support

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1. LUCELEC be asked to cover for the next three (3) months, the first
180kWh for households which require relief. This would result in a
savings of $135 on the electric bill of approximately 30,000 households.
there should be no disconnection during that period.,( $12.1M)
2. WASCO be asked to cover the next three (3) months, the first 3,000
gallons of water consumed for households which require relief. This
would result in a savings of $25 for approximately 30,000 households.
There should be no disconnection during that period
(-$2.2M)
3. Landlords must be encouraged not to evict tenants and consider
reduced, part or a suspension of payments taking into account that there
may be a moratorium on mortgage payments
E. Short Term Employment
We need some critical sectors of the society to provide necessary services while
observing the necessary protocols of social distancing to work.
1. A Farm/Fisheries Labour Support Programme can create jobs and
assist in boosting our primary production ($1.5M)
2. An expansion of the Home Help Programme can assist over 300
seniors and persons with disabilities -$1M
3. A national landscape & beautification programme can enhance our
roadways, parks, trails, historic sites and attractions.
F. Small & Micro Enterprise Support
Our small and micro enterprises are already suffering from loss of
income. There are many small businesses, some of whom employ just
one or two other persons, some many more. They will require assistance
to survive this period. We propose a small business grant facility to aid up
to over 1000 Small & Micro Enterprises. A grant of $5000monthly is
proposed. -$15M

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The arts, entertainment and media sector which we have often termed as
the Creative Industries will require special attention. Artists, performers,
DJs, musicians, graphic designers, cosmetologists, entertainers, media
and producers are most particularly affected. They can be persuaded to
produce useful programmes to raise national spirit - ($3M)
G. Travel & Tourism Support
A short term grant to small hotels and guest houses A&B operators and
other operators who are not captured in the income support programme -
$15M
H. The Public Services
Salaries for civil and public servants in the initial 3 month period should
be financed by the issuance of new public debt. We expect that
international financial institutions will support this venture. . Banks will
be expected to support this undertaking with roll overs and fully
subscribing to the new issued debt. It must never be forgotten that we are
living in extraordinary times and extraordinary measures are needed to
protect the lives of our people since there can be no economy without
people.
Other Measures
We propose that government should offer companies who retain and
continue to compensate staff a tax credit of 150% of the total paid to the
employees
Waiver of income tax installments due for the year 2020.
Payment of tax refunds of less than $2000 due to tax payers.
The moratorium of loan and mortgage payments do not attract increased
interest or late payment fees.
We have been visited by an invisible enemy that threatens our livelihoods and
sadly the lives of many. Our priorities must, therefore, necessarily be revisited
in response to the threat of Covid-19. We must act decisively, and adopt policy
responses that are efficient and effective. Many of our citizens have already lost
their jobs, and more will be in the coming days and weeks, and their ability to
look after themselves and their families. A caring government has a civic and

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moral responsibility to help these people now. It is not enough to, only, extend
our concern; these displaced workers have human needs just like us, and so we
must help them, from whatever resources we may have as a country. The
government’s priorities pre-Convid-19 cannot be the same as post-Covid-19.
My fellow Saint Lucians, sisters and brothers, as I said at the commencement of
my address, this is an extraordinary time and it demands extraordinary action to
save ourselves and our country. This is why we have presented these
recommendations for an economic stimulus package. We must be
extraordinarily disciplined in our response to this pandemic, it means strictly
and rigidly following the instructions given to us by the Health Authorities and
adhering to the regulations set by Government to combat the disease. Frequently
wash our hands, maintain social distancing, and stay at home.
The next few weeks will be most challenging. We must be prepared for even
more extraordinary action and discipline on our part, if the virus becomes more
severe here. We must not panic for panic will only worsen the situation but with
a resolute and united purpose and the Grace of the Almighty we can and will
overcome.
I thank you.
BREAD * JUSTICE * FREEDOM