Government Senator Lisa Jawahir and Opposition Senator Dominic Fedee have responded to the news of Saint Lucia’s 3rd place ranking in the Henley & Partners 2024 Global Citizenship Program Index.
Saint Lucia, Antigua and Barbuda, and Grenada jointly occupied third place, while Malta grabbed the top spot, followed by Austria among some 100 countries.
However, Senator Dominic Fedee declared what is important is the European Union’s thinking.
On Thursday, he told reporters that Henley & Partners has a special interest in the Citizenship by Investment Programme (CIP).
“That’s their business,” the second Deputy Political leader of the opposition United Workers Party (UWP) stated.
But he asserted that the European Union’s position was critical.
Fedee, a former Tourism Minister, noted that some European Union members CIPs are under pressure to adjust.
He also warned that if the EU removes visa-free access due to security and transparency concerns, there would be nothing for Henley & Partners to rate.
“The region is under a microscope and we have got to be very careful,” Fedee observed.
On the other hand, Government Senator Lisa Jawahir noted that the UWP brought Henley & Partners to Saint Lucia.
“This is an agency that they have worked with in the past. This same agency is coming out and saying that Saint Lucia’s CIP Programme is very strong and is ranked third, the third best in the world,” Jawahir observed.
She recalled that the UWP had declared that Saint Lucia’s visa-free access to the European Union was at risk.
Nevertheless, she said the EU and the Saint Lucia government had put nothing out to suggest that.
“That is absolutely false, ” the Government Senator said.
She said the UWP was clearly up to political mischief.
The Government Senator reassured the public that Saint Lucia’s CIP was ‘extremely strong‘.
“It is the most robust programme in the Caribbean, and we will not compromise on any part of it,” Jawahir stated.
