Prime Minister and Minister for Finance, Hon. Philip J. Pierre, used his pre-Cabinet briefing on Monday to signal that sustainability will be the central theme of the government’s upcoming budget, urging Saint Lucians to rethink how they use water, manage waste, and grow food.
Speaking to the media, the Prime Minister pointed to a simple but striking example of water conservation that he said illustrates both the problem and the potential solution facing the country.
He described observing a water tank receiving piped WASCO water positioned less than two feet away from a gutter downpipe that was channeling rainwater straight into the ground.
“Less than two feet, there’s a downpipe dropping rain into the ground, and right next to it is a tank with WASCO water,” Pierre said.
He urged households to take practical steps to harvest rainwater, particularly given the amount of rainfall experienced over the weekend.
“Think about the rain that fell this weekend. Every house ought to have water. Every household has a roof, every household has guttering. Think about buying one length of guttering and just gutter one side of your house and put it into a tank. Even if you have no fancy piping, at least you have water for your toilet,” he said.
The Prime Minister made it clear that the 2026 national budget will be built around sustainability and responsible resource use.
“This year, the budget is going to be about sustainability, how we use the resources that we have to make Saint Lucia the best place to live and work,” he stated.
He also linked sustainability to waste management, calling on citizens to take personal responsibility to reduce littering.
“If you go into the waterways in this country, everything that’s there is something somebody threw. This is what we’re going to be talking about this year, sustainability and individual action,” Pierre said.
Agriculture and food security will also feature prominently in the government’s plans, with a renewed focus on local production and small-scale farming.
“I can give you a preview on hobby farming. I’ve instructed the Minister of Agriculture to look into the varieties of crops that we can grow, even though we live in the Caribbean,” he revealed.
The Prime Minister stressed that the time for political division has passed following the recent elections, calling for national unity around the sustainability agenda.
“Elections are over. We’ve won, and we’ve won well. So let us get the country together. I’m calling on even the opposition to help us,” he said.
His message concluded with a broad appeal for collective action.
“Sustainability is about how we make our country use the resources that we have so that we can make Saint Lucia one of the best places to live in the world,” Pierre affirmed.
The Cabinet is expected to begin detailed discussions on the sustainability-focused budget in the coming weeks.
