Two Private Accounting Firms Say It's PM's "Best Budget Yet!" - April 10, 2001

by Earl Bousquet

It was a week during which the Prime Minister presented the much-anticipated 2001-02 National Budget that received positive reviews from two major local private accounting firms, the Governor General delivered her traditional pre-Budget Throne Speech, a new Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade was appointed, Government announced the Prime Minister will become the first Caribbean leader to meet US President George Bush, the OECS and Cable & Wireless signed a historic agreement in Grenada and the families of two slain banana farmers were compensated.

The Prime Minister’s budget address received mainly positive reviews for its wide-ranging scope and the fact that the Prime Minister did not go the traditional and more costly way of turning it into an election budget on the eve of expected elections.

Mrs Brenda Boland, a Senior Partner in the private accounting firm of Chase, Skeete and Boland, said it was “the Prime Minister’s best budget so far.” She welcomed the government’s review of the Property Tax structure, the tax break for 3,500 persons and continuing government assistance to the banana industry.

Another accounting firm, this time, PriceWaterhouse Copers, said in its published review yesterday that “the budget acknowledges the reality of the impact of globalisation on our economy and provides a framework for the repositioning of the economy to meet these challenges.”

The prominent international accounting firm said the problems facing the St. Lucia economy “are currently shared with our neighbours in the OECS, Caricom and the developing world...”

It noted that “according to the independent analysts, we seem to be faring better tan many,” but also warned that “we cannot afford o rest on our laurels.”

According to PriceWaterhouse Coopers: “Our hope is that this and all future budgets, will provide the prescriptions and inspiration to set us on the path of sustained development in an ever-changing world.”

Meanwhile, the budget has also been criticised by a local tax consultant, Mr Geoff Stewart, who has taken issue with the taxation aspect of the presentation, arguing that rather than release 3,500 from the tax burden the Government should impose a 25% across-the-board tax that would pull more people into the tax net.

The Governor General’s Throne Speech was also well received, except for criticism by former Foreign Affairs Minister George Odlum’s Crusader newspaper, which accused the Head of State of allowing her office to be politicised. (Mr Odlum was also the only parliamentarian absent without leave or explanation from the presentation of the Throne Speech, in what many regard as a sign of disrespect for the Head of State.)

On the same day the former minister absented himself from the house of Assembly, his former ambassador was sworn-in as a Senator in the morning and as the new minister in the afternoon. (A former friend of Mr Odlum, his successor would also become the subject of ridicule in Mr Odlum’s Crusader newspaper over the past weekend.)

While the budget presentation was still being consumed, the big announcement came from Washington that the youth arm of the ruling Republican Party in the USA had invited the St. Lucia Prime Minister to attend and address the upcoming convention of its Florida sections next month.

The Prime Minister will also meet the US President and will deliver the feature address at a $1,000-per-plate gala dinner that was sold out within days of the announcement.

                Then Prime Minister also travelled to Grenada over the weekend to participate in the ceremony for the signing of the agreement between Cable & Wireless and the OECS states for the deregulation of the telecommunications industry in the five participating member-states of the sub-regional grouping.

                On his return from the lightning Grenada trip on Saturday last, the Prime Minister travelled to Grace in Vieux Fort North, where he addressed a much-postponed meeting with residents following his recent official Constituency Tour.

            The Government also announced last week the appointment of an Ambassador to Caricom in the person of former Cabinet Secretary Anthony Severin, who shall now hold the combined posts of Permanent Secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister and Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary.

            The new Cabinet Secretary is Mr Victor Poyotte, a former Principal Assistant Secretary in the then Ministry of Planning, Personnel, Establishment and Training, whose last post was that of Regional Director of the Canadian funded Eastern Caribbean Economic Management Programme (ECEMP).

Meanwhile, the Labour Administration hopefully brought an end to a sad chapter in the recent history of the island on Monday, when it moved to offer some measure of correctness to a grave historical wrong. That’s when compensation to the tune of $136,000 was paid to the families of two banana farmers shot by police during the exercise of their constitutional right to protest against the previous UWP administration.

            Randy Joseph and Julius Joseph died from police bullets a few years ago and their families had since then been promised some form of compensation.

Last year, Cabinet considered a Memorandum submitted by the Attorney General’s Chambers that agreed in principle to the establishment of a compensation fund for the benefit of persons or their estates in cases of permanent disability or death.

Accordingly, $80,000 was paid to the family of Julius Joseph and $56,000 to that of Randy Joseph, after Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Dr Kenny D. Anthony issued an order for payment.

The cheques were presented to the representatives of the respective families on Monday at the Castries offices of the lawyer for the families, Mr Oswald Wilkinson Larcher.

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