New Diaspora Bill For Parliament

During a meeting with Saint Lucians in New York on September 29, Prime Minister Philip J. Pierre spoke of his plans to bring a Diaspora Bill before parliament. The bill would provide incentives for individuals who want to invest in the island. These incentives will not be available to non-nationals. Pierre mentioned that the diaspora bill would allow Saint Lucians who have lived abroad for ten years to bring items onto the island duty-free. During his address, the Prime Minister also spoke about delays in the finalisation of regulations that will allow the grandchildren of Saint Lucians living abroad to attain automatic citizenship. Pierre stated: “We’ve made the first step in the 2nd generation citizenship … the administrative work to do that is taking some time.” “We have rules and regulations to follow. We are part of international bodies, part of the UN, part of the world bank, [and] part of the IMF. We have to follow rules and regulations…” The Prime Minister remarked, asserting sanctions require obedience to international rules and the administration needing to follow these measures results in delays. At the meeting, Pierre took the opportunity to urge individuals making physical donations to Saint Lucia to send...