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

Monetary Council Chairman – Denzil Douglas
Photo By Erasmus Williams

Basseterre, St. Kitts – Nevis
July 02, 2012 (CUOPM)

Ministers of Finance of the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union have agreed to recommend that member governments contribute to the finalisation of the OECS Development Strategy and introduce the necessary institutional arrangements to ensure its implementation.

Meeting Friday under the Chairmanship of St. Kitts and Nevis’ Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, the Rt. Hon. Dr. Denzil L. Douglas, it was recommended that member governments of the ECCU expedite the preparation and implementation of medium term economic strategy papers (MTESPs). These MTESPs are to be circulated among members of the union for discussion, feedback and consistency.

Member governments are also to structure their Public Sector Investment Programmes into (i) short-term employment creating growth generating projects, with immediate payoffs; (ii) infrastructural projects to help the transition from agricultural to tourism based economies and public/private partnerships and (iii) regional projects in the areas of energy, transportation and education/skills training.

In the area of Fiscal and Debt Sustainability, the Monetary Council also agreed to recommend that member governments implement best practices in cash flow management; prepare and lay before parliament the Medium Term Debt Strategies; engage the international institutions on the development of a “Highly Indebted Middle Income Country” facility to alleviate the debt burden and continue to exploit the low yields on the Regional Government Securities Market RGSM) as a means of reducing debt servicing costs.

It was also recommended that governments review the operations of financial intermediaries, particularly as it relates to long term instruments on the Regional Governments Securities Market to determine avenues for cost savings; expand the usage of the RGSM and make special efforts to forge a secondary market to increase liquidity on the RGSM.

Council members attending were the Honourable Reuben T. Meade, Premier and Minister for Finance, Montserrat; Honourable Hubert Hughes, Chief Minister and Minister for Finance, Anguilla; Honourable Harold Lovell, Minister for Finance, Antigua and Barbuda; Honourable Roosevelt Skerrit, Prime Minister and Minister for Finance, Commonwealth of Dominica; Honourable Nazim Burke, Minister for Finance, Grenada; The Right Honourable Dr. Denzil L. Douglas, Prime Minister and Minister for Finance, St. Kitts and Nevis; Dr. the Honourable Ralph Gonsalves, Prime Minister and Minister for Finance, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Dr. the Right Hon. Kenny Anthony, Prime Minister and Minister of Finance of St. Lucia.

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Education Minister – Nigel Carty
Photo By Erasmus Williams

Basseterre, St. Kitts – Nevis
June 27, 2012 (SKNIS)

The Ministry of Education is moving forward in its quest to form new partnerships and reaffirm up support from existing associates as it expands the scope of technical and educational programmes in the curricula.

Minister of Education, Honourable Nigel Carty stated that there has been an increased number of private sector agencies and individuals who have stepped forward to assist the Ministry in the “difficult yet important task of educating our young people.”

Recent developments saw telecommunications provider Digicel strengthen its relationship with the Advanced Vocational Education Center (AVEC) by donating eight desktop computers for use in its business lab.

AVEC Director Clyde Christopher told SKNIS that he is extremely grateful for the continued support of Digicel to the technical and vocational institution. He added that approximately half of the centre’s student population is interested in business studies and the new PCs will allow greater admission numbers to the programme as well as enhanced content delivery.

Minister Carty stressed that it was critical for public and private sector relationships to be enhanced to ensure that students are provided with additional learning tools that adequately prepare them to meet the demands of the working world.

“It is very important that we have support from the private sector – We cannot do it alone,” he stated. “I want to say to … Digicel and to others who have supported us in the past that your contribution is not only timely, but it is critical in helping us to achieve our goals and objectives in education.”

The education minister also saluted Director Christopher for his leadership of the institution and his ongoing efforts to raise the level of standards at AVEC.

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CTO Chairman – Richard Skerritt
Photo By Erasmus Williams

Basseterre, St. Kitts – Nevis
June 18, 2012 (CUOPM)

The Caribbean needs investment partners who will join hands with or the long-term and invest in the easily trainable Caribbean people.

That’s the word from Chairman of the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) and Minister of Tourism of St. Kitts and Nevis, Senator the Hon. Ricky Skerritt.

Mr. Skerritt made the call at the recent Invest Caribbean Now power forum, hosted in New York City by digital media company Hard Beat Communications and the CTO.

“Caribbean people are really our most valuable asset and represent a genuine and critical source of what makes our region so special,” said the CTO Chair. “I therefore submit to you that investing in Caribbean people development must be an essential portion of any major tourism investment in our region.”

Pointing to the growth in the region’s tourism sector last year, Minister Skerritt insisted that the Caribbean’s proximity to the US makes it both a prime tourist destination and a secondary home location.

“With the public investment programs of so many of our Caribbean governments having been compromised because of recent fiscal shocks, there should now be more opportunities than ever before for private investors to get involved in financing, designing, building, and even operating, select public sector infrastructure and services projects,” he added.

One of the world’s most renowned and successful entrepreneurs, Sir Richard Branson, was this year’s inaugural Leadership Award recipient. Branson, in his acceptance remarks, reiterated Skerritt’s statement, insisting “that while tourism will always remain a key industry, there’s so much more to attract investment to these beautiful and vibrant islands, not least, the people.”

“Let’s work together more than ever, from this day forward, to create an entrepreneurial Paradise, in Paradise,” said the Virgin Group and Branson Center of Entrepreneurship founder.

Forum delegates also heard from North American investors, Jonathan Blue and Jay Yeo, who both touted their positive investment experiences, in the Caribbean region even as Jean Arnell, vice president of the French Saint Martin Chamber of Commerce, told the audience that the Caribbean island is open for business.

“With more than a dozen ministers of government, including a premier and a chief minister, as well as dozens of private sector attendees from investment firms in attendance, what we have proven is that the Invest Caribbean Now forum, while only in its second year, is simply THE investment event of the Caribbean,” said Felicia Persaud, CEO of Hard Beat Communications and convener of Invest Caribbean Now, in summing up the conclusion of the June 6th sold out power forum.

The forum was moderated by W. Dave Dowrich, Vice President of Risk and Capital Markets in the Financial Institutions Group at Goldman Sachs, who observed that “too long the Caribbean has been simply known as a playground and great for partying but when it comes to the serious business of investment – not so much so.”

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