St Lucia: Ernest Hilaire says over 15000 children are benefited from elimination of facilities fees

Deputy Prime Minister of St Lucia Ernest Hilaire shared the work he did over the week. He said he had several meetings and presentations on aspects of the work.

Sunday, 12th September 2021

Deputy Prime Minister of St Lucia Ernest Hilaire shared the work he did over the week. He said he had several meetings and presentations on aspects of the work on various portfolios. Ernest Hilaire, who is also the Minister of Tourism, Investment, Creative Industries, Culture and Information, said that the government is working to support children to go back to school. Minister said over 300 parents were helped to provide for over 500 school children. He noted that about fifteen thousand children are nationally benefitted from the elimination of facilities fees. [caption id="attachment_37535" align="aligncenter" width="503"]

Deputy Prime Minister of St Lucia Ernest Hilaire during his visit.[/caption] He also discussed his recent participation in a "Ministerial Roundtable" for three new Ministers of Tourism in the region.

"It was my first test to speak regionally of the vision of the new government. I am still learning about a sector that is new to me from a policy formulations and execution perspective. Tourism is intricate and involved and very much more practical than theoretical." stated Ernest Hilaire.

Furthermore, he said Friday had been particularly special for him because there was a link-up between Taiwan and Saint Lucia using a robot. The robot basically broadcasted various aspects of Saint Lucian culture and scenes to a festival in Taipei, Taiwan. Minister said it is a display of how technology will be used in the near future for marketing and promotion of destinations. Speaking about his Castries South constituency, Ernest Hilaire stated that he toured the constituency on Friday afternoon to oversee the implementation of the first set of projects. During his constituency tour, he visited the Millennium Highway, where the government is looking to build a Look Out Point and Vendor's Platform. He said he also visited the old Capital Management Building in Ciceron among other places. "I promised Ciceron a facility for youth and community development so hopefully, we can refurbished this building to help in this regard. Thirdly, we visited the Cul De Sac Beach Park. The park was handed to NCA but has deteriorated." said the deputy prime minister. He stated the park would be refurbished to offer cruise passengers a modern recreational facility. Hilaire said he also visited Marigot to determine where the government can build a Vendor's Platform to capitalize on thousands of cruise passengers who visit each year. "We took the river taxi and visited La Bas (Marigot Beach Spit) which will get a major upgrade. Finally, we visited the Morne Look Out Point which will receive a major upgrade. This was my first tour since being re-elected. It felt exciting and energizing." said Hilaire.