HTS News 4orce St. Lucia's #1 News Team
Saint Lucia is taking a significant step toward modernizing the way it collects, manages, and utilizes national data. For the first time, the island is developing a National Strategy for the Development of Statistics (NSDS), a comprehensive, long-term action plan aimed at enhancing the production, coordination, and use of official statistics.
Speaking at the opening of a three-day stakeholder workshop, Sean Mathurin, Director of the Central Statistical Office (CSO), highlighted that a key pillar of the National Strategy for the Development of Statistics (NSDS) is ensuring that the CSO and other major data-producing ministries and agencies are equipped with the necessary human, financial, and institutional resources to meet the country’s evolving data needs.
Until now, Saint Lucia has not had a coordinated, strategic approach to data collection and management. The NSDS is set to change that by uniting all major data-producing entities including the Ministries of Finance, Public Service, Agriculture, Health, the Civil Status Registry, and others, under a single, cohesive framework.
A critical element in the transformation of Saint Lucia’s national statistical system is the planned revision of the Statistics Act. This legal update is designed to align directly with the country’s NSDS, ensuring that the CSO not only has the technical guidance but also the legislative authority to implement the action plans and reforms outlined in the strategy.
Other countries in the region have already begun similar strategies. Once completed, the NSDS will serve as a blueprint for smarter, faster, and more reliable data collection, ensuring policymakers and the public alike can access the statistics that matter most.
