Nevis, West Indies. ?A Non-Tourist-Trap? Blog About Nevis.

St. Kitts – Nevis PM – Denzil Douglas
Photo By Erasmus Williams

Basseterre, St. Kitts – Nevis
January 03, 2012 (CUOPM)

St. Kitts and Nevis has requested the independent Board of Governors of the Sugar Industry Diversification Foundation (SIDF) to make available the audited accounts of the Foundation for public scrutiny.

“We rationalized the Citizenship by Investment Programme that was established by the previous Government as early as 1984, and we have converted it into an important source of economic stability through its very positive impact on the real estate and the construction sectors and through the operation of the Sugar Industry Diversification Foundation (SIDF), which is funded by the contributions of persons obtaining citizenship under the programme,” said Prime Minister The Right Hon. Dr. Denzil L. Douglas in his traditional new year message on Sunday.

“Unlike in many other countries, the operation of the Citizenship by Investment Programme has ensured that no major ongoing hotel or condominium project has ceased construction because of the global financial crisis. Indeed many new and prospective projects are only possible as a result of the operation of this programme that is so critical to the economic performance of our nation. In addition, the SIDF has supported the financial sector through the mobilization of a substantial amount of financial resources,” Dr. Douglas told the Nation.

He said the SIDF has also funded a variety of critical projects in the Federation, including environmental projects, education and training, entrepreneurial development, airlift support and tourism development, and social and economic infrastructure.

“The resources expected to flow to the Government from the Citizenship by Investment Programme have also been taken into account in the IMF supported Programme and has served to substantially reduce the level of adjustment that our people and our creditors must bear as part of the programme,” said Prime Minister Douglas, who disclosed that the accounts of the SIDF have been audited and, because of the national significance of this import Foundation, “I have requested the independent Board of Governors, which is responsible for this Foundation, to make available the audited accounts of the Foundation for public scrutiny. I am certain that the public would, on examining these accounts, commend this important institution for its outstanding contribution to the development of St. Kitts and Nevis.”

He said that in a crisis of the magnitude of the global financial crisis, the risk for vulnerable groups including young people and low-income families, are especially high, and his St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Government was “not prepared to play games with the livelihood of these groups or compromise the future of our people by unnecessary delay arising from short-term political or other considerations.

“We combined the outstanding technical resources of our Ministry of Finance and Development with the best technical advice available regionally and internationally to craft and implement a programme to protect our country from economic devastation, and we proceeded immediately with its implementation,” said the Prime Minister.

He said St. Kitts and Nevis is better prepared to deal with the global financial and economic storm that currently affects the twin-island Federation.

“We have been working feverishly, with great success, to diversify and modernize our economy even before the demise of sugar in 2005. We built our infrastructure to a level where is has been among the best and most modern in the region. We modernized and strengthened our health sector with the result that we have increased our life expectancy to 73, and reduced our rate of infant mortality from as high as 25 per thousand live births to some 12 per 1000 live births,” said Prime Minister Douglas, who disclosed that St. Kitts and Nevis has sharpened the focus of the education system on the children at risk of prematurely leaving school and have at the same time produced performances in the CXC Examinations that are among the best in the Caribbean.

“We constructed thousands of affordable homes for low income families and providing many of them low-cost subsidized financing so that they do not face the risk of expulsion and embarrassment currently being faced by many homeowners in even advanced countries.

We introduced a fiscal consolidation programme with the help of the CARTAC as early as 2003, and as soon as it became apparent that the global financial crisis could linger on and reap havoc in our Federation, we escalated this programme into a full scale IMF supported programme. We also moved expeditiously to counter the huge risk of our very high Debt to GDP ratio through the implementation of a Debt Restructuring Programme,” said the Prime Minister.

Dr. Douglas, who was elevated to the Privy Council by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Second in November, said that as leader of St. Kitts and Nevis he is not prepared to play politics or to bury his head in the sand and claim that all is well.

“I understand that the only way that my Government can continue to bring real value to the people of this country, is to look at the problems we face honestly and realistically with a view to arriving at the best possible solutions. Hence, I have no hesitation in saying that I know the global crisis has inflicted some pain on our people and indeed on people all over the face of the globe. I also know that the measures that we were forced to introduce to protect our people and reduce the risk of economic mayhem and devastation, have created some difficulties and hardships, during this period of adjustment,” said the Prime Minister.

He said he is persuaded that St. Kitts and Nevis would have been much worse off if several fiscal measures were not introduced.

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Dr. Denzil Douglas
Photo By Erasmus Williams

Basseterre, St. Kitts – Nevis
December 26, 2011 (CUOPM)

Outgoing CARICOM Chairman, St. Kitts and Nevis’ Prime Minister the Rt. Hon. Dr. Denzil L. Douglas says despite the ongoing global economic and financial crises, the 15-member regional integration group has remained a “symbol of stability and good governance.”

In a Christmas message to the region, Dr. Douglas said reflections on the past year will be coloured by the challenges spawned by the current period of global uncertainties.

“The challenges, including those directly related to the global economic and financial crises have honed our attention particularly on finding creative ways to confront them. We have sought, for example, to encourage foreign investment from new areas and welcomed the interest shown by India, China and Japan, all of whom mounted trade and investment missions to the Region seeking opportunities,” he pointed out.

Dr. Douglas said the continuing increases in the prices of food and the search for food sovereignty have engaged the CARICOM attention.

“Our stakeholders in the agriculture sector, as evinced most recently in Dominica where they participated in the Caribbean Week of Agriculture, are working assiduously to find a solution to those particular challenges. We must continue to encourage them by buying and consuming locally grown food – which we are by no means short of – so that we could lower our very high food import bill, and at the same time, maintain healthy lifestyles,” Dr. Douglas said.

In advancing the latter ideal, Prime Minister Douglas said that the Community can take pride in the fact that it provided the leadership to appropriately position on the international stage, the threat of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs).

As a result of the Community’s tireless advocacy, the United Nations (UN) General Assembly agreed to convene a High Level Meeting (HLM) on Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) which was held in September in New York, although the outcome may not have been as ambitious as had envisaged.

“Regionally, we have made great strides in initiating operations of the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA), a consolidation of five regional health institutions. The Agency, I am pleased to announce, will come on stream early in the New Year. Our solid achievements in health have extended also to successes recorded by the Pan Caribbean Partnership Against HIV/AIDS (PANCAP),” he said in his Christmas message to the people of the Caribbean.

“People of the Community, securing your livelihood and well-being have been at the forefront of our activities; however, given their importance to our Community, we have placed much emphasis on youth development. In the last quarter of this year, we boosted our campaign against youth gangs and gang violence with interventions across the Region that have yielded encouraging results and which will determine our response going forward,” said Dr. Douglas.

He said that a major factor in ensuring that well-being and indeed the existence is a commitment to the adaptation and mitigation of Climate Change.

“Earlier this month, at the UN Climate Change Conference in Durban, South Africa, we continued our advocacy for attention to be paid to the deleterious effects of climate change on the natural environments and economies of our small states. One of the outcomes of the Durban Conference was a decision by Parties to adopt a universal legal agreement on climate change as soon as possible, and no later than 2015. The Community, in particular, through Grenada’s leadership of the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS), ensured that a number of our concerns was addressed in the outcome document,” the CARICOM Chairman said.

He also mentioned the continued quest to cement relations with Third States and Groups of States with some emphasis on those in the Hemisphere.

A plan of action for closer co-operation and joint initiatives was drawn up with the Integration System of Central America (SICA) in a range of areas and work has begun through the two regional Secretariats to ensure that these initiatives make an impact on the lives of the people of both Regions.

Dr. Douglas said he was particularly pleased to participate in the Fourth CARICOM-Cuba Summit held in Trinidad and Tobago earlier in December, where the Community renewed and advanced its longstanding relationship with Cuba.

“There are also meaningful people-centered activities arising out of that encounter in health, agriculture, infrastructure building and culture, which would doubtlessly improve the well-being of our citizens,” he said.

Looking back on 2011, “we can do so with a measure of comfort that we have fulfilled the charge delivered at the beginning of the year by my predecessor, the Hon. Tillman Thomas, Prime Minister of Grenada, to make 2011 a ‘watershed year,’ a year when a new generation of leaders would take their place in the Community. At that time, we were confident that we would weather the multiple storms that were facing us by dint of strengthening community bonds, cooperating with each other and utilising all the skills available to us.”

He also noted that one of his first tasks as Chairman of the Community was to install Ambassador Irwin LaRocque as the new Secretary-General of CARICOM, an occasion which, “for me, heralded a turning point in the history of our Community.”

“He has begun the task of finding creative ways to chart the Community’s course in the current global environment. As we contemplate our resolutions for the new year, let us collectively pledge to work together to build on our founding fathers’ dreams of regional integration, securing a community for all for generations to come.

“During our celebration of this season of goodwill, let us, as a Community, reflect on our achievements over the year that is fast ending, a reflection that will no doubt be coloured by the challenges spawned by the current period of global uncertainties,” he said.

Dr. Douglas said those external upheavals have served to strengthen the resolve to drive the integration movement forward, a stance for which there has been firm support and commitment from the regional populace.

“I wish to reiterate my commendation to you for your resilience and for the outstanding qualities that have enabled our Community to remain a symbol of stability and good governance, reflected in our embrace of democratic processes,” the CARICOM Chairman said.

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Tourism Minister – Richard Skerritt
Photo By Erasmus Williams

Basseterre, St. Kitts – Nevis
November 03, 2011 (SKNIS)

Minister of Tourism Honourable Richard Skerritt has called on residents to protect the brand of St. Kitts and Nevis as a top destination that provides a valuable and effective retreat for visitors wishing to escape from the stresses of the cities and towns they live in.

During a radio address to commemorate November’s designation as Tourism Awareness Month, Minister Skerritt noted that the attractive offerings of the twin island Federation continues to resonate regionally and internationally particularly in countries like the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Europe and further afield. As such, he stressed that “the tourism sector is vitally important to our country and we all need to better understand support and protect tourism as one of the key drivers of the economy.”

“Collectively, visitors to St. Kitts and Nevis spend approximately EC$500 million in our economy each year,” Minister Skerritt disclosed. “This expenditure creates and supports thousands of jobs and spreads benefits throughout our economy through the buying and selling of various goods and services that supply the needs of our visitors and sustain the tourism sector as a whole.”

Practical examples of the trickledown effect of the tourist dollar were given including one which highlighted a front desk clerk at a hotel who directly benefits from visitor expenditure which helps to pay her wages. That clerk in turn may apply for a loan from a local financial institution. The employee at the lending agency that approves that loan benefits as interest revenue will accrue on the loan. The bank employee benefits from tourism indirectly by serving the needs of his customer whose income comes directly from tourism.

“The multiplier effect from tourism-related expenditure impacts production in a number of sectors in the economy such as agriculture, local fisheries, handicraft, entertainment, real estate, engineering and construction,” stressed Minister Skerritt. “Tourism has therefore become important for all of us in some form or fashion. That is why the theme chosen for Tourism Awareness Month is ‘Tourism is Key for All of Us.”

He added “Whether our guests come here as hotel, condominium or villa guests, or as cruise passengers, or as international students and faculty of offshore universities – no matter where they come from – they all want to be treated as if they are welcome here and expect that our people are happy to be their hosts.”

“My hope is that as many of us as possible will use this Tourism Awareness Month to learn more about our country, the business of tourism and the needs of our customers.”

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