Henry gave residents the assurance that their transportation woes would be resolved during his 2021 election campaign. Two years and an SSDF agreement later, buses will come into Belair with no additional cost to residents.

“What we have agreed through the Constituency Development Fund is that we will provide financial support to the La Croix Minibus Association alongside the Saint Lucia Social Development Fund until the problem is resolved through the transportation network. The contract is for a year and I have written to the Minister for Transport to put a permanent solution in place,” the MP explained.   

According to Henry, prior to this agreement, residents would have to pay additional fees to get a bus driver to enter Morne Belair with them. In most cases, he adds, bus drivers would not be motivated to traverse the community. In this arrangement, buses will now include the community as part of the route at no additional cost to the residents. The additional cost will be covered by the SSDF with funds provided by the MP’s Office. Henry says the residents have suffered with no bus access.

“I have seen people walk down the hill late at night having to walk a long distance. Young people have not been able to secure certain jobs due to the fact that there’s no transportation.”

The Castries South East MP underscored the importance of public transportation. “Transportation is a public good. It is consumed by our people and if you do not have transportation today you will not be able to do what you have to do. We’ll be establishing a bus shelter at the entrance of Belair and it will have toilets, both male and female,” he said. 

The La Croix Minibus Association will receive $2,000 monthly from the MP’s Office to distribute among the bus drivers assigned to the Belair community.