Castries, Saint Lucia: The Deputy Prime Minister of Saint Lucia – Ernest Hilaire, delivered his remarks during the House of Assembly Budget Debate held yesterday, May 02, 2023, at 1 pm.
The debate was primarily aimed at discussing the aspects of the Appropriations Bill for 2023/24 on Day 3, Part 1. During the debate, he was accompanied by Prime Minister Philip J Pierre and Member of the House of Assembly of Saint Lucia Richard Fredrick.
According to recent information, the House of Assembly Budget Debate was broadcasted live on the various official social media channels of the government of Saint Lucia, such as Facebook and YouTube.
Earlier, Deputy Prime Minister Ernest Hilaire also encouraged and invited the citizens and residents of Saint Lucia to witness the debate on Appropriation Bill 2023/24 through the mentioned broadcasting channels.
At the beginning of his address towards the House of Assembly Debate, Deputy Prime Minister Ernest Hilaire extended heartfelt greetings to the attendees and his fellow ministers along with the House of Assembly of Saint Lucia members. He welcomed his fellow ministers to the debate and acknowledged their presence at the debate session.
He recognized the previous speeches delivered by the other attendees of the debate. He noted, “I rise to join my colleagues who have spoken before me while expressing our support for the Appropriation Bill 2023/24 budget.”
He continued his speech and outlined that all the members have eloquently said that the presented budget this year by the Saint Lucia Labour Party (SLLP) is by far the best budget that has ever been introduced.
Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister Ernest Hilaire asserted that the introduced budget continues to carry a very fine tradition of budget statements presented by the Prime Ministers from the Saint Lucia Labour Party (SLLP).
Moreover, before moving forward with his address regarding his contribution, he realized a special point to discuss. He pointed out that there must be a code of conduct in the honourable House of Assembly, which should be respected and followed by all the participating members.
Deputy Prime Minister Ernest Hilaire further recalled his experience during his five years in opposition when he was told to withdraw and apologize for his opinion because it would have offended another member of the assembly.
He stated that to maintain the decorum of the assembly; he followed the speaker’s instructions even if he felt he was right in his opinion. “I never should disrespect even when I feel I was right,” said the Deputy Prime Minister.
The Dy PM Hilaire also stated that such practices should not be practised in the House of Assembly as every member has a right to present his opinion.
He added that the members participating in the session should not disrespect each other in any manner. Additionally, it was said that a collective member of the chamber and institutions should express respect and regard towards it.
Moving forward with the budget statement, Ernest Hilaire, Dy PM of Saint Lucia, said that he came to know that every member and constituency of Saint Lucia gets exceptional benefits from the budget.
He noted that this budget is surely for all the people and different sectors of the country, such as the tourism sector, benefits taxpayers and businessmen, along with the working population of the island country.
He emphasized that the current budget has fulfilled all the aspects and needs while covering all the potential areas required to excel. He mentioned that he had yet to encounter a single person who would say that was not benefited from the budget.
