THE MISSION IS FOCUSED ON ENSURING THAT PROJECTS FINANCED BY BOTH INSTITUTIONS ARE PRODUCING TANGIBLE BENEFITS FOR TH PEOPLE OF ST LUCIA.

The Government of Saint Lucia, the World Bank, and the Caribbean Development Bank have wrapped up a joint country portfolio review aimed at improving the implementation and delivery of major development projects across the island. The week-long exercise brought together project managers, government officials, and development partners to assess ongoing projects, identify implementation bottlenecks, and develop practical solutions to improve execution.

World Bank Operations Manager for the Caribbean, Gayle Richardson, says the mission focused on ensuring that projects financed by both institutions are producing tangible benefits for the people of Saint Lucia.

"The goal is really to have a conversation with the implementing teams to say, ‘How is it going? What can we at the World Bank be doing better? What obstacles are you facing?’ because we really do want to expedite implementation of the projects so that the people of Saint Lucia can see the results."

Richardson noted that the review process also highlighted areas where progress has already been made since the first joint exercise held last year. One example she pointed to was the Regional Health Project, which included the rehabilitation of health facilities across Saint Lucia.

"We went the other day to visit one of the health centers rehabilitated under the project. It's a really nice facility, and once the equipment is brought back in, they’ll be able to welcome clients. That’s the kind of tangible result we want to see."

Director of Finance, Imran Williams, described the week as productive, noting that officials conducted a detailed review of several project portfolios to determine which projects were underperforming and why. Williams acknowledged that while improvements were seen in some areas since last year’s review, challenges remain in project implementation and execution.

"In some instances we can see an improvement from last year's exercise. But that is not the case in every situation. It forces us now to try to have some conversation with the modality by which we deliver those projects, to take the opportunity to do some stocktaking, to look at it and see whether that's the ideal or the best place model for delivering those projects."

Officials also highlighted the benefits of the joint review approach between the World Bank and the Caribbean Development Bank. Williams says the collaboration reduces pressure on government agencies while allowing development partners to collectively address common implementation issues.

"In a previous dispensation, you would have had an entire week for CDB, an entire week for World Bank. But now, because those creditors decide to have some joint country project portfolio review, it gives us the opportunity, especially when you know some of the issues are not unique to say a World Bank-funded project vis-à-vis the CDB-funded project, it gives you the opportunity to deal with the cross-cutting issues, as well as to express what are the success stories among the various projects, so that we can learn from each other."

Director of Projects at the Caribbean Development Bank, O’Reilly Lewis, says Saint Lucia’s portfolio with the bank spans multiple sectors including transportation, water, education, youth development, and community infrastructure.

"Our portfolio is way over $200 million US dollars in Saint Lucia. So there's a large implementation responsibility that the government has."

He says despite some implementation challenges, the bank remains encouraged by the overall performance of projects in Saint Lucia. Lewis also noted that the collaborative review model has proven beneficial for both the Government and development agencies.

"There’s a lot of learning happening in terms of us observing the World Bank portfolio and the World Bank looking at our portfolio. And we share the lessons, things that are working, things that are not working, and seeing how we can learn from each other to improve the efficiency of how the projects are implemented."

Officials say the joint review process will continue as Saint Lucia works to improve project execution, efficiency, and ensure development investments translate into meaningful benefits for citizens.

 

For the National Competitiveness and Productivity Council, Glen Simon, Reporting.