The Throne Speech to mark the Opening of the Fourth Session of the Twelfth Parliament of Saint Lucia was delivered yesterday.

Within his presentation, the acting Governor General His Excellency Cyril Errol Charles spoke on the achievements of the nation, and national pride.

“We have good reason to celebrate and to be proud,” he said. “We have been able to call to the world's attention, not for the first time, that we are good enough to be the best. The recent athletic achievement of Julien Alfred is a vindication of all those who believe in the ability and talent of the youth. This young lady has given us reasons to be proud. Her tenacity and self-belief must be an inspiration to all of us. Her achievement is a reminder that talent and ability are not the preserve of those enabled by privilege and huge resources. And so, on behalf of the government and people of Saint Lucian, I congratulate Miss Julian Alfred on her gold medal win.”

The Governor General also highlighted economic gains, and Saint Lucia’s declining unemployment rate.

“Government's management of public finances has allowed it to partly service its debt obligations after meeting all its recurrent expenditure. More importantly, the number of citizens able to work and seek work has increased, with the current unemployment rate now at its lowest since 2007.”

H.E. Cyril Charles added that a significant subset of the declining rate of unemployment is in the category of youth employment.

The Throne Speech was followed by the Prime Minister’s Budget Address.