Prime Minister, Hon. Dr. Kenny D. Anthony was the feature speaker at the opening session of the Caribbean Development Educators (CaribDE) Conference, currently underway at Coubaril, Saint Lucia.
The conference which targets Credit Union directors, committee members, managers and employees is the fourteenth of its kind and has a total of forty eight participants from ten countries, which includes nineteen from Saint Lucia.
In his address, the Prime Minister lauded the impact of Credit Unions in the region and Saint Lucia and urged them to remain true to the founding principles of the movement. According to Dr. Anthony,
“Credit Unions have always been meant to be institutions built on community and shared interest. The premise must always be about putting people first. And so, by nature, the Credit Union Movement has good justification in seeking to increase its market share across the Caribbean.
However, this premise of placing a premium on the human person must be genuine and sacredly guarded. Despite all the progress, all the trappings of modernity, credit unions cannot and must never move away from its core philosophy.”
CaribDE is being held under the theme, “Increasing Credit Unions’ Market Share” and is being directed by Mr. Melvin Edwards of Saint Lucia. The facilitators include Ms. Carla Decker of the USA and David Marquez of Trinidad and Tobago.
Hon. Dr. Kenny D. Anthony is a founding member of the Laborie Credit Union and a member of the UWI Co-operative Credit Union in Cave Hill, Barbados.
