My fellow citizens and residents, I am extremely happy to greet you today, as your government marks its 100th day in office. Your government began working from Day Zero and has not rested. We know your expectations for us are high and we continue to strive to exceed those expectations. We have been swift in our actions in some areas and more deliberate and methodical in other areas. But in all spheres, we have been prudent and pragmatic.
During the election campaign this past summer, I promised our people a New Day and a Better Way for St. Kitts and Nevis. Therefore, we have to lay blocks of integrity and steel of innovation in this new foundation for growth in our country:
• A foundation that will empower our women and young people;
• A foundation that will strengthen our economy;
• A foundation that will restore pride and resiliency in our nation;
• A foundation that will support the 7 Pillars for Positive Change that the St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Party campaigned on;
• A foundation to establish a Sustainable Island State.
Even as we continue to clear away the wreckage of the COVID-19 pandemic and tackle the effects of global inflation, your government recognizes that:
• We cannot revert to the same tourism policies, We must begin to ‘Venture Deeper’;
• We cannot have an economy that is built on outdated financial regulations and policies, We must have ‘Financial Advancement through Enlightenment, Partnerships, and Balance’;
• Our people cannot get tomorrow’s jobs with yesterday’s skills, We must transform education.
Your government has begun doing that in our first 100 days.
We have effected several National milestones, such as the:
• Appointment of the First Female Governor General’s Deputy, Female Speaker of the National Assembly, and Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly, three women included in the Federal Cabinet, as part of the Government’s gender equality agenda
• Approval of a Restoration and Transformation Project for the home of the Right Excellency Sir Robert L. Bradshaw, the Federation’s First National Hero
• Your government has been relentless in our pursuit to strengthen and improve our Citizenship-By-Investment programme, for enhanced sustainability within a framework of integrity. We have held productive discussions with local developers and international investors, alike. There will be much stronger oversight and leadership in the CBI Unit by a new CBI Board and Technical Committee. I will announce the detailed changes at our upcoming Press Conference, but I want to be absolutely clear, that our evolved CBI programme will be run with the utmost transparency.
As pledged, your government has provided Financial Assistance to you, the people of St. Kitts and Nevis:
• Gratuitous payments for employees unjustly terminated for not taking the COVID-19 vaccine and who have not benefited from a statutory severance payment and filed complaints with the Labour Department or Union
• Payment of Honoraria to government employees who worked on the frontline during the Covid-19 Pandemic
• Financial support to SKELEC to enable lower energy costs for residents
• Introduction of a Two-Month Duty-Free Concession Window in November and December 2022
Your government has begun to revolutionize the healthcare sector as pledged, with the:
• Immediate removal of all COVID-19-related Health and Travel Restrictions on Day 1 in office, to ensure that returning nationals and visitors have free access to the Federation, guided by scientific data
• Introduction of a Financial Assistance Programme for any child in need of medical assistance only available overseas
• MRI machine sourced for JNF Hospital to provide easier access to residents
• Implementation of 24/7 Medical Doctor Services at the Pogson
Medical Centre
• Certification of approximately 250 healthcare workers from St Kitts and Nevis in life-saving techniques
As pledged, we have begun to foster meaningful change and development in our education system, we have offered:
• A Free Tuition Policy for all students attending the Clarence Fitzroy Bryant College to ensure that our young people have access to higher education
• Introduction of Back-to-School Discounted VAT Rate Days to ease the financial burden on families during these tough worldwide economic times
• Establishment of a Teacher Education Award to encourage teachers to excel in their studies
• Payment of Economic Costs for all nationals studying at the University of the West Indies in all disciplines
• Sourcing over 4000 electronic devices to enhance learning for our children
As pledged, the Tourism sector has begun the work to diversify our economy with innovative, transformative ideas. We have:
• Launched the “Venture Deeper” Tourism Brand Campaign internationally to restore domestic and foreign investor confidence, and stimulate consumer enthusiasm and
• Passed the Civil Aviation (Amendment) Act, an OECS initiative which allows the Director-General of the Eastern Caribbean Civil Aviation Authority, to make Regulations for safety and security at our sub-regional airports
As pledged, utilities and infrastructure remain priorities and as such we have begun the work to ensure that our children grow up in a climate-resilient environment, where special attention is paid to preserving our land and water resources to achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. We have:
• Begun Consultations and the Initiation of the Plan for Creating a Resilient Energy Sector through consultations with representatives from the Caribbean Centre for Renewable Energy & Energy Efficiency, the Caribbean Development Bank, the St Kitts Electricity Company and Nevis Electricity Company
Ltd regarding geothermal energy production
• Re-established the Water Board to address the urgent water problem throughout St Kitts
• Approved a project to build two partially solar-powered desalination plants
• Digitized the land allocation database for land development
Your government is committed to Social Protection and Social Development, to assist our people with their advancement from vulnerability to self-reliance. As pledged, there have been the:
• Passing of the Domestic Violence (Amendment) Act which enhances the protection regime for victims of domestic violence and provides victims with swifter access to justice
• Transition of the PAP Welfare Programme to the Ministry of
Social Services to be revamped and improved
• Launch of the Girls Empowerment Programme
As part of our commitment to safeguarding our people and ensuring that you live in an environment that is healthy and clean, we have:
• Launched the Ministry of Agriculture Asset Management Programme to rehabilitate various properties and compounds across St. Kitts in an effort to boost productivity and create cleaner green spaces.
• Established a team consisting of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Sustainable Development to begin the validation of 40 potential Water Harvesting and Water Intake sites on St Kitts and Nevis, with 24 sites on St Kitts and 16 sites on Nevis.
As pledged, we are committed to ushering in an ambitious, youth-driven transformation in our country through the Ministry of Sports & the Creative Economy, in order to unleash transformative ideas and policies that will enrich our people and our country. To date we have had the:
• Successful Hosting of 6ixty & CPL Cricket Tournaments, showing the Government’s commitment to hosting sporting events and developing our Sports Tourism Industry
• Financial Contribution on behalf of the Ministry of Sports to Jahzara Claxton, our 16-year-old sporting phenome, who was named to the West Indies Women’s Under 19 Cricket Team
• Financial Assistance to the teams that qualified for the Super 6
Football Playoffs
As pledged, we have been working to ensure that the long-awaited constitutional, electoral and legislative reforms are achieved. During the first 100 days in office your government has:
• Appointed Three (3) New Commissioners of Oaths to improve efficiencies at the Registry of Lands and High Court Registry
• Engaged an Acting DPP, Acting Assistant DPP and other staff assigned to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions to improve efficiencies
• Established and Activated the Joint Constitutional Review Committee with the Legal Department of the Nevis Island Administration charged with re-creating and redesigning our
Constitution
• Established and Activated the Justice Committee, chaired by the Resident High Court Judge in the Criminal Division comprising representatives from the Ministry of Justice & Legal Affairs, Magistrates, the Police, the Prison, the Office of the DPP and the SKN Bar Association charged with redesigning and improving the administration of justice
• Consulted, Drafted and Circulated the Good Governance Legislative Framework: Anti-Corruption Act, Integrity in Public
Life (Amendment) Act and Freedom of Information (Amendment) Act
• Passed the St Kitts Investment Promotion Agency (Amendment) Act, Public Health (Amendment) Act, Small Business (Amendment) Act, Companies (Amendment) Act and
Evangelistic Faith Church St Kitts (Incorporation) Act
We have remained committed to Diplomacy & International Relations. During our first 100 days we had:
• My First Official State Visit to and sponsored by the Republic of China (Taiwan), which included Members of the Opposition in the National Assembly and Nevis Island Administration for the first time in our Nation’s history
• Attendance and participation at the United Nations General Assembly, the 72nd Meeting of the OECS Authority in Montserrat, and the AfriCaribbean Trade and Investment Forum, amongst others.
• St. Kitts and Nevis’ First Pavilion and the First ever Joint SKN Youth delegation at the global climate change conference, COP27 in Egypt.
My dear citizens and residents, your government is indeed working.
My fellow Cabinet colleagues and I have been working diligently. We have been attending key regional and international meetings and mending the broken bridges left by our predecessors while building new bonds of friendship and partnership to improve the well-being of our people. We have been engaging our local ministerial staff and community organisations to gain an even better understanding of the critical needs of our people and the mechanisms we should employ to solve their problems.
Your government is off to a good start, but it is only a start. We will not be complacent, we will be proactive. We will not be content with average, we will strive for excellence. We will not be boastful, we will serve with humility, honesty and compassion.
So I am very proud of what we have achieved, but I am not satisfied. We have a lot of work left to do. It is work that will take time, and it will take effort. But a New Day and a Better Way will continue here in St. Kitts and Nevis.
I want to thank you, the people of St. Kitts and Nevis, for your support and your patience during these first 100 days and I look forward to working with you to rebuild and restore our proud nation.
I am thankful that we have achieved so much in our first 100 days but it is our next seventeen hundred days that we must focus on and truly make a positive difference in the lives of our people.
May God continue to bless the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis.
Thank you.