The Guadeloupe Region is working on a Regional Recovery Plan to speed up transformation of the economy and energy, digital, ecological and above all, inclusive transitions. Here is the Collectivity’s project.
“On July 31, the Guadeloupe Region welcomed more than 150 socio-professionals and local elected off icials at the Université des Antilles to present some thirty proposals making up its Regional Recovery Plan Project. Consulting represented by the broad consultation process launched since the lockdown period is the key word of this initiative set up by the Guadeloupe Region, willing to bring together economic players, local communities and State services in order to ref lect on the main axes of the new economic order, the New Deal.
The Regional Recovery Plan project is structured in two stages:
– Short-term measures (up to 24 months) focusing on “mature projects” for a rebound in investing mainly through business aid and public procurement.
– In the medium term (beyond two years), proposals to raise the Guadeloupe economy towards a sustainable growth trajectory, via strong responses for key and strategic sectors such as agro-food, tourism and health, digital services and energy.
It is about making the territory part of an accelerated change in the economy and increasing the number of actions in support of energy, digital, ecological and, above all, inclusive transitions. “Inclusive transition” intends to make the Guadeloupe economy more inclusive by placing more economic interventions at the service of everyone’s progress and development.
For better social and cultural recognition, inclusive transition also includes necessary actions against poverty, unhealthy housing and anticipation of aging within the islands’ population. These proposals are being worked on with the President of the Region during the month of August 2020. Several meetings are planned with representatives of employers’ organizations, including the Federation of Very Small Companies, which defends the concept of “companies at the heart of Guadeloupe’s economic sovereignty”. In September, the Regional Recovery Plan, once f inalized, meeting the expectations of economic players as well as the territory’s reality, will be presented at the Regional Authority plenary meeting.
The Region is ready to face this exceptional situation and intends to do everything it can to regain or even go beyond the economic growth dynamic which, before the health crisis, ref lected Guadeloupe’s sound economy. With optimized management and a gross savings level of 85.79M, the Regional Collectivity could ensure self-financing for its investments, completed if necessary by mobilization not only from a relevant re-arbitration of European funds but possibly of bank loans on strategic projects with a high leverage effect in terms of wealth creation. Our debt capacity is 4.1 years, that is to say well below the alert thresholds. The use of loans will be facilitated by the quality of management indicators widely recognized by all bankers. The outlines of a new Guadeloupe, a peaceful and conf ident Guadeloupe, are emerging. Looking to the future, the Region can conf irm its leading position in rebuilding Guadeloupe’s economy.”