Deputy Comptroller at the IRD, Fleur Simmons, said the department is working to develop a new three-year Corporate Strategic Business Plan to guide its operations for the period 2026 to 2029. In the lead-up to the workshop, focus group discussions were conducted with key stakeholders, including the Department of Finance, local business associations, and staff of the IRD.
“What we would have looked for in these focus groups is just anything that would inform us, anything that would assist us, so it’s like an environmental scan into determining the direction of the Inland Revenue Department.”
Technical support to the IRD was provided by Princess Scott, a Short-Term Expert with CARTAC. She emphasized that the development of the strategic plan is guided by a structured four-pillar strategic management framework, which focuses on strategic priorities, strategy formulation, execution, and performance evaluation.
“So we are starting off by looking at what we call the strategic intent, which is pillar one. What are the strategic priorities from global direction, the Ministry of Finance, the Government of Saint Lucia, that, from a tax standpoint, will impact the IRD? We’re then looking at pillar two, which looks at how you then formulate a strategy. Strategy is the roadmap that will take the IRD to realize certain key outcomes in keeping with its mandate, its vision, and its mission.”
Strategy execution, particularly the mobilization of enablers such as human and technical resources to deliver and optimize results, forms part of pillar three. Scott added that pillar four of the framework focuses on strategic evaluation.
“So how does it monitor and measure its performance? How does it monitor and measure the health of key components of the tax system to move the IRD forward in supporting and funding domestic revenue mobilization? Which is revenue being collected, revenue being buoyant for the people of Saint Lucia.”
The Deputy Comptroller of the IRD expressed optimism that the guidance provided by CARTAC will translate into improved services for taxpayers and a stronger, more responsive revenue system for Saint Lucia.
“This is something that we would like to achieve. Something that has come out of the focus groups as well. More interaction with the public. More information being disseminated to the public, and just an improved taxpayer administration on the whole.”
Beyond the workshop, the focus remains on building internal capacity within the Inland Revenue Department to ensure sustainability of the strategic planning process long after the consultants have departed.