Chief Economist in the Department of Economic Development, Charlin Louisy-Regis, noted that the project will help fulfill a key aspiration of the Government of Saint Lucia by providing technical assistance, knowledge transfer, and skills development aimed at building stronger economic, social, and environmental resilience.
“DA 16 would offer the opportunity to develop a policy for the Division of Economic Development, a resilience roadmap for Saint Lucia, and would offer training sessions in cost-benefit analysis, project proposal writing, and statistics.”
Coordinator for Statistics and Social Development at ECLAC, Abdullahi Abdulkadri, stressed that only five years remain for the implementation of the global agenda under DA 16. He highlighted the challenges faced by member states and emphasized the critical need for Caribbean countries to achieve sustainable economic prosperity, priorities that are well articulated in the Antigua and Barbuda Agenda for SIDS and were extensively discussed during the interactive dialogue sessions at the 4th International Conference on SIDS, held in Antigua and Barbuda in 2024.
“Due to capacity limitation, we have seen slow implementation of funded projects and too often a return of uncommitted funds to the donor at the conclusion of development projects, even as SIDS make a strong case for concessionary funding. Considering the importance of building resilience and the need to develop policies and implement projects that will enhance the resilience of Caribbean States. ECLAC has designed and is implementing this strengthening capacity to develop, design, and implement policies to enhance resilience in Caribbean States as a capacity development project which will benefit six Caribbean countries. Namely Antigua and Barbuda, Belize, Grenada, St. Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, and Suriname.”
Emphasis was placed not only on staff training but also on the integration of newly acquired knowledge and skills into their daily work and responsibilities, to ensure the efficient use of the country’s resources. Dr. Lorraine Nicholas, the UN Country Coordination Officer for Saint Lucia, underscored this point during her remarks.
“As we continue to support Saint Lucia, we are mindful that resilience is not just about bouncing back. It is about moving forward. It is about transforming challenges into opportunities and building stronger systems that are more equitable, that are more resilient and inclusive, and sustainable.”
Permanent Secretary in the Department of Economic Development, Paul Hilaire, stated that the training is timely, as the department marks three significant milestones.
“We are now finalizing the software to manage the PSIP, our Public Sector Investment Programme. We are also enhancing the groundwork for our Medium Term Development Strategy (MTDS) and the National Development Plan. It is expected that our thrust towards a more resilient economy would be improved and so would our progress towards the SDGs.”
More than 25 public officers participated in the initial one-week training course on Cost-Benefit Analysis, held from June 30th to July 4th.