Castries, Saint Lucia: Deputy Prime Minister Ernest Hilaire outlined the upcoming projects that will enhance the development of Saint Lucia during his budget address 2024/2025 on Thursday. He reiterated his commitment and said that the programs would benefit the citizens and the overall growth of the country.
The 2024/2025 budget address feature several infrastructural projects for a resilient economy and is aimed at enhancing the investments in all these sectors. Ernest Hilaire also shared the key highlights of the budget and talked about different sectors.
Key Aspects of Budget 2024/2025
Through the budget, the government proposed a new Minimum Liveable Wage which will come into force by August 1, 2024.
It was outlined that a one-off payment of $2500 will be made to each of the 93 privately registered Early Childhood Centres to assist with the purchase of educational supplies. The payment will be made from August 1, 2024.
For the Banana farmers, the government announced that those who were affected by the shortage of boxes and packaging material will be entitled to a shared compensation package of $500,000. Besides this, the public servants will be entitled to 100% residential mortgages under the new credit line facility which is being managed by the Saint Lucia Development Bank.
In addition, the government will assist every successful applicant with a $1000 payment towards their legal cost. The construction of new residential homes and renovations to existing homes will be encouraged, and stamp duty on mortgages up to $400,000 taken for any of the two purposes will be waived.
The minimum pension payable to government pensioners will be increased to $725.00, which will come into effect on August 1, 2024. Currently, the government has been giving around $300.00 monthly to pensioners. In addition to that, the pensions for NIC pensioners will also be increased to $500 monthly.
In the last tenure, the government has enacted a new macro investment bill to fast-track approval of large investments in all sectors that meet certain social, economic, and environmental criteria. The government also provided special incentives to businesses and property owners in the city to renovate and refurbish their properties to facilitate Urban Renewal.