Low Income Government Housing
Photo By Erasmus Williams
Basseterre, St. Kitts – Nevis
September 20, 2012 (CUOPM)
Thousands of persons have owned their own homes, hundreds of students have received scholarships and loans and the health and police security have been enhanced as a result of the savings of the insured persons.
Delivering the welcome remarks during Tuesday’s official opening of the E. St. John Payne Annex, Director of the St. Kitts and Nevis Social Security Board, Mrs. Sephlin Lawrence, lauded the visionaries in the Labour Party Administrations of Premiers the Right Excellent Sir Robert L. Bradshaw and The Right Excellent Sir C.A. Paul Southwell for blazing the challenging trails to provide social security to the people of the twin-island Federation to alleviate poverty and bring dignity to the old age persons.
“We laud them for their vision as our economy and our people are much better off for not only the benefits available, but also for the socio-economic development that we can all enjoy because of the magnitude of savings realized through social security from our contributors,” said Mrs. Lawrence said.
“Domestic financial institutions are able to augment their resources for their clients, thousands of persons own homes because of mortgage loans and residential construction undertaken directly and indirectly by SS investments. Furthermore, hundreds of students have completed their secondary and tertiary education from scholarships and loans. Our health and police security services have been enhanced as a result of donations of useful items from the savings of insured persons,” said Mrs. Lawrence, the first female director.
She said that the insightful vision of the Rt. Excellent Sir Robert Bradshaw our first National Hero, the implementation skills of St. John Payne, the trail-blazing first Minister, and the acute administrative oversight of Fitzroy Bryant, the first Chairman have all been built upon by successive generations of Social Security stalwarts from both major political parties.
“Worthy of acknowledgement even at this time, is the contribution of my predecessor in the office of Executive Director, Mr. Robert Manning, a tower of strength who served our institution with a high level of distinction, worthy of emulation,” said Mrs. Lawrence.
She said there are countless others including past Board Members, retired staff members and the legal draftsmen among others, who were involved in a myriad of ways to construct the final tapestry of Social Security as we know it today.
“To all those stalwarts, we owe a great debt of gratitude. It is also their services which have contributed to this event today,” she said.