 Good evening to all Saint Lucia's here and abroad watching this telecast may I ask you to join me in prayer Our father in heaven Halloth be thy name This evening I stand before this your people of Saint Lucia with a grateful heart of praise and Thanksgiving Lord you've been good and gracious to us as a nation We thank you Lord for the manner in which you have preserved your people from this dreadful coronavirus We've had a hundred percent recovery from those tested and Lord you've spared us from deaths We have every reason to praise your name. I Also, thank you Lord that for the past few days. We have had no new cases I pause to remember those who've lost close friends and family members from this dreadful virus I pray that you will comfort them and their families Lord I thank you for the hard work of all those who've been in the front line the ministry of health The CMO and her team the police and fire service Nemo our members of cabinet the opposition all workers of our various organizations and our entire citizens of this wonderful island of Saint Lucia We thank you father for the way you have used everyone to carry out their duties with such diligence during this pandemic May we always remember your words which remind us that you are our shepherd You are our refuge You are our shield and buckler and You are our high tower May we keep our faith and trust in you o Lord as we go through these difficult times May there be love and unity amongst us all as we ride this storm together And Lord may we come out of this COVID crisis as an even stronger and more united nation May you continue to bless our nation Saint Lucia and may you continue to protect us from all ills For I pray this prayer in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost Amen Good evening to all solutions here and abroad watching this telecast as The last few weeks have progressed and the realities of the repercussions of COVID have materialized We've begun to get a sense that we are likely to be living with this virus for some time Most of the world's health and scientific authorities seem to share the opinion that a vaccine will not really be available As a government we've taken what we believe were the best measures to protect you all and to keep you safe When the virus was first to cold here and Whilst we are clearly not yet out of the woods There is no doubt that we have been successful in this regard with a hundred percent recovery rate No deaths and with no apparent current cases on the island For that we give thanks to God We know that many of the measures we have had to take have made life uncomfortable and difficult for many But it was better than allowing infection and possibly death to result When the virus first entered our country our government immediately adopted a three-phased approach To tackle the crisis with our top priority being protecting the health of solutions by ensuring That our health care system was prepared to deal with any possible outbreak Personal protective equipment and ventilators were ordered and we negotiated with the cube with Cuba to get a hundred and ten Doctors and nurses on island to provide support Once we saw the beginning of a spread we took stringent measures to limit person-to-person interactions including enforcing social distancing Closing our borders Declaring a state of emergency Applying a curfew and eventually shutting down completely We also had to set up quarantine facilities at three hotels and fast-track the move to ok eu To facilitate Victoria Hospital becoming a respiratory center Since we got into government. We've been preparing to move into ok you however There were fundamental issues that we had to resolve one being the cost of 70 million per year to run ok you as Compared to 35 million to operate Victoria in addition Although the basic physical structure was completed and handed over several components were problematic such as the Electricals air conditioning system drainage air exhaust systems and others All in all 28 million dollars had been allocated from government's budget to address these major deficiencies Which were not all completed But we had to move in anyway Because Victoria was inadequate to serve as a hospital and a respiratory center The situation was far from ideal But we worked hard to determine the means of financing the hospital Which we ultimately determined would be the best arranged through a national health care insurance program Which was scheduled to start in June of this year When this is established Every solution will have access to affordable and quality health care Health centers and polyclinics island-wide have been revamped and upgraded and times of operation have been expanded The rebuilding of St. Jude's has been a priority as persons in the south have been waiting long enough For a decent hospital and after long negotiations with the Taiwanese government. We're now well advanced and on track to complete this critical project The measures which the world has had to take and our pre-emptive actions locally have had the dual impact of decimating our economy Especially our tourism sector which in turn has had wider spillover effects in other sectors To survive the impact of covered over the next few months requires stringent cash flow management and a great deal of fiscal prudence Including a reduction of non-essential expenditure Once we get through this phase, we can begin the next which is stabilization This will see the phase reopening of our economy which has already started and later the gradual opening of our borders to global travel This phase is expected to be between June and September of 2020 Once we don't expect to earn pre-COVID revenues We will need to continue to meet salary and debt commitments and hopefully to allow for additional spending in high-priority areas An assessment of the situation will be conducted ahead of this phase to gauge the impact of the changes in the global economy on our local economy It's only at this point that a short and medium-term strategy will be developed An input from all major sectors of the economy will be sought on economic stimulus An economic recovery committee has already been put in place with which comprises of the private sector council The unions and the opposition and all parties have already been advised Phase three is recovery By September of 2020, we will have had a clear assessment of the economic impact of COVID And only then can we consider making permanent adjustments to our fiscal projections We'll hopefully then be in a position to begin our economic recovery efforts This will of course depend on the pace at which international travel and commerce resume Rebuilding efforts will require additional investments in the local economy And this certainly will be complemented by the reopening of our tourism sector Key to this economic recovery is the continuation of our large-scale investment projects Such as St. Jude's Hospital and the UNR International Airport Both of which will not only generate jobs but are critical infrastructural projects for the country HIA has long been inadequate, but especially so during the last three years We've had record tourism arrivals and a facility ill-equipped to accommodate that traffic In view of the anticipated income shortfalls and the thousands who have lost jobs overnight We created two subcommittees, a ministerial subcommittee comprising the Department of Finance The Minister for Labor who is the chairperson, the Minister of Commerce and the Minister for Equity to conduct union consultations That team has to date held five meetings with the public sector trade unions and engagements with key stakeholders during the months of March and April and presented an overview of the economic and financial impact of COVID on our island The next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday We also formed a subcommittee to manage the economic and social fallout comprising of myself, the Minister of Finance and the ministers of tourism, education, economic development and agriculture I want to sincerely thank our private sector partners and the trade unions for their participation and for the admitted appreciation of the gravity of the economic hurricane which has just hit us We must work together to ensure survival of our country The need to negotiate with the civil service has not arisen because their work and contributions are not valued In fact, at these times they have shown how invaluable they are, especially our frontliners But there must be recognition that our financial situation and that of the whole world has changed overnight and urgent but temporary adjustment is required As we continue our negotiations with the civil service, we will all times deal openly and honestly and we will expect the same in return When we review the revenues of April dating back to 2017, the drop is quite alarming In April of 2017, we collected $70 million for the month In 2018, in the month of April, we collected $87 million for the month In 2019, in the month of April, we collected $101 million As for this April to date, we have only collected $40 million As civil servants all know, their salaries are paid for monthly government revenues And as I mentioned, the drastic drop, a 60% reduction for April alone, has put a severe strain on our cash flow and immediate options to replace this revenue are limited We are projecting that this new level will continue at least until July And it's very difficult to determine how long until we get back to the pre-COVID levels All efforts are being made to be fair and no one is being asked to take a pay cut Let me repeat myself, no one has been asked to take a pay cut But some sacrifices are required to be made in order to get through this cash flow crisis Being aware that the frontline workers were exposed, we looked at the possibility of making an exception However, we realized that there were other public officers who were also at work Customs, the staff at Government Pantry, our teachers, our Ministry of Finance staff And many other have been working long hours during this crisis While most were not in the front lines, they were also at risk each day If government is left to make that determination, it becomes a difficult choice to make This is one of the reasons we have sought to seek the Council of the Unions in making the decisions as to the best approach The offer we've made to the civil servants is that part of their salary will be paid in cash And part will be paid in an interest-bearing bond But this applies only to grades 7 to 21, which are the higher earners Everyone else at grades 1 to 6, including the pensioners, will be paid in cash and allowances as usual This represents more than half of the civil servants Those at grades 7 to 21 have been offered part cash and part interest-bearing wage bonds for a three-month period But everyone will be paid in full A wage bond is similar to a fixed deposit, redeemable after a year at a fixed interest rate of 3%, which by the way is 1% above the current savings rate This offer, if accepted, will allow us to keep some cash on hand to pay debt and to cover other emergency expenses The end of March represents the end of government's financial year And when we were expecting a windfall from income tax payments, not only we've not been able to receive these, but we've had a massive unexpected expenditure due to COVID We can't afford to default on our own obligations, because the repercussions for our country will be severe on all of us COVID has dealt us a difficult hand, and we're doing the best that we can to get through this All we're asking for is a little time, three months to be precise To put things in perspective, before COVID, estimates by the Department of Finance for the next fiscal year had projected a 4% economic growth This would have capped off almost four years of consecutive growth since we assumed office in 2016 In fact, next week we'll be announcing that we've achieved not only another year of economic growth, but our debt to GDP has now declined to 59% This means that our economy has been growing faster than our debt for the first time in almost 20 years We're also very proud of the fact that our policies and initiatives have resulted in a dramatic reduction in unemployment from 25% when we took office to 16.8% and importantly, youth employment continued to decline following the lowest ever recorded to 31.6% So we have been able to consistently grow the economy and improve the overall output which has put us in a better position to deal with this economic crisis Despite the current difficulties, our improved economy has undoubtedly made us more resilient In fact, we're on the verge of a major takeoff when COVID hit and the numbers are there to substantiate this It is a result of our pre-COVID growth and reduced debt to GDP ratio that we are now able to more easily negotiate with regional and international institutions to get the financial assistance we need We've been in discussions with the ECCB, IMF, World Bank, the Caribbean Development Bank and other bilateral partners to repurpose existing loans in some instances and to extend new financing facilities But these loans take time to negotiate which is why we are asking for the understanding of our unions The global uncertainty as to when the world will recover means that every country including St. Lucia will contract for a period of time The ECCB suggests that St. Lucia's contraction could reach as high as 18% This contraction, if it occurs, will result in a possible doubling of our fiscal deficit for the upcoming financial year In order for us to survive, managing income cash flow over the next two to three months is essential The Department of Finance will also need to undertake the following Work with the National Insurance Corporation to provide a cash injection to fund the income support allowances to non-contributors of NIC for three months As presented in the Social Stabilization Plan, the NIC will bear the portion relating to providing income support to contributors of NIC Assist statutory bodies by the way of cash injections, primarily for salaries and wages Meet the costs associated with the treatment and containment of COVID Meet the increased cost of operating OKEU Hospital, funding the operation of Victoria Hospital as a respiratory hospital, maintaining other respiratory centers as well as the quarantine and isolation centers Meet the cost of funding and operating the National Feeding Program, intended to feed up to 10,000 people daily for a period of six weeks Additionally, our government remains committed to meeting all debt servicing obligations In addition to its obligations as per the three-year collective agreement, we negotiated with the public sector trade units, covering the period 2019 to 2022 As I recently announced in the Social Stabilization Plan, we've been working with the ECCB and the commercial banks to provide a moratorium on interest and principal payments We started this process since February, with a view to protecting our citizens from the anticipated fallout, which is why the banks were able to so early in the game to offer debt payment deferrals The moratorium is for six months period in the first instance, with the possibility of a further extension I wish to sincerely thank all of them for their willingness to work with our government and our people as we navigate through this crisis The efforts are afoot to secure similar arrangements with other local financial and non-financial institutions, such as the credit units, microloan and insurance companies So the government has taken an aggressive, multifaceted approach to this situation We're tackling it from all sides, but only time will tell if this is enough, because of the levels of uncertainty which looms The managing director of the IMF recently stated that the already dire economic forecast may still be too optimistic The IMF projects that 170 countries will see income per capita shrinking during 2020, and that the poor countries will be hit multiple times First by the pandemic itself, then by the spillover from the economic contraction elsewhere, and by the flight to safety, and because remittances from the diaspora are expected to dry up There is no lack of evidence as to how bad the situation is around the world Disney, the world's largest entertainment company, just announced a few days ago that is letting go half of its staff of 200,000 persons And there are signs that its parks won't reopen until next year Some US universities are telling students they won't be open in the fall, but rather in January of 2021 Jobless claims in the United States have reached 26 million since corona hit, wiping out all the gains since 2008 recession So the continued uncertainty of what is to unfold globally, as well as locally puts even greater pressure on our economy, and reduces our ability to rely on typically predictable trends and economic projections However, inaction is not an option We must take decisions to put ourselves in a position to recover from this, even though the situation regarding COVID is evolving almost daily And we are doing so St. Lucia, for a small country with limited resources, we have to be extremely proud of how well we've handled and managed COVID I must express my most sincere thanks to the Minister of Health, Senator Mary Isaac, on her team of frontline workers, in particular Mrs. Sharon Belmar Our chief medical officer and her team, whose contact tracing efforts were incredible and which served to protect our nation The level of organization and coordination of the quarantine facilities have been superb And I must thank Minister Dominic Fede, together with Ms. Sharon Gardner and Ms. Nancy Charles, who spearheaded the logistics Recognizing the likelihood that COVID will be with us for the foreseeable future We've been continuing to examine all options for sourcing personal protective equipment for our frontliners Particularly our health workers, we have to change this PPP several times a day While the state has large quantities in supply and we've received donations from Taiwan as well as other private sector partners This unexpected expenditure means that funds have to be diverted from other causes where they were allocated in order to meet the need Having received offers of assistance from persons around the world and particularly in the diaspora We decided to host a telethon that has to date raised over two and a half million in pledges and donations This is testimony to the patriotism and the caring that exists in this country I thank all those who contributed funds and those who sent their prayers and good wishes They all made a big difference But as we prepare to take the next steps to open our economy and eventually our borders We must do so knowing that the crisis still looms if we become too complacent The task which lies ahead is not easy and it's not an easy time to be a leader of a nation I speak to my Karakam colleagues daily Everyone's facing the same challenges posed by the greatest health and economic crisis of our lifetime But Saint Lucia, I wish to reassure you that we will get through this When I ran for leadership of this incredible country I did not do so because I thought it would be easy I knew the challenges would be significant I saw the high levels of unemployment, especially amongst our youth The suffocating death levels The stagnant economy and a country with no clear direction In addition, when compared to our regional counterparts Our per capita GDP was substantially lower than our potential And I felt strongly that Saint Lucia could perform much better When I made the decision to run for office and to seek to gain your confidence I knew that I had a plan to turn this country around I didn't run for office just to hold a position I ran because I believed I could make a positive contribution to the development of this country The immediate reduction in that to 12.5% And the five to stay alive plan were part of a strategic approach To bring relief to people and to grow the economy And we have done this consistently The numbers are all there in black and white for everyone to see And so now, even with this unprecedented crisis I am not deterred And your government is not deterred Because for every problem that arises in life There's always a solution This does not mean that the solutions to the situation will be easy But they are indeed solutions Changes and disruptions to our lives and routine may become normal Wearing masks and social distancing May be with us for some time We may have to adjust to lesser income and less convenience of life And there may be other things until a vaccine is discovered And the global economy returns to its pre-COVID level The novel nature of this virus and the situation Means no one, not even the experts Can predict the precise outcome But we will rally together As we always have during difficult times And we will get through this The whole world is going through a bad storm And we're all in the same boat But God is our captain And we need to maintain our faith in Him And in each other to navigate through this The fact that we currently appear to be COVID-free Should not give us false sense of security In fact, we are not afraid Due to the fluidity of the situation We have not yet given the all-clear Which is why we have extended the state of emergency And maintained the curfew and zoning As we must have the ability to take decisions Quickly if the situation suddenly changes We must take nothing for granted We must all hunker down And do all that we can to ensure that we make it through this together As of April 27th tomorrow, we've made the decision to maintain The partial shutdown while allowing for some increased activity In some areas So far the church's gatherings have been limited to ten persons This is being amended to accommodate more people And will be governed by the square footage of the church building And the maintaining of a six-foot distance Details can be obtained from the relevant ministry We will also allow the construction sector to open up under strict protocols Already outlined by the Ministry for Infrastructure This week we will allow for the operations of private doctors and clinics And considered the many local designers, tailors and seamstresses Are making masks to assist with the protocol Will also allow the opening of fabric stores The curfew from 7pm to 5am The zones and stay at home orders remain in full effect I want to thank the entire country for abiding by the protocols And for the discipline you have shown I know it's not been easy Nothing about this crisis has been easy for any of us But I'm heartened by your response to the virus And trust that this will continue until such time as we no longer need protective measures Although the past several weeks have been challenging My mother always reminds me that behind every dark cloud There is a silver lining This period of lockdown and quarantine has been for many A period of rest and reflection Reassessment of priorities And for others a new focus has emerged Many of you spent much needed time with your families And with God As your Prime Minister I have always believed in the resilience of the solution spirit And I know that we will emerge from this crisis As a stronger and better people As a stronger and better nation There's no problem that we cannot overcome If we tackle it together If there was ever time for us to be all in It is now Stay safe Stay strong And let's stay united May God continue to bless you all And may God bless our beautiful island