A list of twenty urgent things is not a priority list. We start with five decisions that can move now, then keep the related issues in view. This is SLPA analysis, not the Government’s National Development Plan. That plan is still being developed.
Selected for urgency, national exposure and a decision that can move now
Leadership focus
Five decisions need a public lead and a clear next move.
This is an institutional priority screen, not a party scorecard. It asks where national leadership can protect mobility and fiscal room, prevent avoidable harm or turn public investment into reliable service.
10 related issues, grouped by the result they protect
National issues under review
Ten more issues to watch, each with evidence and a next decision.
These are not ten more promises to work on at once. They are issues to watch, linked to published SLPA research. Choose a topic to see any active decisions in that area.
Showing 6 of 10 matching issues · 15 total
06Protect people
Policy question
Health access, universal coverage and St Jude readiness
Can every major health investment show that staff, medicines, diagnostics, referral routes and finance are ready?
Lead institutions
Ministry of Health and the public hospital authorities
Next decision
Publish a service-by-service readiness ledger, staffing gap and next commissioning gate.
Why it matters now, key measures and policy direction
A 14-station dialysis unit opened at St Jude on 28 July. A 3 August government update said phased commissioning was continuing with 471 of about 721 required staff in place. Saint Lucia also launched a National Cancer Registry on 6 August. These are important capability gains; the next proof is safe service readiness, registry coverage, reporting completeness and better patient outcomes across the health network.
What to measure
Service-by-service commissioning and safety sign-off
Emergency, diagnostic, surgical and referral waits
Staffing, medicine stockouts and avoidable admissions
Initial policy direction
Publish a service-readiness ledger for St Jude and a UHC scorecard that joins primary care, hospitals, referrals, quality and financing.
How can Saint Lucia reduce lethal firearm harm and move serious cases through the justice system faster, fairly and lawfully?
Lead institutions
RSLPF, DPP and judiciary, with Cabinet-level coordination
Next decision
Approve one justice-pipeline baseline, handoff standard and quarterly public scorecard.
Why it matters now, key measures and policy direction
Public safety is one connected chain. Government announced on 19 August that four police officers would receive law scholarships over two years, serve as prosecutors and be bonded for five years. That is an authorised capacity measure, not yet a delivery outcome. Selection, training, deployment and case-flow results still need to be tracked alongside investigation, forensics, prosecution, witness protection and trial.
What to measure
Shootings, homicides and firearm share
Investigation-to-DPP time and charge rate
Oldest serious cases and remand duration
Initial policy direction
Use one public safety scorecard across prevention, policing and justice, with equal protection, clear legal safeguards and named owners at every handoff.
Can each public procurement be traced from opportunity to award, contract, implementation and a usable service?
Lead institutions
Department of Finance and each procuring entity
Next decision
Adopt one lifecycle identifier and a minimum structured award record for every procurement.
Why it matters now, key measures and policy direction
SLPA’s 12 August portal census found that 831 of 840 indexed pages opened and 96.0% linked an attachment. Yet only 29.6% of 152 award pages disclosed an award or signature date, and 46.1% linked with high confidence to an earlier portal solicitation. This audits one publication channel, not all government procurement, and missing fields are not evidence of wrongdoing.
What to measure
Canonical process, lot, contract and project identifiers
Original and current cost and completion date
Physical progress and operational-readiness gates
Critical blocker, accountable official and next decision
Initial policy direction
Give every process one lifecycle identifier, publish a minimum structured award record and reconcile the portal with the Gazette, In-Tend, donor systems and administrative records. Join awards to a major-project register with design, land, finance, staffing, operations and maintenance gates.
Which local costs can Saint Lucia lower, and which households need temporary protection while those reforms take hold?
Lead institutions
Finance, Commerce, Agriculture and Equity portfolios
Next decision
Approve a 90-day cost baseline and select four bounded productivity pilots.
Why it matters now, key measures and policy direction
The revised all-items CPI ended December 2025 19.2% above December 2019 even though annual-average inflation slowed to 0.7% in 2025. IMF analysis reports that goods imports have averaged more than 32% of GDP since 2000 and that imported price shocks can reach consumers quickly. Saint Lucia cannot command world prices or set an independent national monetary policy, but it can reduce local waste, delay and weak output per input.
What to measure
Food: saleable kilograms, cost per kilogram, spoilage and order-fill rate
Freight: median and P90 release hours, storage days and EC$ per container
Energy and public buying: kWh per service unit, lifecycle cost and repeat-buy unit price
Households: essential-basket cost, real income, relief reach, fiscal cost and expiry
Initial policy direction
Run a 90-day cost baseline and four twelve-month pilots across competitive food production, port release, energy services and repeat public purchasing. Scale only verified net savings. Keep temporary price-shock relief targeted, funded, capped and time-limited; do not confuse it with continuing support for disability, ageing or chronic vulnerability. Relief is the bridge; productivity is the treatment.
Are more Saint Lucians entering stable work with rising income, and which groups are still being left behind?
Lead institutions
Education, Labour and Economic Development portfolios
Next decision
Choose one shared first-income measure and publish results by age, sex and district.
Why it matters now, key measures and policy direction
One unemployment rate cannot show participation, discouraged workers, job quality, gender gaps, district gaps or the path from school and training into paid work.
What to measure
Employment, participation, underemployment and real wages
Youth not in work, education or training; first-income time; and 12-month retention
Attendance, mathematics, TVET completion and placement
Initial policy direction
Connect education, training and youth support to a named first-income outcome, while publishing results by age, sex and district.
Which rules protect public decisions, procurement and statutory bodies when political control is strong?
Lead institutions
Cabinet Office and independent oversight bodies
Next decision
Adopt standing executive-conduct, recusal, continuity and public-update rules.
Why it matters now, key measures and policy direction
The OAS MESICIC review published in March 2026 called for stable resources for the Integrity Commission, full staffing of the Special Prosecutor, clearer coordination with the DPP and publication of investigation and prosecution statistics. The durable question is whether standing rules, capable institutions and public records protect decisions across political cycles.
What to measure
Audit and statutory-body account timeliness
Competitive procurement, variations and beneficial ownership
Cabinet decisions completed, overdue and formally revised
Initial policy direction
Adopt standing rules for executive conduct, recusal and continuity; then connect open contracts, beneficial ownership, audit actions, board appointments, protected reporting and official records through one inspectable operating framework.
Ten questions to answer before a major plan is approved.
A good decision record says what result is expected. It names the limits, the responsible public body, the full cost, the evidence to watch and the next decision. It should still be useful when conditions change.
See the ten required fields
01
MissionThe outcome, beneficiary, magnitude, deadline and cost of waiting
02
If nothing changesWhat happens without intervention, including adaptation and inherited exposure
03
Non-negotiable limitsThe rights and essential social, fiscal, ecological and constitutional limits that cannot be traded away
04
Lead and partnersThe accountable authority, delivery owner and actors whose cooperation is required
05
First practical moveThe smallest realistic action that protects, tests or advances the mission
06
Full cost and riskLifecycle cost, contingent liabilities, implementation load, displacement and exit cost
07
Evidence to watchDated leading evidence and counter-signals that distinguish among rival causal models
08
Decision triggersExact conditions for scale, modification, pause and stop, with an authorised response
09
Future choicesThe future choices and reusable national capability created, preserved or destroyed
10
Next decisionThe evidence, owner and date required before the following commitment
05 / Water securityReliable supply by zone
AMBER Illustrative statusAmber is a design example, not a current official assessment of WASCO performance. A live status requires agreed thresholds and verified zone-level data.Hover or focus to preview · tap to pin · Escape closes
Outcome and deadlinePublish the national service baseline and repair plan.
Illustrative design · a live scorecard requires verified operational data.
Baseline
Data request open
Small tool · National Stress Lens
If one shock hits, which decisions must move together?
Choose a scenario to trace the pressure path, the household channels and the linked public decisions. This is a coordination map, not a forecast.
Selected scenario · Citizenship by Investment receipts fall sharply
Citizenship by Investment receipts fall sharply
Test 25%, 50% and 100% losses in net public receipts. Do not treat gross programme revenue as money available to spend.
Evidence baseSources used for this priority screen.35 records
The page adapts a leadership-dashboard assessment into an independent SLPA agenda. It is not the Government’s National Development Plan or Medium-Term Development Strategy, both of which remain in development. Factual claims are anchored to primary documents, official announcements, administrative data and clearly dated operational reporting. Policy directions are SLPA analysis and remain open to challenge and revision.
The ordering is an editorial judgement, not a mathematical score. SLPA reviews urgency, scale of exposure, cost of delay, ability to act and whether one decision can unlock progress across several systems.
Household test19.2%revised all-items CPI change, December 2019–December 2025Price level versus inflation rateThe CSO’s April 2026 consolidated revised all-items CPI rose from 100.58 in December 2019 to 119.87 in December 2025. This endpoint price-level change differs from compounding annual-average inflation rates. Older stand-alone annual pages are a different publication vintage and are not combined with the revised series. This is not a current poverty rate or a household-specific cost measure.Hover or focus to preview · tap to pin · Escape closes
A low current inflation rate means prices are rising more slowly. It does not restore the purchasing power lost during the earlier increase. The next question is which real costs Saint Lucia can lower and how households are protected while those reforms take effect.