GIS - Prime Minister Hon. Dr. Kenny D. Anthony has indicated his intention for reform following an economic freedom ranking undertaken by the Heritage Foundation. According to the ranking, Saint Lucia was placed at number 33 in the 2014 Index of Free Economies, and also placed second out of 29 countries surveyed in the south central region.
Dr. Anthony said although the score is above average in the world, there is room for improvement.
“While I welcome this ranking, I cannot ignore the fact that we are slipping in the rankings as the best place to do business in the Caribbean,” he said. “In 2007, we were ranked at number 27 in the world and number one in the Caribbean. Since then, we declined steadily. By 2014, we slipped to 100, eclipsed by five CARICOM States. This is because we have dithered in making modest changes to the way we do business and make decisions.”
While the Prime Minister praised recent developments within the Public Sector, he said there was need for vast improvements.
“Some changes have been initiated by the Public Sector Modernization Unit, for example, the introduction of payments by credit cards, and the one-stop call centre. These, do not, however, touch the administrative processes particularly in respect of economic and commercial transactions,” he explained, adding: “I therefore propose, in the next few weeks, the creation of a unit whose sole purpose would be to cut red tape across ministries and agencies of Government to drive reform.”
The Prime Minister said the unit will focus on competitiveness for economic development.
Staff for the proposed unit will be drawn from the existing pool of public officers.