Over the past few years the Government of Saint Lucia has been paving the way for the development of a Medium-term Development and Strategic Plan.

Such an initiative is aimed at improving public sector management as one component of the overall macroeconomic programme of the Government of Saint Lucia in order to achieve more balanced growth across the island, raise employment levels and reduce poverty.

The Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) has partnered with the Government of Saint Lucia, by providing grant funding for the Technical Assistance required for the advancement of the capacity building aspects of the Medium-term Development and Strategic Plan. Consequently, the proposed Technical Assistance will include, among other things: establishing an appropriate framework to allow for more effective utilization of public finances; supporting the implementation of VAT; instituting new customs and clearance procedures; improving debt management systems; and formulating and implementing poverty reduction strategies.

With Government's ambitious programme for development juxtaposed against the current global economic crisis, the need for sound macroeconomic management is critical in ensuring the efficiency of budget allocations. Sound macroeconomic management involves monitoring economic performance, forecasting economic activity and implementing measures to steer the economy towards desired objectives or outcomes.

In formulating the Medium-term Development and Strategic Plan, great attention will be given to the institutional framework for macroeconomic management and for the formulation of macroeconomic policy advice.

The Medium Term Development and Strategic plan process commences with a launch at the National Insurance Corporation Conference Room on Tuesday August 17 at 9:30 am. The Prime Minister will deliver the feature address with remarks by  Caribbean Development Bank , KAIRI Consultants and other key government officials.

The Medium Term Development and Strategic Plan will include:

1.    Training sessions with ministry official on medium term planning;

2.    Reviewing existing policy documents

3.    Analyzing Saint Lucia's social and economic performance and prospects for growth in the context of regional and international trends and developments

4.    Conducting  interviews with key government ministries, stakeholders, multilateral agencies and civil society

5.    Crafting sector strategies to meet national development goals, objectives and priorities and

6.    Devising a plan of action to guide the implementation of development strategies and instituting mechanisms for monitoring and evaluating the impact of the strategies.

The Government of Saint Lucia is confident that the Medium Term Development and Strategic Plan will help our country become more resilient to severe exogenous economic disturbances and place the Saint Lucia on a higher sustainable growth path.