Youth Development To Be A Top Priority
Basseterre, St. Kitts – Nevis
August 13, 2009 (CUOPM)
This year’s National Consultation on the Economy will focus on youth problems and will be geared towards building consensus for the 2010 budget and the medium term economic strategy.
Minister of Information, Sen. the Hon. Nigel Carty said Cabinet on Wednesday in approving the upcoming Consultation noted the ongoing objective to build a more inclusive society and to engage in consultative democracy.
Minister of Finance Dr. Hon Timothy Harris in discussing the objectives of the national consultation remarked that “under the new era of globalisation, it appears that government’s function needs to become more focused on strategic objectives and planning, privatizing its role in producing goods and certain services, and creating enough regulation to limit the potential for market failure.”
He said “the system of collaborative governance of which the annual national consultation on the economy is just one event, needs to be expanded and broadened to achieve greater policy consensus on key issues.”
The Cabinet deliberated on how this year’s consultation may focus on some of the Federation’s major challenges. “In so doing, Cabinet concurred that the National Consultation should focus on youth problems and approved in principle the following theme: “Youth Development at the Core of our National Priorities.”
The Ministry of Finance promised that this year’s National Consultation would be different and more productive, and identified dates in the second week of September for the consultations.
Since taking office, the governing St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Party has always held preliminary discussions with non-governmental organisations prior to the preparation of the National Budget.