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The Cabinet of Ministers on February 14th, 2011 approved the appointment of a Steering Committee, to oversee the establishment of the National Competitiveness and Productivity Council (NCPC) in Saint Lucia.

The concept of the NCPC was first launched in August 2010, at a multipartite symposium. At that consultation, it was agreed that productivity, international competitiveness and improved quality of life can best be achieved through continued public and private sector consensus and broad participation.  Thus, the institution of a Steering Committee was conceptualised.  

That Committee, which is being coordinated by the Ministry of Finance, Economic Affairs and National Development, comprises representatives of: The Ministry of Commerce; Saint Lucia Chamber of Commerce; Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation; Ministry of External Affairs, International Trade and Investment; Saint Lucia Employers Federation; Trade Union Federation; National Workers Union; Labour Commissioner; Ministry of the Public Service and Human Resource Development;  Ministry of Labour; Ministry of Finance, Economic Affairs and National Development; Saint Lucia Manufacturers Association and the Saint Lucia Small Business Association.

The inaugural meeting of the Steering Committee was held on Wednesday, March 15th 2011, at the Ministry of Finance’s Corporate Office on Bridge Street.

Chaired by the Permanent Secretary, Mr Isaac Anthony, the committee members were treated to an awe-inspiring presentation by Dr Harvey Millar, who in addition to teaching and research, is the Vice President of Logix Consultants Limited—a  consulting firm dedicated to helping businesses and organizations run cost-efficient and/or profitable operations through the application of scientific management practices.

Dr Millar encouraged Committee Members to rethink the definition of productivity and national competitiveness. He warned that overall competitiveness can only be achieved by creating the enabling environments at both the private and public sector levels

“When countries compete,” said Millar, “it is actually one sector of a country competing with the same sector in another country.”

For his part, Mr Anthony highlighted the attainment of national competitiveness as “one of the critical issues that our country needs to address.”

“You don’t know if you are improving productivity if you are unable to measure productivity. The establishment of the National Competitiveness and Productivity council provides an opportunity for maximizing inter-sector linkages” he said.

“Government looks forward to the establishment of the NCPC, as it would really set the stage for economic growth and development. But what are the initiatives needed to sustain economic growth? The NCPC provides an avenue to make recommendations on those sorts of issues,” said Anthony.

 Officials at Ministry of Finance, Economic Affairs and National Development indicated that they will employ all efforts to ensure the successful birth of the National Competitiveness and Productivity Council, in the next few months.

The mandate of the Steering Committee will be to advise on the legislative framework, institutional arrangements and resource requirements for the NCPC and to oversee the establishment of the Council.



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For further information contact

Dr. Gale T C Zaide
Advisor
National Development
Ministry of Finance, Economic Affairs and National Development
3rd Floor, Financial Centre
Bridge Street
Castries
Saint Lucia