The St. Lucia Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture held its 133rd Annual General Meeting on November 29th, 2017 where Martin Dorville of Massy Stores St. Lucia was re-elected President. Along with Mr. Dorville other members of the Chamber Board were elected. In a very smooth transition the Board and Mr. Dorville were elected by acclamation, with the two remaining vacancies being filled by Ms. Cheryl Renwick of Renwick & Company and Mr. Jason King of St. Lucia Distillers.Mr. Dorville in his President’s Report informed members of the continued transformation process which the Chamber was engaged in while it continued to be an effective advocate and representative of Chamber Members. He reminded attendees that the Chamber has “a threefold responsibility: as a pillar of this economy, as a member of civil society, and as a partner in the development of our country”. He stressed that this “responsibility is owed first to members, second to the wider business community, and thirdly to the nation. As such, our tripartite responsibility is that of sentinel, trustee, and advocate.”
Dorville went on to speak about the work of the Chamber where he reaffirmed that the Chamber is “seeking real and practical change in the business environment; not just the Ease of Doing Business – an important but imported matrix – but a dramatic transformation of our economy through improvements in supply-chain business processes.” He spoke to the new program “Getting Down to Business”, which addresses specific problems of members brought to our attention, where the Chamber was starting to see success.
Also discussed by Doville is the Chamber’s “Budget MonitoringModel” where the Chamber focuses on larger issues like Crime, Domestic Investment, Tax Reform, Education and Fiscal Policy. Within this forum, the Chamber continues to demand further changes to the VAT regime, a rational ceiling on chicken quotas, and an effective strategy on crime abatement. He asserted that “We are holding government accountable. We are insisting on fair treatment of local business. We are not waiting to be called, but engaging head on.”
In closing Dorville issued a strong call to action demanding that members of the business community join the Chamber in its work of Making St. Lucia the place of Choice to do Business, by becoming members of the institution, paying the subscription fees in full, participating and contributing to its activities and discussions as it seeks to advance the cause of local business.
Below is the Board of Directors of the St, Lucia Chamber of Commerce Industry and Agriculture 2017/2018:
President: Martin Dorville Massy Stores St. Lucia
1St Vice President: Thecla Lewis Lewis Industries Limited
2nd Vice President: Karen Peter Caribbean Metals Limited
Immediate Past President: Gordon Charles J.Q. Charles Group of Companies
Member: Jason King St. Lucia Distillers Ltd
Member: Lanfraze Cherubin Windward and Leeward Brewery Limited
Member: Trevor Louisy St. Lucia Electricity Services Ltd
Member: Cheryl Renwick Renwick and Company
Member: Anya Whitfield Mediazone Productions Inc
Member: Sue Monplaisir 1 Audio inc
Member: Ross Gardner Carasco and Son Limited
For more information contact: Mr. Brian Louisy, Executive Director
