The Federal Government of St. Kitts and Nevis wishes to advise the general public that the official launch ceremony of the Poverty Alleviation Programme is set for Monday, December 24, 2018. The programme will be launched simultaneously in St. Kitts and Nevis at 9:00 a.m. In St. Kitts, the ceremony takes place at Independence Square, Basseterre while the venue for the Nevis ceremony is Memorial Square, Charlestown.
The general public is hereby advised that representatives of the Ministries of Sustainable Development and Social Services are currently making telephone contact with verified, successful applicants to the programme in an effort to advise them of their status, and to invite them to attend the ceremony on Monday morning. At the end of the ceremony, cheques will be distributed to these successful applicants by the staff of the Accountant General’s Office who will be on-hand at both venues of the ceremonies. All verified, successful applicants are required to travel to the ceremony with a valid form of identification, such as a passport or driver’s licence.
The Ministries of Sustainable Development and Social Services wish to inform all applicants to the Poverty Alleviation Programme who would not have been contacted by telephone that their applications are still being subjected to a verification exercise which has been ongoing since the data gathering phase of the Programme began in September 2018. In these cases, verification cannot be concluded or approval granted due to vital information that is still missing from their applications. Examples of missing information include: (a) full disclosure of household income; (b) provision of valid identification; and (c) incomplete data regarding the accurate number of occupants in the household. The Ministries wish to remind and encourage all applicants to provide the information being requested as soon as possible, and to ensure that their responses provided on their applications are truthful and accurate. Contact can be made with the Help Desk at the Statistical Division within the Ministry of Sustainable Development via the following mobile numbers, namely 662-2940 and 662-3597.
The general public is advised that information booths will be set up at both launch ceremonies at Independence Square in Basseterre and Memorial Square in Charlestown. Persons whose applications are not yet verified can also go to representatives at these booths for further information and advice.
The Office of the Accountant General wishes to advise that in the event that any successful applicant to the Programme receives a cheques with an error such persons are instructed to take the cheque to the Treasury Department, present a valid form of identification, and a replacement cheque will be provided.
The Ministries of Sustainable Development and Social Services look forward to the successful launch and continual build-out of the Poverty Alleviation Programme which is meant to enhance the lives of persons whose overall household income is less than EC$3,000 per month. The Programme is part of a major national development initiative designed to take vulnerable citizens of our Country from a state of poverty and disadvantage into a life of self-sufficiency wherever possible. The case management component of the Programme should come on stream within the first quarter of 2019. This will assist greatly in facilitating the upward mobility of Programme beneficiaries who, over time, will receive opportunities to graduate out of the Programme. The Poverty Alleviation Programme will also serve as a key indicator of our Federation’s status in attaining the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly Goal#1: No Poverty, Goal #2: Zero Hunger, and Goal #10: Reduced Inequalities.