PM Douglas Speaks At Christophe Harbour Site
Photo By Erasmus Williams
Basseterre, St. Kitts – Nevis
November 13, 2008
St. Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister Hon. Dr. Denzil L. Douglas said Wednesday that the twin”“island Federation must not allow local political differences to tarnish the name of the country and has urged non-governmental organisations to assist local media houses to establish and implement standards of journalism.
“In this competitive world, our people simply cannot afford to lose income and business opportunities as a result of careless and misleading publications,” Dr. Douglas, who is also Minister of Tourism said Wednesday afternoon at the ground breaking ceremony for the multi-million dollar Tom Fazio World Class Golf Course on the Southeast Peninsula.
He said in the current environment everything possible must be done to attract every additional dollar of investment, tourism receipts or export earnings.
“We cannot afford to run away potential investors by misleading and scary publications,” said Prime Minister Douglas, who disclosed that during a meeting on Tuesday night with Christophe Harbour Chief Executive Officer and award-winning South Carolina developer, Buddy Darby and his team, they expressed concern that certain comments in a local publication had been a source of worry to their investors.
“Fortunately, the Kiawah group has been able to ascertain the facts and allay the fears of such investors,” said Prime Minister Douglas, who urged the local media to take extra care to verify their facts before publishing any negative information about the Federation.
The construction of the 250-acre Tom Fazio golf course is a major component of the multi-million dollar Christophe Harbour Development, which includes two-five-star hotels, a mega-yacht marina, boutiques, shops, luxurious villas, ocean front homes and private homesites and around six pristine beaches on 2,500 acres of land.
Prime Minister Douglas said that the Kiawah Group has demonstrated great confidence in the people of St. Kitts and Nevis and is betting on the future of the Federation by investing huge sums of money.
“The international community as a whole continues to have confidence in us and to demonstrate such confidence by visits our shores as tourists, investments in a range of enterprises in our Federation and by buying villas, condominiums and residential units in our Federation. We too, must have confidence in ourselves. We must seize every available opportunity for personal and national development and continue to push hard on the wheels of economic progress,” said Dr. Douglas.