This post was originally published on this site.
Republished Linkedin August 11, 2026
The last time Saint Lucia Social Development Fund (SSDF) produced an audited statement was 2017/18 financial year, and completed in March 2023 by the Philip J. Pierre administration.
“Claims that the SSDF has not been audited since my government assumed office are simply untrue,” Prime Minister Pierre’s social media post on Monday, said. “The current Board inherited a backlog of outstanding financial statements dating to 2016.”
“Since taking office (2021), it [SSDF] has worked to bring those accounts up to date, with the 2016/2017 and 2017/2018 audits completed in March 2023. Work continues on the remaining years, despite challenges obtaining supporting documentation from the earlier periods.”
“Accountability means confronting what we inherited, correcting it and ensuring better stewardship of public resources. The record is clear. Let the facts speak,” the Prime Minister’s Facebook post noted.
- Allen Chastanet was Prime Minister and Minister for Finance from 2016 – 2021.
- Prime Minister Philip J. Pierre came to office on July 26, 2021. He was reelected on December 1, 2025.
In a comment on social media, Rőn Jōseph writes:
“If supporting documents were not made available, there are other means of verifying, reconciling and ensuring the accounts represent a picture of the government’s accounts.”
In another post, Elisha Norbert illustrates:
UWP’s 2016 audited;
UWP’s 2017 audited;
UWP’s 2018 audited;
UWP’s 2019 not yet;
UWP’s 2020 not yet, note COVID lockdown;
SLP’s 2021 not yet, note Election Year;
SLP’s 2022 not yet;
SLP’s 2023 not yet;
SLP’s 2024 not yet;
SLP’s 2025 not yet.
Financial audits review financial statements to make sure the public accounts follow proper accounting rules and that it is true and accurate. The audits also verify how domestic and benefactor (public) money is spent and managed.
In a much-anticipated response at Monday’s press briefing, Prime Minister Pierre, said:
“The entire world has been told that my government failed to prepare the financial statements. Here you have a gentleman who was leader (Prime Minister) of the country writing a falsity when he [himself] was minister of finance for five years (2016 – 2021) never prepared financial statements.”
Prime Minister Pierre reiterated:
“I know what the SSDF means to the people of this country,” […] “a very important organisation, the amalgamation of the Poverty Reduction Fund (PRF) and the Basic Needs Trust Fund (BNTF).”
The core mandate of the SSDF is to ensure the delivery of basic services to disadvantaged and marginalised communities in Saint Lucia. And as disclosed: “Donors and benefactors received reports detailing how their contributions to the SSDF were used,” Prime Minister Pierre added. “Anyone who has contributed to SSDF has received a report on how the money was used.”
Saint Lucia Social Development Fund Act (Cap. 16.05), provides assistance to alleviate socio-economic problems; to establish a mechanism for delivering basic services and infrastructure to the poor and the needy; to finance small-scale projects in selected areas to improve living conditions; to promote community participation in development projects; and to provide for related matters. (Amended by Act 23 of 2019).
Financial aspects of monitoring
https://pmd.govt.lc/services/financial-aspects-of-monitoring/
The Parastatal Monitoring Department (PMD) is tasked with overseeing and evaluating the financial performance of parastatal entities to ensure they operate in a manner that is effective, efficient and economically sound. As part of its mandate, the department receives, reviews and analyses annual reports submitted by these institutions.
[…]
The Department reviews audit findings and financial reports, providing guidance on financial management and policy. This includes detailed analysis of the financial statements of each parastatal entity to assess financial performance. The evaluation involves ratio analysis and comparison of current accounting practices against International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS).
- Seven years later, SSDF audits remain in backlog and unresolved, contrary to the laws of Saint Lucia.
Here’s why!
The revised Laws of Saint Lucia 2023, section 20 Accounts and Audit, reads:
“The executive director … shall conform to the best commercial and accounting standards. The accounts of the Fund shall be audited annually by an auditor appointed in each year by the board with approval of the minister,” revised laws of Saint Lucia, 2023.
Section 21. Annual Report:
“Within four months after the end of each financial year, the board shall cause to be made and shall submit to the minister – a statement of its accounts audited in accordance with section 20(2): and a report dealing generally with the proceedings and policies of the Fund during that financial year.
“The minister shall cause a copy of such report together with the annual statement of accounts and the auditor’s report thereon to be tabled in the House of Assembly and the Senate.”
Independence and oversight of the SSDF audit
Allen Chastanet, leader of the opposition, in his July 28, 2026 letter to Prime Minister Pierre and director of finance, Imran Williams, and copied globally, Re: Independence and Oversight of the SSDF Audit, noted that “ I have been informed that an audit of the SSDF is currently underway,” and requested clarification […]. ”
Prime Minister Pierre’s response to Chastanet July 30, 2026, advised:
“Audits are the responsibility of management of organisations. By their very nature, auditors are independent and rely on professional standards. Boards are involved when management letters and sign-off on financial statements and reports are required.”
A remedial exercise?
Seven years later, audits of SSDF seem a remedial exercise for the history books in a politically charged theatre.
Documents, timelines, and a clear path to independent oversight need affirmation, as well as the status of the SSDF in fulfilment of its mandate to the people of Saint Lucia.
The findings and recommendations resulting from these audits may ostensibly be unhelpful – and past due for operational and correctness.
In the current situation, safeguards need to be vigorous where public funds are concerned. The government will have to restore confidence with diplomatic partners and other benefactors.
Simply put – there is work to be done, beyond the political.
