Saturday, August 6, 2011

Where Are The Foreign Direct Investors?

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7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ed, you better stop dreaming and wake up from your sleep and slumber. Don't pretend that you do not know why Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) has RUN AWAY from St. Lucia!!! If just perchance you actually forgot, let me remind you: some of the crooked men in St. Lucia's Cabinet are demanding under-the-table payments and other "scratch-my-back ...." arrangements from investors! That's why investors are staying FAR from St. Lucia. Don't you know that all the Grynberg Brou Ha Ha is just about 3 things? 1) A political gimmick to avoid the real issues facing St. Lucia and the dismal FAILURES of the Stephny Queen government; 2) A plot to sign a new contract with an investor who would be willing to "scratch" some fellas backs; 3) Rick Wayne working to guarantee his new advertisement and printing contracts for the elections and those same deals during a new UWP government after 2011!!!!! Ed, STOP playing your ostrich head games with St. Lucians. You damn well know what's going on with the investors. Donna Harris.

August 7, 2011 at 5:05 AM
Anonymous said...

"If you build a better mouse-trap the world will beat a path to your door".

In other words, provide better roads, bridges, electricity, water, telecommunication services, less crime, etc. than our competitors; and watch the investments come back.

And that is the responsibility of not only the government, but of all St.Lucians.

August 7, 2011 at 6:28 AM
Anonymous said...

Thank you for this timely and well written article.

St Lucia has the potential to be great. A beautiful island with a friendly population just a flight away from the USA and Europe.

There may be issues in the higher echelons of government. Requests for bribes have not been our experience.

In our experience foreign direct investment is hampered by inefficiency and poor task prioritisation at Invest St Lucia and the Ministry of Commerce.

Staff at Invest St Lucia are more interested in updating their website and, 'special projects' than helping investors enter St Lucia. And when push comes to shove, they are powerless and ineffective.

Some members of the Ministry of Commerce team let the island down badly. Emails are ignored, telephone calls are not returned. Requests for updates are greeted with apathy. What a welcome to St Lucia for investors seekin to create jobs and make a meaningful impact on the local economy.

I would ask Commerce and St Lucian civil servants in general to focus on tangible 'deliverables'. Be enthusiastic with potential investors. Answer emails. Tell the truth about how long things take. Return phone calls. cultivate investors.

Investors are currently faced with deplorable apathy which fails the St Lucian workforce badly.

August 7, 2011 at 6:32 AM
Anonymous said...

Where is the infrastructure and government policy to attract the investors?
Plenty investors and business opportunities were forwarded to the government, but when upfront fee s were demanded they pulled out.

August 7, 2011 at 8:13 AM
Anonymous said...

Who and where is St Lucia's Minister for Commerce?

August 9, 2011 at 5:42 AM
Anonymous said...

Its frustrating for St Lucians to do business here, let alone foreigners.

August 9, 2011 at 7:58 AM
Anonymous said...

Who does business with real goons? That's just what we have passing for a government in St. Lucia. The puppet prime minister fronting for the real prime minister, the goon-meister, the chief goon in the Cabinet, does not understand what he is supposed to read, and does not read what he supposed to understand. St. Lucia is real idiot country.

August 9, 2011 at 12:15 PM

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