XCD 45 million contributed to recurrent revenue in the Consolidated Fund, XCD 39 million was used for government bonds and the difference was for real estate investment.

Prime Minister Pierre says the government is offering various investment options for foreigners interested in Saint Lucian citizenship. He says investors may make a monetary contribution which would go into the government’s coffers or a grant contribution for a development project.

“We [added] an infrastructure or business option where you can invest in businesses, you can invest in housing, or you can invest in the airport, which we're doing now. The first one is the programme Hotel in Vieux Fort. The last government started the process; that is continuing. So you will see that project completed with us,” the Prime Minister said.

For the Financial Year 2023/24, Pierre clarifies that over XCD 17 million was spent on various projects.

“In terms of the other projects being for the society, we spent $17.5 million this year from CIP. I'm going to list in the policy statement exactly where it went. But there is also $45 million that went directly into revenue, which went into the Consolidated Fund and $39 million, which is used for bonds, which is used to finance the government. But this year, hopefully, we'll see more money into tangible projects,” he said.

Pierre notes that Saint Lucia entered the CIP scene later than other East Caribbean countries. Due to this late entry, he says, Saint Lucia has had to do a lot of catching up instead of milking the full benefits of the Programme.

“Saint Lucia was still behind… The Caribbean islands had already been so far ahead in terms of the investments in infrastructure that there was no need [for foreigners] to come to Saint Lucia - they were in Dominica, they were in Saint Kitts, they were in Grenada. So the government did not benefit, and the last government also, I must say, didn't benefit as they should have.”