Saint Lucia Renewed Engendering a National Vision and National Strategy Opening Address by the Honourable Dr. Kenny D. Anthony Prime Minister & Minister for Finance, Economic Affairs, Planning & Social Security on the Occasion of the Official Launch of The National Vision Commission Parliament Building, Castries Monday April 28, 2014 Saint Lucia Renewed Engendering a National Vision and National Strategy INTRODUCTION On February 22, 2014, Saint Lucia marked 35 years as an independent nation. For many of us it was a joyous but sobering moment. Even as we celebrated our achievements, we also reflected on our shortcomings. We confirmed in our hearts and minds that there is still so much to be done. Our country, our nation is not yet that place we would want it to be. It is not so hard to name the many problems confronting us. We could spend hours reciting a list of woes, and that would be the easy part. The far more difficult task is to envisage a different destination; to ask ourselves - and each other - where we would like to be in ten, or fifteen years; to describe what would we like our country to look like in two decades. THE GENESIS That process of questioning ourselves started quietly in October 2012, in the form of a Dialogue between persons of diverse backgrounds and interests. The process was supported by a technical team from the Commonwealth Partnership for Technology Management, (CPTM). Discussions covered a wide range of issues related to the future prospects of St. Lucia, both as an economy and as a society. It confirmed the need for a much broader consensus on the current and future development of the country. It also confirmed that new forms of partnership and participation are needed to improve St. Lucia’s economic and social prospects, so that as many citizens as possible can be engaged in the process of meaningful economic and social improvement. The Dialogue further suggested that moving St. Lucia sustainably forward would require major changes in the way that economic and social progress within St. Lucian society is envisioned, designed and implemented. It was felt that the best way to address these issues of inclusion and participation would be through a national visioning process. THE PROCESS THUS FAR Accepting the recommendations of the October 2012 Dialogue, the Cabinet of Ministers asked the Prime Minister to propose the concept of a National Vision to the Honourable Leader of the Opposition and ask for two nominations to the proposed National Vision Commission. Her Excellency the Governor General was also consulted and has appointed two members, so that the Commission now comprises persons nominated by Civil Society, the Private Sector, Youth, the Labour Movement and the Religious Community. Cabinet also required that the Chairperson be someone acceptable to both the Government and the Opposition. These requirements having been met, we start that the process today. CHANGE FROM WITHIN Understandably, some persons will be sceptical and it is best that we say so up front. We must have realistic expectations about this challenge we are taking up. But I think as Saint Lucians we are up to that challenge. And so I am asking everyone hearing my voice today, to bring your scepticism with you to the discussion table. Come forward and let the Commission know how you feel; what disappointments plague you, what strengths we can muster, and how you see our country moving forward. Let us have a frank and productive dialogue about the sort of Saint Lucia we would like our children to inherit. Let us consider how they will live there: in peace, in perpetual rivalry, or in an enlightened coexistence that allows each of them to flourish at the peak of their potential. We must be mindful also that whatever we imagine Saint Lucia can become, it will not come about without vision, without planning, without conscious choice and sacrifice. If we want a different future, we ourselves will need to change. We cannot expect others to do for us what we will not do for ourselves. Under all our desire to shape the future, is a need to change ourselves. Change is difficult. It can be frightening. It requires faith in things unseen. But once we accept that we must change if we are to survive, then we begin to embrace the process, cautiously at first, until we feel more comfortable. This change requires a willingness to give up what we want now for what we will need later. Change is not easy to do alone, when all around us we see others grabbing whatever they can. So we must change together; all of us, and soon. This is the enterprise we will start today: the drafting of a collective approach to our problems; a collective approach to our solutions, and a collective approach to the benefits that will follow. NO LONGER YOUNG For more that five centuries, we nurtured a wisdom which served us well. We produced great men and women who showed us the virtues of dignity and dedication. We built a nation out of the rubble of sugar and slavery, and we walked a long, long way. At thirty-five, we are no longer young. We are an independent nation in the world of nations and we have had three and a half decades to grow up. Now we need to recall our strengths, and rekindle our memories, for we are still in the business of building a nation. The long walk continues, and now we must reclaim responsibility for our decisions. We must manage our democracy. We have to stand up together and shape our world. That is what successful nations do. And, if we are seen to be helping ourselves, others will more readily support our efforts. And that is just what we intend to do: to build sustainability, to achieve self-reliance and self-determination, and earn the kind of international respect and cooperation that comes from the principled management of our own affairs. We will bind ourselves together as one nation. We will do this now while there is time, while we still cling to the promise of Saint Lucia; to that promise of the Land the People and the Light; that promise of a proud and progressive place to which we belong. THE BEST POSSIBLE SAINT LUCIA This can surely happen if we renew our thinking, if we return to our enduring values, as a society and build on that foundation a suitable national philosophy to guide our growth and development. That philosophy must be based on the primacy of our people and the sanctity of our resources. It really is that simple: we must create the best possible Saint Lucia and the best possible Saint Lucian. In a very small nutshell, this is the work of the National Vision Commission. This work is now vital to our future. It will help decide our education thrust, our investment policy, our approach to governance and ownership of critical assets. It will guide our social policy and shape priorities in health and human services. It will speak to the importance of heritage and culture and the creative imagination. It will address the most important physical and spiritual needs of the Saint Lucian citizen of today and tomorrow, and the means to deliver as much of those needs as possible. All of this will be done, ever mindful of our human capacities and our resources, whether endowed or otherwise. THIS IS RIGHT AND GOOD On December 25, 2013, this nation united in grief and hope. In the aftermath of floods, we rediscovered our humanity: a generosity and concern for each other which many of us had long forgotten. And it felt good. It felt right. On February 22nd we looked up at a still and silent statue in Constitution Park and saw an elder statesman who spoke to us of proud moments in our very recent history. We felt, as one nation, the power of a cause more important than ourselves. And that too, felt good and right. Clearly, we need to allow ourselves to believe again, despite the odds; to feel good again, about who we are and the long road we have travelled. Though we have stumbled now and then, we have also risen up, unafraid. Now, let us feel good and right that our men and women, children and elders, priests and poets, workers and employers, citizens of whatever political persuasion, will consult, discuss and decide together where we are going and how we are going to get there. THE COMMISSION’S MANDATE The first mandate of this Commission is to listen, and to discuss with rank and file Saint Lucians and representative organisations, where they would like to see themselves, their communities and their country in the immediate years ahead. The Commission is to ask Saint Lucians both what they want from their leaders and what they expect from themselves. The ultimate aim is to create a National Vision: a set of guidelines and principles reflecting the views and preferences of the people of Saint Lucia as to how the development of the country and its people should proceed. Based on island-wide consultations, the Commission will then draft a people-centred development strategy, outlining how best this country should be managed to achieve and sustain that outcome. If the Commission does its work well – and I am confident that it will, Saint Lucia will soon have a set of guiding principles and development priorities that will become the national standard to guide successive governments. In effect, the National Vision will be the people’s manifesto of principles anchoring national policy, community programs, and public sector projects alike. Ultimately, the National Vision and Strategy will help all of us to make decisions and choices about how we advance ourselves, our families, our communities, and our future generations. It will describe our preferences: choices which are wholesome, enlightened and sustainable. Our vision will empower us to move toward the best possible outcome for the greatest number of citizens. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I must now acknowledge those nominating organisations and individuals who have agreed to serve on this Commission, to help us shape the country in which we wish to live. As you do this great service to our Saint Lucia, I urge you to be brave, to be bold, to be fearless in the pursuit of truth and reason, no matter how uncomfortable or inconvenient that truth may seem. And, I promise you that no one, not even this Prime Minister, will interfere or seek to influence the peaceful progress and outcome of your assignment. I thank also the Honourable Leader of the Opposition for her willing participation in this national process. I urge your continued good faith and support, knowing full well that the blue print emerging from this process will not belong to one, but to all parties, and to all persons. Clearly, to realize our full potential as individuals, as communities and as a nation, we need to embrace the ties that bind us together. We need this now more than ever, if we are to fulfil the immense promise of a prosperous, hopeful and enlightened Saint Lucia. CONCLUSION In closing, I add special thanks the people of Saint Lucia for this opportunity to help reshape our nation. I thank you for your faith and magnanimity, for your confidence in our country and yourselves, for the hope you exhibit by being here today, by listening to this ceremony on the radio, or by watching it on television. I urge you to discuss this initiative with friends and family, in councils and committees, in bedrooms and boardrooms, in bars and schools, on playing fields and street corners. Discuss and participate. Have your voices heard. Comment constructively, and if something needs fixing, then it is us who must also fix it. Do not wait to be called. Invite the Commission into your community, to your next annual general meeting, to meet with your Mothers and Fathers group. Tell them of your vision, your hopes and needs. This is your opportunity. Make it your initiative. Most importantly, I urge you to believe that this is still your country, and if you so choose, your views and opinions will count in the shaping the future Saint Lucia. May God bless and guide us all in the work that we do for our country, this land of beautiful people and renewable light. I thank you.
Posted on: Tue, 29 Apr 2014 12:10:04 +0000
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