This document contains the address of Philip J. Pierre, leader of the Saint Lucia Labour Party, to the party's annual conference. In his address, Pierre criticizes the current UWP government for corruption, mismanagement that has led to increased debt and suffering, and failing to fulfill its promises to the people. He presents his vision for an SLP government, including plans to boost the economy through job creation, curb corruption, improve healthcare and education, strengthen foreign relations, and ensure policies benefit citizens. Pierre also endorses a new candidate for the next election and pledges to not tolerate corruption if elected Prime Minister.

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Address by Political Leader of the Saint Lucia Labour Party
Hon Philip J. Pierre
To the Annual Conference of Delegates (Open Session)
Of the Saint Lucia Labour Party
Jon Odlum Secondary School
Sunday 13th October, 2019

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SALUTATIONS
Our Country is in Chaos
Comrades, our country and our Party stand at a crossroad. Soon our people will be faced with
a clear choice, to continue to see our country suffer and its eventual collapse under the
current corrupt, inept and ineffective government of the UWP, or we arrest the suffering and
return Saint Lucia to a new and bright future of growth and the prospects of new jobs. The
UWP government has placed Saint Lucia in more debt, more corruption and schemes that
benefit UWP politicians and their friends, family and foreigners while our own people and
our children are suffering.
I stand before you today in this building constructed by the Saint Lucia Labour Party and
dedicated by our Party, to one of our esteemed stalwarts, government minister and
outstanding parliamentarian, the late, Hon Jon Odlum with a plan to lead us into government.
A plan based on a vision to lead our great nation out of the mess that this UWP government
has created. A plan, which will restore Saint Lucia to prosperity and growth.
I no longer stand before you as the Leader of the Opposition, but as the Leader in waiting of
the next government of St Lucia and I am here to tell you, we are ready!
For too long we have been seeing the disastrous effects of this UWP government. We have
witnessed the broken promises; the lies, the corruption and the selfishness of those who
pretend to serve the many, but in fact, are only there to help the few. I say now, enough is
enough. They have had their time and they have failed. Saint Lucia needs a new government,
a new leader and a new future. It is time for The Saint Lucia Labour Party to put things right.
No dirty tricks of Cambridge Analytica will stop our Party from rescuing our country from
total destruction. This storm has got to end and it will soon from now.
Thanks to this UWP government the people of Saint Lucia are burdened with nearly $5
Billion in debt and with millions of dollars wasted in scandals and corruption. This UWP
government promised hope and change. I have news for them, it takes more than talk and
bluff to achieve real change. You don’t achieve change just by wishing for it. You have to
plan for it and are prepared to work hard.
We need a plan, a strategy and a vision and a government which will work night and day to
deliver a better Saint Lucia for all the people and that is what our Party will provide to Saint
Lucia. Our people are fed up of hypocrisy, deceit, greed and corruption. They want a
government that is true to them, honest with them, dedicated to making their lives better.
They want a government that works for everyone - not for itself. A government that will
create jobs and provide a livable wage to the workers of this country. Not big payouts to their
cohort of enablers. A government that puts our own people first - not its friends and family.

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Oh yes, Comrades, there is much to do. This UWP government have let the people of St
Lucia down. Have they fulfilled their promises? Have they removed VAT? Have they
reduced debt? Have they put more money in your pockets? Have they reduced the cost of
living? Where are the investments? Where are the five hotels? Where are the new jobs?
Every day I hear the anger and frustration of our people, they tell me about the bad roads, the
poor transport service, and the deplorable healthcare system and about their children being
denied their education because of this government’s incompetence.
Saint Lucia has become a place where people are afraid to go out on the streets because of
crime. Corruption in government has become a way of life. A country where our youth can
no longer dream of a future in a Saint Lucia where their aspirations can be realized.
Foreign Policy
We welcome our visitors and the representatives of the friendly countries who are attending
our Party’s conference today. We thank all the people of these countries for their friendship
and support to our country and apologize for the embarrassment that this government has
caused the people of Saint Lucia, in their show of ingratitude.
We once more call for the removal of the trade embargo on Cuba and the immediate
cessation of all economic and political sanctions contemplated or imposed on the
hardworking people of Cuba.
We continue to call for non-inference and a peaceful solution to the situation in Venezuela
and express our grave concern for the effects of the unnecessary sanctions on the people of
Venezuela.
We condemn the unprincipled nature in which the UWP government conducts our foreign
affairs and take note of the game of Chinese checkers being played by the UWP.
After forty months of globetrotting the Prime Minister has not negotiated one new bilateral
agreement or opened up a single new market for Saint Lucian goods. Our foreign policy is
premised on frequent flier miles to London and Zurich (K).
A Labour government will ensure that every overseas trip will be designed to build
partnerships, which will benefit the people of Saint Lucia. We will seek to create new trade
deals and funding support with foreign countries. We will appoint experienced Trade
Ambassadors to existing and new trading partner nations.
We will rebuild our international reputation by ensuring a foreign relations agenda that fits
the reality of our time and based on the fundamental principles of mutual respect, strategic

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interest, non-interference in the internal affairs of countries and for the ultimate benefit for
the people of Saint Lucia. We will work tirelessly to secure market access, technological
exchange and support for human resource development. We recognize that whilst looking
north to the developed countries of this hemisphere has resulted in tremendous support for
Saint Lucia the time
has come for us to expand south/south cooperation as a deliberate strategy to strengthening
foreign and international relations. A Labour Party government will spare no effort to
allocate resources, which would stimulate partnerships with net gains for our people.
Friends Family and Foreigners
My brothers and sisters, the United Workers Party has tried without success to
mis-interpret your concern about Friends, Family and Foreigners. I want to be clear an SLP
government makes no apologies for putting Saint Lucians first. Saint Lucia belongs to all of
us and we must be given the opportunity to strive, to grow our businesses, to serve our
country and to reap the benefits of national development. Our growth and development
cannot be achieved without the embrace of real investors who value our national ethos and
respect our workers. It is based on those principles that we will design the necessary policies
that will make it possible for us to continue attracting foreign direct investment. We will not
surrender our rights on the altar of phony investments and sweet talking con artists.
We will improve legislation on alien land holding rights and establish stricter guidelines to
control any likelihood of Saint Lucians becoming second class citizens in their own country.
We will re-design the Citizens by Investment Programme to ensure transparency and
accountability. We will seek to attract the most eligible, affluent people to invest in our
programme. The CIP will be used as an investment tool for the benefit of the people of Saint
Lucia. We will ensure that the people of Saint Lucia are informed in an open and transparent
way on the use of our CIP funds.
We will ensure that our beaches remain public and no dolphin parks are built on the Pigeon
Island causeway. Pigeon Point will remain a public national park for the enjoyment of locals
and visitors.
We will immediately restore and increase the subvention to the National Trust.
We are Ready
Our readiness for government has started with our own Party. I want to thank each and every
one of you sitting here with me today for your service to the People’s Party, and to our
country.
The SLP is an organized, disciplined and progressive Party which observes the dictates of its
constitution. All constituencies have had their AGMs and all voting members have paid their

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dues. Our Youth and Women’s organization have also held successful conferences. The
Executive of our Party have been meeting every month and the National Council as
stipulated.
We are organized and focused. We need to increase our membership by working to ensure
that more people particularly the youth and women join our Party. I am pleased to report that
our membership drive is progressing. We welcomed at one meeting over one hundred new
members to our party. Our Party is alive, democratic and progressive. All Party officials
have been elected in accordance with the constitution. We understand the value that everyone
brings to our Party and country. I want to invite all Saint Lucians to join this movement for
change. We deserve a better Saint Lucia.
I believe we can have prosperity and wealth creation in a fair and just society.We need to
foster an environment of equality to ensure that the opportunities we create are available to
everyone. Only the SLP can restore people’s faith that a Saint Lucian government will treat
its citizens fairly and justly. The UWP government has taken us back in time. The St Jude’s
Hospital continues to be in a stadium for over ten years while priority continues to be given
to horses before the health of the people.
The Prime Minister was comfortable with a garbage dump a few yards away from the make
shift
St. Jude Hospital but it is very uncomfortable for him with the same dump being too close to
the DSH horse racing track, so what does he do- he uses NIC funds to remove the dump,
never mind the track is further from the dump than the hospital.
It is clear that the Prime Minister is more concerned about the wellbeing of horses than the
sick in the south.
Our New Candidate
In the movement to victory we need passionate, honest, disciplined, hardworking and
dedicated individuals to represent our Party as candidates at the next general elections.
The constituency groups have been mandated to start the search for candidates in the
remaining eleven constituencies. I have a practical and ambitious plan to have all our
seventeen candidates by early next year. We have begun our candidate selection. I want to
present to you one of our outstanding new candidates this afternoon.
Today 13th
October, 2019 in the constituency of Castries South -the battleground of our
founder and patriot Sir George F.L. Charles, I am honoured and privileged to present the first
of the new members of our winning team Comrade Wayne Girard the endorsed candidate for
Anse-La-Raye/Canaries. Wayne has decided to put his hand up and to take on the struggle for

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bread, freedom and justice. Wayne embodies the future of our Party. He was born in Jacmel
in the heart of the constituency. He grew up among the people, never lost touch with them,
has always contributed to worthy causes in the community. He is a young, qualified, family
man, humble and disciplined, and more importantly he loves people. I urge the people of
Anse-La-Raye to embrace and support Wayne as I am sure he will be well supported by our
Party. I have full confidence in Wayne Girard. I present to you comrades Wayne Girard for
Anse-La-Raye/Canaries.
An End to Corruption
My promise to you at this conference and to the people of Saint Lucia is that I will not
tolerate corruption at any level. Corruption is a plague in our political system. It robs people
of resources that should have been used for their benefit. I will lead by example, and we will
need to be the change we want to see. As Prime Minister of this country, I will have a zero
tolerance approach toward corruption. We have suffered enough from this blight of
corruption. Our citizens are fed up at the corruption they have been seeing almost daily in
government. They are fed up of Pajoah Letters and millions of dollars’ worth of contracts
awarded by direct award, no formal tender to allow competition. This UWP government uses
contracts to reward family and friends at the expense of the hardworking businesses eager to
work in our country. We will put an end to this scourge.
Corruption is coming at a heavy price to the taxpayers of this country. A contract that is
supposed to cost $10million is awarded for $13million to a friend of the government minister,
depriving our health care system, schools, roads in need of repairs and the distress fund of $3
million of much needed funds. It all amounts to money stolen from your pockets that could
also have been used to improve your personal lives. We will stop that blight and I will ensure
that the people benefit from the resources of our country.
I am putting on notice those politicians and their collaborators who have misappropriated the
monies of the people of Saint Lucia that when we get into government we will immediately
commission a forensic review of all questionable transactions that the UWP government
undertook and we will do everything within the law to recover these monies. Let me be clear
– no ministers will be above the law. I will not stand for corruption.
The governance rules will have to be tightened to avoid the blatant abuse of rules that
provided some latitude for honourable men and women to manage the affairs of the country
effectively. I promise that there will be new public procurement rules to avoid the abuses
that have taken place using direct awards.
We will legislate and enact new laws that will ensure transparency in the award of contracts
and in the conduct of governmental business practices.

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We will strengthen the Integrity Commission. People have lost trust in government. This is a
government of deals and schemes. A government that refuses to implement any project
unless they can see a clear path to make money to enrich themselves and their friends.
They stopped the Hewanorra Airport Development. They cancelled the Gros Islet Highway.
They stopped the LED street lighting project because there was no avenue for corruption.
Three years later they are fighting to re-start these projects that should have been completed
if Labour Party was in power.
See what corruption does? It delays progress and people suffer. What a selfish and greedy
bunch. They must go.
UWP Must Go-We Have a Plan to Rescue Saint Lucia
Comrades, we cannot allow the UWP another term in office. We know that they will ruin our
country. It’s time for a new tomorrow and your Party has a plan for everyone which will be
discussed, with input from all sectors of the community, it’s a people’s plan made for the
people and by the people. We cannot afford another term of UWP corruption and criminal
neglect of the basic needs of our people.
I want you to join me in service to our nation. My ambition is not the desire for personal
power and wealth but to restore our great country and a return to the values our Party holds:
integrity, hard work, meritocracy, inclusiveness, humility, truth, respect for the environment,
honesty and love of country. My teacher mother and policeman father brought me up to live
by these values.
Our Party is guided by these values and when in power we will govern by these values. We
want a real people’s government with an economy that benefits the many not the few. We
want economic prosperity for all. An economy based on the pillars of economic growth and
stability,
poverty reduction and equity, job creation and labour absorption, good governance and sound
environmental stewardship.
In order to achieve our goal of prosperity for all we will implement policies that will facilitate
a progressive reduction in the rate of debt accumulation, encourage the growth and expansion
of medium, small micro entrepreneurs and co-operatives, a vibrant Youth Economy, ensure
rural enterprise development and enhanced rural livelihoods, growth and expansion of
indigenous business organization, enabling environment for real direct foreign investment,
ensure fiscal prudence, eliminate corruption and adherence to established prudential macro-
economic benchmarks. The pursuit of new economic vistas and opportunities in the Green
Economy, the Blue Economy, the Grey Economy, Geothermal development and renewable
energy initiatives.

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Comrades an SLP government will ensure that the people are not left behind in development.
Our economy is for the people; our people are our priority, not horses.
A New Social Order
Comrades, I hear the cries and desperation of the people of Saint Lucia. I hear the need for
better health care, better paying jobs, an expanded bus service and the need to foster equality
and opportunity for all. We need to return kindness and selflessness in our communities. We
need to restore our people’s faith in our government and political system. We need a
government that will govern with fairness, meritocracy and truth. We cannot build a society
or a country based on lies, fabrication, bluff and blatant untruths. The government and the
Prime Minister’s inclination to speak untruths has the effect of undermining the development
of our people and country.
This government has created widespread chaos in every major sector from health to
education, to law and order, on account of misinformation, blatant untruths and deception.
When Ministers and the Prime Minister knowingly and persistently keep telling untruths to
the people of this country, they are saying at the very least three things to us
1. They do not believe that we deserve to know the truth
2. We are not intelligent enough to detect untruths
3. We are expected to believe them because of the position that they hold.
We deserve to know the truth. We need to remind the Prime Minister that this is the year
2019-not 1920. We are no longer in a state of servitude. The twentieth century has long
gone. It is now the twenty first century, the age of enlightenment. We are all equal before the
law and there is a place we call home-Saint Lucia. We shall not be run out of this place.
Saint Lucia, for the vast majority of us, is the only place we can call home. Most of us do not
hold a foreign passport to allow us to take up residence in another country when things get
tough. The people of Saint Lucia must not allow this misguided government to turn our
country over to a few wealthy friends, family and foreigners. It must not be allowed to
happen and together we shall stop it. We have come from too far as a people to revisit the
humiliation of being led by a selfish, misguided and uncaring government.
The people of Saint Lucia are fed up with empty promises. We do not live in a fantasy world
of dreams of twenty-three new islands and imaginary development. We want honesty, safe
streets and hospitals that care for patients.
We need to stamp out victimization, corruption and injustice and encourage inclusiveness
dialogue and participation. The next general election is about saving our country from
economic ruin, social instability and corruption. Saint Lucians want leaders who will put our
country back on course and completely change the disrespect shown by the Prime Minister
and his ministers in the House of Assembly.

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Saint Lucians are noble and simple. They want honesty and fairness, they want jobs and
progress, they want local services that work, they want to care for their sick and elderly and
they want a future for their young.
We will and when possible partner with the private sector to provide new care homes for the
elderly and provide better home support. We will make sure our elderly are respected and
looked after. We will harness the talents and experience of our retired and returning nationals
in our national development agenda. We will review the remuneration of pensioners and the
allowances for the indigent.
I ask the question why should our people not want a better life, to have aspirations to become
great, to own businesses, to be professionals, to be happy and contented in their country? This
government promotes division and hatred and want some people to cry. As if to justify their
hatred and division the Prime Minister said we lost our right to express ourselves. They want
us to live in fear. And now they have begun intimidating the media. This is not the Saint
Lucia we deserve.
I want Saint Lucia to have a new tomorrow; one of opportunities and prosperity. I have a
plan to deliver it and under my leadership, Comrades, I dedicate us to achieving it. Not for us
only but for our children. I am a proud Saint Lucian, I am proud of my roots and I am
excited about our future. I do not say it will be easy. It won’t. The road ahead of us is long. I
do not say the battle is ours for the taking. It isn’t. The fight will be tough and our opponents
are nasty and will want to win by whatever means necessary.
I do not say our victory is assured. It’s not. Winning the trust of our great people who are
wary of the false promises and lies of the UWP will be difficult. I say to you never has there
been more at stake in an election than the one we are about to face. Our entire nation
depends on what we do next. Our children’s future depends on what you do next. So, I ask
you, will you stand with me and take this fight in your constituencies and tell the people to
put their faith in Labour? We will deliver a new tomorrow. Saint Lucia will never look back
again.
Emphasis on Youth
The SLP that I lead respects young people and we will fight to give them every opportunity
to succeed. We will ensure that young people are involved in the business ventures that they
enjoy.
As a Party we are consulting with all sectors of the young in our society. We are engaging
Saint Lucian youth island wide, in person, on the ground and in the virtual space. Our youth
are worth more than photo opportunities and gimmicks to make selfish politicians look good.
We believe that young people

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 Are a significant demographic group
 Are valuable assets
 and positive forces for sustainable development
 Investing in our young people will bring significant social and economic benefits
We also believe that a youth-based economy will enhance youth participation in Saint
Lucia’s development process. We have a bold new workable plan for the young people of
Saint Lucia.
We will not use their NIC contributions to fund phony investments for foreigners. We will not use
tax payers’ earnings to create profit for foreign business. Instead we will construct an
inclusive Youth Economy to meet the special needs of young people.
The Youth Economy will after extensive discussions with youth aim to:
 Economic Empowerment
 Active Youth Participation
 Youth Social Justice
The youth Economy will cater for the special interests of young people in certain lines of
economic activity such as sports, entertainment, creative industries, modeling, cultural
activities and information technology. Special incentives and finance will be provided to
support the involvement of young people in the areas of their special interest at every step
there will be consultation and mutual agreement with the youth.
We are committed to creating the next generation of Saint Lucian entrepreneurs and within
the first 100 days in Office your SLP government will inaugurate the Youth Economy Think
Tank (YETT) with a reasonable budget to immediately address access to finance, training and
development, youth business incubators, promotion of innovation and market access to
ensure our young business minded citizens are provided with the right tools and resources to
enter the business space and contribute to their own national development.
Comrades, we will find the necessary resources to invest in our youth, the consequences of
not adequately absorbing and engaging our young people in productive engagement is the
creation of an enabling environment for increased youth marginalization, unemployment,
delinquency, crime and destitution. We are listening to the voices of our young people and
we will take action.
We will work with existing youth and sporting clubs to improve their organization and
outreach. We will double the allocation to the National Youth Council thus allowing them to
pursue their long desired initiatives. We believe that the time for our youth is now. Under
the Saint Lucia Labour Party Tomorrow Starts Today.

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Education as an Equaliser
The Saint Lucia Labour Party has always regarded education as the great equalizer: to lift
Saint Lucians out of poverty, and to empower our people, to participate as equal partners in
our country’s development. It was the Saint Lucia Labour Party in Government after adult
suffrage, which pioneered Universal Primary School Education for Saint Lucia. It was also
the Saint Lucia Labour Party returning to Government, almost twenty (20) years after
Independence, which abolished the Shift-System of half-day schooling at Primary Schools,
and finally introduced Universal Secondary Education in Saint Lucia. It was under the Saint
Lucia Labour Party in government from 1997 to 2006, that many young people were able to
obtain.
The Saint Lucia Labour Party regards education as a Right and NOT a Priviledge. We have a
Democratic and NOT an Elitist view of education. We invest in the education of Saint Lucian
children, we DO NOT subsidise their education. We have confidence in the quality of our
education system, we DO NOT denigrate it. We will work to improve our education system,
NOT to dismantle and discard it. We believe in improving standards and quality across the
country. We will work to expand the educational institution which bears the name of our
Nobel Laureate – Sir Arthur Lewis.
Brothers and Sisters, a central platform of Labour’s education policy would be to have a
University graduate in every Saint Lucian household within a reasonable time. When we
return to government, we will immediately institute a deliberate policy direction and resource
allocation strategy aimed at achieving this goal!
Our education policy will also look to seriously address the marginalization of males which is
currently crippling our society. We need our boys and young men to take up their
responsibility as providers, partners, husbands, fathers, leaders and defenders of their families
and society. They cannot do so effectively in an education system which is not sufficiently
sensitive to their challenges and interests. Our education system must rescue our boys and
young men from the lure of criminality, particularly drugs, gangs and violence.
The next Labour Government will institute deliberate policies which will make our schools
more comfortable and attractive for boys as well as girls, and facilitate the full expression and
development of male talent, while continuing to promote female excellence.

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Health Care
I am sure that every day when we wake in the morning we pray that we do not fall sick. The
truth is sickness is an everyday reality. Healthcare has always and will continue to be a
challenge but never before in the history of our island has healthcare been so horrendous.
Never before has a government been so callous and uncaring placing horses before humans.
The UWP government has continued to create and perpetuate a most inhumane, humiliating
and unconscionable health crisis that is painful and punishing the people of Saint Lucia.
Instead of completing the St. Jude Hospital the Prime Minister boasts about the completion of
stables for horses. Instead of completing the OKEU Hospital the government spends millions
of dollars on a foreign firm to prepare computer renderings of unrealistic dream projects.
The recent visit of a hospital ship, which thankfully provided much needed health care to
thousands of Saint Lucian, was an indictment on the state of the inadequacy of our health
care system. Meanwhile, the Prime Minister sheds tears in acknowledgement of his failure to
prioritize healthcare and at the same time attempt to score cheap political points that he cares.
Saint Lucia Labour Party will do better for the people of our country, Health care will be our
priority. We will immediately open the OKEU and St. Jude Hospitals. We will re-introduce
the Universal Health Care programme. We will review with a view to improving the terms
and conditions of work for our doctors and nurses.
The SLP government will on assuming office demonstrate a commitment to implementing a
people driven and oriented healthcare policy that will be inclusive, affordable, accessible,
equitably distributed and serves the healthcare interest of the people.
A New Emphasis on Small Business
The SLP government will create an enabling environment for the small business sector to
take up its rightful place as an essential partner in national development. The private sector
and in particular the local small business sector in Saint Lucia must be elevated to a position
of prominence with all the necessary support to grow to contribute to national development.
A Saint Lucia Labour Party government under my leadership will therefore carve new and
exciting opportunities for growth and expansion of the small business sector in Saint Lucia.
Upon resuming office the Saint Lucia Labour Party will move with haste to establish
incentive schemes that will provide finance, incentives and support to the Small and Micro
business sector.
We will create an enabling environment for cultural expression by making available grants,
sponsorship market promotion and loans to encourage the development of artists, public art
and new music. Our policies will transform our talented artists into business people.

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We will revive Saint Lucia Jazz festival to enable it to once more become a world renowned
festival.
We will work with the cultural community to improve and expand Jounen Kweyol and ensure
that it is adequately financed.
We will continue to promote the growth and development of Carnival and ensure that our
support is aimed at improving the quality and reach of the celebrations.
A New Thrust in Investment
An SLP government understands its role as a facilitator of economic growth and the private
sector as the engine of growth. We will encourage real direct foreign investment, not foreign
businesses that use our NIC funds or require the Saint Lucian taxpayers provide working
capital for wages and other expenses while profits are shipped out of Saint Lucia. We will
attract real direct foreign investment to our island.
We will ensure that locally owned businesses and investors are eligible for the same
opportunities and incentives as foreigners. We will facilitate, encourage, and make finance
and incentives available to small, micro and medium size Saint Lucian businesses.
The Saint Lucia Labour Party will create an environment that will encourage a viable,
profitable local business sector by creating opportunities, ensuring transparency and allowing
due process in the procurement of goods and services.
We will facilitate through modern legislation and incentives, new business sectors in music
streaming and medical tourism.
We will ensure that we are not left behind in the business of cannabis production for
economic, medical and other uses.
Our national assets will not be handed over to foreigners at $1 an acre but instead our assets
will be preserved in a well-designed Sovereign Wealth Fund. We pledge to strengthen our
land acquisition laws so future governments will not be at liberty to appropriate and acquire
our lands for the benefit of their friends.
In our plan we will reform the Education System of Saint Lucia to better respond to the
labour market needs required for the new and emerging businesses.
We will upgrade our school facilities, improve the curriculum to prepare our people for
vocations and entrepreneurship and the emerging opportunities in technology.

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Tourism
Comrades, we are well aware of the benefits of tourism to the economy of our island. Our
tourism industry will not be successful if it does not bring economic benefits to the people of
the country. The vendors and farmers must do better. The taxi drivers must make more
money. The hotel workers must earn increases in wages. The small hotels must prosper. Our
tourism policies will be balanced to ensure fairness and equity.
We will encourage the construction of luxury hotels but ensure that small and locally owned
properties benefit from tailored marketing efforts and strategic use of airlift policy and
incentives.
We will expand our tourism outreach and strive to make Saint Lucia a center for eco-tourism
and sustainable tourism development.
We will be prudent, truthful and responsible in the face of external challenges facing the
tourism industry. An SLP government upon return to power will use its best efforts to ensure
that Virgin Atlantic Airlines returns to service our vital UK market.
Agriculture
Our Party’s record in the modernization and transformation of agriculture is clear. Your
Labour Party will put rural development at the core of our development strategy. Our
farmers will be facilitated to benefit from a modern and relevant Agricultural Incentives Act.
We will continue to create real opportunities for agri-industrial development and meaningful
agricultural diversification.
The rural and producer communities are worse off today than they were in 2016. Their
incomes have declined. In this regard, we condemn the UWP plans to destroy the Meat
Processing Plant a gift by the people of Taiwan to the people of Saint Lucia. We believe that
the plant would have played an important role in the agricultural diversification programme.
This short sighted move in favour of horses has caused livestock farmers and others to lose
opportunities to be productive business people.
An SLP government will introduce new measures to create opportunities for our agri-
business producers. Our Party will be realistic in its policy on bananas. We will not promise
shipments to Martinique and France that never land. We believe that Saint Lucia can
reengineer its banana production to the benefit of the farmers.
The Saint Lucia Labour Party will introduce legislation that will encourage hotels and
restaurants to purchase more locally produced agricultural produce.
An SLP government will make investments in the agricultural sector not only as a pillar of
economic growth but as a strategic objective is critical to food security, nutrition and the
enhancement of rural livelihoods.

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An SLP government will formulate a National Land Use policy to guide land use in Saint
Lucia.
Climate Change
Comrades we can no longer afford ignoring the threats posed by climate change as an idea or
a concern of the Ministry of Environment only. It is a concern for all citizens.
An SLP government will design the school curriculum to educate our children on the impacts
of climate change. We will adopt measures and policies to climate proof all of our major
sectors including agriculture and tourism and ensure that our infrastructure is constructed to
withstand the impact of climate change. We will ensure that measures are taken to protect
our coastal zones and preserve our beaches. We will introduce measures to reduce our
carbon footprint by encouraging and providing incentives for investment in renewable energy
projects. Hence the reason why we should be alarmed that the government is plunging the
island into unsustainable debt instead of building the climate resilient fund as recommended
by the International Monetary Fund.
We can only conclude that the UWP does not understand the threats and impacts of climate
change.
Women & Families
Comrades, our country is known for traditional family values. Many of our families are
headed by single women who toil to bring up their children to be decent right citizens. The
SLP government will treat our women with dignity and respect.
To ensure that both men and women share equal responsibility for the maintenance and
upbringing of children we will enact modern Paternity Legislation that will ensure clarity in
parenthood and cause both parents to assume complete responsibility for the upbringing of
their children.
We will ensure equality in parenthood by looking into the enactment of Responsible
Fatherhood Law that is based on the premise that children have an inherent right to know the
identity of their fathers and to be supported by them.
These and other measures will ensure that children are given the best opportunity to become
upright and well balanced citizens.
Opportunities will be presented for more women to participate at all levels of political and
economic leadership and decision making.

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A Better Deal For Workers
The Saint Lucia Labour Party government will ensure that all workers of the country are
protected from discrimination and harassment.
We will examine after discussion with all sectors the implementation of a livable wage that
will enable every worker to have an acceptable quality of life.
We will enact policies that encourage procedures that maintain a working environment free
of sexual harassment where all employees respect each other’s integrity and dignity, their
privacy and their right to equal opportunities in the work place.
Your SLP government will work for every worker to earn a livable wage, affordable housing
and have an opportunity to build a better life while respecting their patrimony and birthright
of all our citizens.
Hewanorra International Airport
Let it be clear that the Saint Lucia Labour Party has never been against the development of
the Hewanorra International Airport hence the reason why in working with the World Bank
we put together a Public Private Partnership that would develop the airport and lease it for
thirty years to the private sector, where the revenue from the airport would be shared and
most importantly there would be no debt associated to burden future generations.
Comrades the Prime Minister is plunging this country into $600M worth of debt for one
project, while at the same time complaining to developed nations about the challenges of
building the country’s resilience in the face of climate change. It’s the very uncertainties of
climate change that should cautioned the government against incurring debt which is
avoidable.
The Prime Minister of course appears confused about the priorities of his government and is
not helping his case in building a resilient country when he is so reckless, borrowing money
that he need not. Meanwhile the Prime Minister is faced with trying to repair and fund a
horrible healthcare system.
 The country’s crumbling infrastructure
 Absence of Affordable housing
 An Education system in crisis
Yet the UWP government’s priority is putting the country in $600M debt with a risky
investment while many countries are reversing their debt burden and exposure to allow fiscal
space for necessary expansion. I ask the question why is the government borrowing for the
airport when a PPP arrangement was already in place? Is it because of the bribes that a

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former minister was offered or the opportunity to choose the contractors as in the LED
lighting project? I can assure you comrades it’s not for your benefit, it’s for themselves and
their friends.
The Saint Lucia Labour Party would re-develop Hewanorra International Airport without
incurring one cent of debt to the people of Saint Lucia. Comrades just imagine how a loan of
$600M even with 50% borrowed from local banks would change the face of the country. A
loan of $600M would build the North South highway, open both hospitals, repair schools,
construct affordable housing, build new roads and enhance the transportation system, build
resilient infrastructure and cause a greater multiplier effect in the economy. More people
would benefit, more jobs, more contractors, the banks and the country would enjoy the
expansion in the economy.
Conclusion
I do not pretend to have all the answers to all our country’s problems. I offer to the Party and
country a contrasting style of leadership that recognizes the value of humility, inclusiveness
and trust. I am prepared to engage the talent of my colleagues and the people of Saint Lucia
to find solutions to the complex problems of our country. In these times effective leadership
requires openness, collaboration, honesty and the desire to work diligently for the benefit of
people and not for self-aggrandizement. Saint Lucia is the only place I can call home, I have
no other passport, I have a vested interest to protect our beautiful island. I will not be
deterred by the propaganda or the false utterings of a few doubters, pessimists and some
cowards too afraid to openly confront this corrupt and uncaring government.
I stand here today on rock solid ground, confident and assured that my love for people, years
of experience as a management consultant, my fifteen years as a minister of government
responsible for important portfolios as a Deputy Prime Minister and most importantly the
twenty years uninterrupted years that the people of Castries East have entrusted to me as their
parliamentary representative, and God’s help and the support of the people capable and ready
to be the next Prime Minister of Saint Lucia.
I invite you to join me and the Saint Lucia Labour Party in this journey and let’s together
form a movement of men and women of goodwill ready to put an end to the scourge of
nepotism, corruption and callousness that has engulfed our beautiful country.
I am ready. Are you ready? Let’s move together to victory
Long live the people of Saint Lucia Long live the Saint Lucia Labour Party
I thank you.
BREAD * JUSTICE * FREEDOM