ECCB Governor Recommends Sports As An Economic Catalyst

According to Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) Governor Timothy Antoine, sports should catalyse economic growth in Saint Lucia.

Antoine recently visited the island as part of an ongoing Country Outreach Missions initiative to engage with the nation’s leaders on ways to enhance the rebounding economy.

This year, Saint Lucia experienced a significant drop in its unemployment rate, reaching 11.4% in the first quarter—the lowest in over 15 years.

Additionally, tourism is returning to, and in some months exceeding, pre-pandemic levels, signalling a steady recovery.

The ECCB governor emphasised that national leaders could capitalise on Julien Alfred’s gold and silver Olympic medal-winning performances as a foundation for sustaining this growth.

To this end, he recommended redeveloping sports infrastructure, which he believes will drive economic growth and improve social well-being, particularly among the youth.

“Following the recent success of Ms Julien Alfred at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, sports should be deployed as a channel for collaboration, conflict resolution and national pride, as well as for economic growth through sports tourism,” Antoine noted. “This would require building out the sporting infrastructure at the national and community levels.”

At a pre-cabinet press briefing on Monday, Minister for Youth Development and Sports, Kenson Casimir, expressed excitement about the assertion made by the ECCB governor.

He noted that it aligns with the plans already in place by his ministry and the government.

“It’s amazing that after three years the ECCB in their analysis would sort of provide that level of vindication and comfort for what you’ve done and you started from the day you were elected as a sports minister. Leveraging sports to further develop the country is something that I’ve believed in from day one,” Casimir noted. “I’m very happy that the ECCB has that in the policy in a suggestion and recommendation to Saint Lucia.”

For Saint Lucia, the path forward lies in embracing sports as both an economic engine and a vehicle for social transformation.