The purpose of the Bill is to consolidate and modernize the laws relating to debt management by providing for the administration of public debt management; a Medium-Term Debt Management Strategy; Public Debt Sustainability Analysis; Government borrowings, guarantees, on-lending; and to reduce multiple issuers of debt and ensure sound financial policies in relation to the management of public debt.
The Ministry of Tourism, Information and Broadcasting, Culture and Creative Industries is currently
implementing the OECS Regional Tourism and Competitiveness Project (ORTCP), a six-year tourism
development project, which commenced in August 2017. The Project is funded by the World Bank as
a regional initiative that is concurrently being implemented in Grenada and St Vincent and the
Grenadines by their respective national governments.
The original objectives of the Project were to: (i) facilitate the movement of tourists within the
participating countries using ferries; (ii) improve selected touristic sites; and (iii) strengthen
implementation capacity for regional tourism market development in the participating countries.
Those three Project Development Objectives constitute the three main Project Components.
However, the ORTCP has been restructured to achieve the ultimate aim, to improve selected tourism
sites and strengthen capacity to contribute to the recovery from Covid-19. For this reason, the Ministry
of Tourism in close collaboration with the Office of the Prime Minister has strategically identified some
key sites for enhancement, with a view to enhancing the competitiveness and sustainability of Saint
Lucia’s tourism sector. The development of community-based tourism in the village of Canaries is
among several initiatives planned which closely align with the underlying premise of the 2020 Saint
Lucia Tourism Strategy (developed under the ORTCP) which focuses on balancing visitor value and
diversifying the product towards a more appealing stayover prospect. Moreover, it is envisaged that
this initiative will contribute significantly to boosting the resilience of the tourism sector, as the Ministry
prepares for the resurgence ofthis vital sector. And it is against this backdrop, that the Canaries Market
was identified as a potential project.
In 2021, most economies began to recover from the historic COVID-19 pandemic-induced contraction of
2020. The global economy recorded its strongest post-recession recovery in 80 years, with growth estimated
at 5.9 percent in 2021 from a contraction of 3.1 percent in 2020, owing to a relaxation of pandemic-related
lockdowns in several countries which boosted demand.
The 2022-23 Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure lays out the annual spending plans, projected revenue collections and programme performance information of all government departments. The Budget Estimates is structured by organizational segments namely, Department, Division, Cost Centre, Programme and Sub-programme. These segments are reflected in the schedules for Revenue (Recurrent & Capital), Operating, Non-Project Capital and Project Expenditure. A notable change in the classification is the treatment of Principal Repayments as Capital Expenditure, which is in keeping with the new Chart of Accounts.