Medium Term Development Strategy 2020-2023.

This 2020-2023 Medium Term Development Strategy aims at responding to the country’s development challenges, including economic downturns, climate-related shocks, structural weakness of the productive economic sectors. Thus, this Strategy seeks to improve the economic growth in the country, in order to pursue Saint Lucia’s economic development over the four-year cycle, through the prioritisation of the six sectors referred to as key result areas (Agriculture, Tourism, Infrastructure, Education, Health and Citizen Security). This Strategy, using the Sustainable Development Goals framework, prepares the formulation and finalisation of a long-term national vision for the country, focusing on the following key national development pillars: 1) strengthening productive capacity and expanding growth opportunities; 2) building strong institutions, that are a platform for growth and development; 3) infrastructure, connectivity and energy; 4) adaptation for environmental sustainability, climate change and disaster vulnerability; 5) social transformation and social resilience; 6) enhancing labour force through education, training and workforce development; 7) improving health and wellness. This Strategy is structured in three sections: the medium-term context; the methodology on the basis of the Medium Term Development Strategy; the implementation, monitoring and evaluation framework.
Concerning goals and objectives, this Strategy concerns: the achievement of a higher rate of economic growth, in order to generate generate jobs and strengthen the private sector; increasing the resilience of both the country’s economy and society to economic and natural disaster-related exogenous shocks; an adequate representation in the development process of all sub groupings of the Saint Lucian society; the placement of the country’s economy on a high growth path without compromising its fiscal position and the environmental conditions. Targeted measures of the Strategy include: gender mainstreaming and social protection; diversification of the export basket and increasing environmental friendly trade; disaster risk management and sustainable development; implementation of climate change adaptation and mitigation actions; application of National energy Policy and sustainable energy Plan; ban on the importation of selected plastic products; interventions to protect coastal and marine resources and maximise the blue economy’s opportunity; improvement of the country’s energy independence and the increased use of renewable energy sources; strengthening water resources management and water supply mechanism; creation of a waste water treatment system; replacement of waste water collection system which discharges raw sewage into the marine environment; livestock farms manure and liquid waste management; strengthening the adequacy of final waste disposal facilities; increasing financial resources to manage solid waste programmes; identification of alternative use for solid waste, such as re-use and recycling; agricultural development measures; increasing crop diversification; creation of sanitary and phytosanitary enforcement measures; reducing change in agricultural land use; enhancement of food and nutrition security actions; increasing production of meat and poultry products; improving export of bananas and cocoa.