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

Social Minister – Ms. Marcella Liburd
Photo By Erasmus Williams

Basseterre, St. Kitts – Nevis
May 5, 2012 (SKNIS)

The Cabinet of Ministers in the Federal Government was impressed with the progress of the Skills Training and Entrepreneurship Programme (STEP) during a visit to its community farm.

The Sugar Industry Diversification Fund (SIDF) sponsored pilot programme is separated into two main parts – hydroponics food crop production and life skills training. It specifically targets “at risk” youth in the community. A total of 35 young men so far have immersed themselves in leaning about self-improvement and receiving counseling.

Hon. Marcella Liburd, Minister of Social Development, under whose ministry STEP falls, has been actively involved in bringing this programme to the young people of the community.

“What we did was we opened it up to applications and I went around telling them how they could apply” said Minister Liburd. “It isn’t that we went and handpicked any of them, we went around and told them this is a project that we are thinking about and tried to encourage them to become interested, because a lot of them were not doing anything so that they could go and apply through Youth Skills.” “I think around thirty something of the fifty something who applied turned up to the orientation and those were the thirty something that started here.”

Minister Liburd said although young men currently participating in the programme are satisfied with it; it is still a work in progress. She also said the greater response thus far has been from males.

“Well, they are satisfied with it but, it’s a work in progress in the sense that I don’t think some of them really understand the opportunity that they’re getting” said Minister Liburd. “It’s a two-part thing. There are some at the community center doing self-improvement and counseling. If they don’t get over that hump, they would not be able to use this opportunity that is presented to them.”

“I tried my best to get women involved in this because it was not just for men” said Minister Liburd. “I actually spoke to young women in the area and asked them to go and apply. I think only like two or three of them did apply and none of them showed up for the orientation so it just happened that it turns out to be all men.”

The programme is expected to have a downward effect on crime and the country’s import bill. Participant Brian Griffin in a comment to the St. Kitts and Nevis Information Service (SKNIS) described the programme as a wonderful experience and sees himself as an upcoming fruit and vegetable producer in the future of St. Kitts and Nevis.

“Well so far I think that the programme has been wonderful and it has been a wonderful experience for most of the young men to come together” said Brian Griffin. “The best thing I got out of the programme is the teamwork as everybody got together and worked to accomplish one goal. In the future I expect to see myself as one of the biggest fruit and vegetable producer in St. Kitts. We are just trying to make sure that the nation is healthy and rich and keep it wealthy.

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US Donates Pickup Truck To Fight Drug War

Basseterre, St. Kitts – Nevis
April 12, 2012 (CUOPM)

St. Kitts and Nevis is expected to benefit from the announcement of an injection of $US77 million into the Caribbean next year to develop projects to fight crime and violence.

The funds will be disbursed through the security partnership between CARICOM states, the Dominican Republic and the US called the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative (CBSI) that was launched last year.

Deputy Assistant Secretary for Central America and the Caribbean, Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs at the United States Department of State, Julissa Reynoso, said the 2012 budget would be used in part to support greater coordination and control of border and maritime routes, training and capacity building for law enforcement and justice sector.

She told a CBSI Commission meeting here that her country would be delivering high-speed interdiction boats and relevant equipment to the Eastern Caribbean as part of the US Secure Seas Effort to complement those already provided to the Bahamas, the Dominican Republic and Jamaica.

Guyana and Suriname will also receive riverine patrol boats and related equipment in 2012.

“We are proud of the accomplishments of the past year under the CBSI,” she said while noting concerns that the CBSI partnership had not made the impact that it should have.

“We have encountered many challenges but we believe that the CBSI provides a useful and necessary framework for coordination and collaboration with our partners in the region.”

The US representative said automated fingerprint identification system equipment were being purchased for six states, and, in accordance with a CBSI agreement, a regional legal advisor will develop a task force to address critical crime issues including homicides and to advise on legal reforms.

During the opening ceremony for the CBSI, Guyana’s Minister of Home Affairs Clement Rohee called for “practical well-thought out solutions” to relieve the strain on Caribbean populations by eliminating the causes of crime at the local, regional and hemispheric levels.

He acknowledged that progress has been made through the partnership but added that “much more work needed to be done,” to ensure that the peoples of both regions could feel secure.

He said the Commission needed to roll-out strategies and programs to address the growing problem of youth gangs and gang violence among other issues.

“There is urgent need to get to the stage to implementation so that the fruits of the partnership can trickle down to the benefit of the Caribbean peoples…of importance is the urgent need to begin to rolling out programmes that go to the heart of countering trafficking in narcotics and firearms, which poses a major challenge in the national security of our respective countries,” the Home Affairs Minister said.

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St. Kitts – Nevis Police Officers
Photo By Erasmus Williams

Basseterre, St. Kitts – Nevis
February 24, 2012 (SKNIS)

Residents have embraced the presence of the new Dieppe Bay Police Station which opened in November last year, and have welcomed the increased role of law enforcement in the community.

During a recent public forum, persons thanked the police for their efforts to reduce the influence of antisocial elements and encouraged them to enhance their relationship with the nearby primary school, so as to positively impact the impressionable students.

The Sub-Divisional Commander of the Police District, Inspector Vaughan Henderson was interviewed on this week’s edition of SKNIS Perspectives and explained that there has been an outpouring of support over the past weeks.

“There’s an eagerness from the community to work closer with the police,” Inspector Henderson revealed. “They initiated a beach cleanup in the area, some committed to beautify the area around the police station, and some even went into donating towards fencing the Dieppe Bay Police Station.”

The senior law enforcement official noted that the cleanliness of the environment can positively influence the tranquility of the community and noted that the security forces welcomed the efforts to enhance the ambience of the area through cleanups and restorative work to dilapidated structures. He added that the Royal St. Christopher and Nevis Police Force was willing to lend assistance to support similar activities around the island where possible.

In addition, officers are being exposed to training in professionalism and customer service to foster better communication with the public.

“We always say that the customers of the police are not always the easier ones to deal with as they are either victims of crime or the perpetrators,” Inspector Henderson said. “We believe that if we have strong interpersonal skills and good customer relations we can do a lot to mitigate some of the grief that our customers may be feeling due to the circumstances that cause them to come into contact with our officers.”

These efforts are of the police initiative to take back the streets and restore public trust and confidence.

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