St. Kitts

LIAT Adds More Flights To St. Kitts From San Jaun

LIAT Airlines Flight Route Map Basseterre, Saint Kitts – Nevis July 24, 2008 (CUOPM) LIAT, the Caribbean airline is picking the slack in anticipation of the reduction of flights by American Eagle between St. Kitts’ Robert L. Bradshaw International Airport …

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St. Kitts – Nevis Receives $400K For Sporting Facilities

St. Kitts - Nevis PM Receives Donation Check

St. Kitts – Nevis PM (C) Receives Donation Check
Photo By Erasmus Williams

Basseterre, Saint Kitts – Nevis
July 24, 2008 (CUOPM)

The advancement of the young people in St. Kitts and Nevis is critically important in building a just, long lasting and fulfilling society.

So says Prime Minister and Minister of Sport, Hon. Dr. Denzil L. Douglas as he accepted two cheques totalling nearly US$400,000 for the development of sporting facilities in Challengers and Half Way Tree from the Ambassador of the Republic of China on Taiwan, His Excellency Rong-chuan Wu. US$284,000 is for Half Way Tree and US$115,000 for Challengers.

“All over the world and the Caribbean, including St. Kitts and Nevis, our young people are being challenged. We hear very often of the ills that they may be associated with. We hear very often that they are restless, that they are involved in serious crimes, that maybe enough is not said about them in terms of their true potential that needs to be developed and harnessed in the betterment of their country,” said Dr. Douglas, himself a former sports administrator.

Dr. Douglas said the financing which will see the development of sporting facilities in Half Way Tree and Challengers, will give the young people of both areas “the opportunity to build their sporting skills so that they can use their past time in a very worthwhile way.”

He repeated a comment made at last Saturday’s official opening of Football House, that there is money to be made from sports.

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St. Kitts – Nevis Cabinet Moves Closer On Minimum Wage

St. Kitts - Nevis Government Cabinet Room

St. Kitts Government Cabinet Room
Photo By Erasmus Williams

Basseterre, Saint Kitts – Nevis
JULY 23RD 2008 (CUOPM)

The St. Kitts Cabinet moved closer to deciding on an increase in the minimum wage on Monday during a routine Cabinet meeting on Monday.

The present EC$6.25 per hour for unskilled workers and EC$7.50 per hour for semiskilled workers in the hotel, casino and other related workers were legislated by the St. Kits – Nevis Labour Government in 2004.

Acting Minister of National Security, Immigration and Labour, Dr. Hon Earl Asim Martin submitted to Cabinet several recommendations for consideration.

Dr. Martin updated Cabinet on a consultative session which took place in June among a wide group of stakeholders with the objective of discussing the high cost of living and the minimum wage.

He informed Cabinet that several views expressed at the stakeholders meeting included the dramatic increase in the cost of living the world over and that there should be no resistance to the recommendation to increase minimum wages for a full 40-hour work week.

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Monetary Council Suggests Ways To Combat High Fuel & Food Prices

Filling Up With Gas In St. Kitts - Nevis

Filling Up With Gas In St. Kitts – Nevis
Photo By Erasmus Williams

Basseterre, Saint Kitts – Nevis
July 22, 2008 (CUOPM)

The Monetary Council of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) is recommending member governments formulate and implement a more targeted social protection interventions which would shield the vulnerable groups from elevated food and energy prices but protect the recent fiscal gains.

This was one of the recommendations that came out of the just concluded 62nd Council Meeting that received and noted a report on the status of inflation across the ECCU member countries, discussed the current policy responses of the member governments and assessed their effectiveness in addressing the issue.

The Council said that the primary source of the recent surge in inflationary pressures was high oil and other commodity prices, and that these were expected to remain elevated over the medium term.

The Council supported the view that there was a need to fine-tune the short-term measures and to place more emphasis on policy responses which would address supply and structural factors, cognisant of the need for member governments to balance social and fiscal responsibilities.

It also recommended the urgent development and implementation of regional energy and agricultural policies with the objective of making the region more resilient to adverse international price shocks.

The Council was of the view that the strengthening of the tripartite arrangement in respect of wages, prices and productivity, the OECS Competition Authority and consumer groups could assist in addressing matters related to the inflation issue.

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