Author: SKNISEditor

Basseterre, St. Kitts, December 20, 2023 (SKNIS): Foreign Direct Investment in St. Kitts and Nevis is expected to significantly rise in the short and medium term as a result of a number of projects negotiated by the Senior Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Economic Development and Investment, the Right Honourable Dr. Denzil Douglas. While contributing to the 2024 Budget Debate in the National Assembly on December 19, Dr. Douglas stated that major investments are on the horizon. “We are happy to report that the Cabinet has approved concessions for the development of a luxury brand hotel,” he said, adding…

BASSETERRE, St. Kitts, December 20, 2023 (SKNIS) – Prime Minister and Minister of Health, the Honourable Dr. Terrance Drew embarked on his annual Christmas visit to the Joseph N. France General Hospital today (Wednesday, December 20, 2023) to spread cheers and joy to the patients, doctors, nurses, administrators and other staff of the hospital while expressing gratitude to the medical staff for their hard and dedicated service to the wellbeing of citizens, residents and visitors.  Prime Minister Dr. Drew visited the various wards at the hospital including the paediatric ward, maternity, surgical and medical wards where he personally presented Christmas…

Basseterre, St. Kitts, December 20, 2023 (SKNIS): Minister of Information, Communication and Technology, the Honourable Konris Maynard said the launch of the Internet Exchange Point (IXP) on September 12 is expected to bolster the local internet service within the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis. Minister Maynard made this remark during day four (4) of the 2024 Budget Debate on December 18, where he also explained that St. Kitts and Nevis became the latest country in the region to launch a local Internet Exchange Point. “The new IXP is expected to help improve internet service in St. Kitts and Nevis…

(Basseterre, St. Kitts, December 20, 2023): The Department of Agriculture would like to inform the public of the re-emerging threat to our pigs and swine industry in the form of African Swine Fever. African swine fever is a viral disease which affects all pigs. It was confined to Sub-Saharan Africa until 1957 when an outbreak happened in Portugal as a result of airline waste being fed to pigs. It would have continued to spread across the UK and to the Caribbean and Brazil in the 1980s where outbreaks were stamped out after devastating industries. In the 2000s, it appeared again…

BASSETERRE, St. Kitts, December 20, 2023 (SKNIS) – Senior Minister and Minister of International Trade, Industry, Commerce and Consumer Affairs, the Right Honourable Dr. Denzil Douglas has issued a call for local producers to utilize the services of the St. Kitts and Nevis Bureau of Standards (SKNBS), as the government continues to strengthen the National Quality Infrastructure of the country. “As we try our very best to give alternative enterprises and opportunities for our young people, we want to emphasize in this government that the Bureau of Standards and its multipurpose lab must continue to play a critical part. We…

Basseterre, St. Kitts, December 19, 2023 (SKNIS): A new Procurement Act is expected in St. Kitts and Nevis in 2024, to protect the Government Treasury from mismanagement that Attorney-General (AG) the Honourable Garth Wilkin said occurred between 2015 and 2022. One such case of past mismanagement mentioned by the attorney-general during the 2024 Budget Debate on December 18, 2023, saw the payment of US $2 million or EC $5.4 million to one man over an 18-month period by the St. Kitts Electricity Corporation (SKELEC) Ltd. “It won’t happen again. Persons will have to bid for that,” said Honourable Wilkin. “We…

Basseterre, St. Kitts, December 19, 2023 (SKNIS): After a period spanning five (5) days, from the presentation of St. Kitts and Nevis’ 2024 Budget Address by the Honourable Dr. Terrance Drew, Prime Minister and Minister of Finance on December 13, to the rebuttal by Leader of the Opposition, the Honourable Mark Brantley, and debates by parliamentarians, The Appropriation (2024) Bill, 2023, with total estimates for 2024 of EC$ 1.09 Billion for recurrent expenditure, capital expenditure and net lending, was passed into law on Tuesday, December 19, 2023. With a total recurrent capital and net lending charges on the consolidated fund…

Basseterre, St. Kitts, December 19, 2023 (SKNIS): The High Court in St. Kitts and Nevis is functioning efficiently following its relocation to the Charles Amory Building in Fortlands on September 20, 2023, overcoming what was described as “initial hiccups.” Attorney-General (AG), the Honourable Garth Wilkin, noted that the judges, lawyers, support staff, clients and others involved in matters that go before the court “are now pleased” since those initial hiccups have been resolved. As a consequence, the wheels of justice in St. Kitts and Nevis are anticipated to turn even faster with the rollout of criminal justice reforms and the…

BASSETERRE, St. Kitts, December 19, 2023 (SKNIS) – In an enlightening and informative wrap-up to the debate on the 2024 Budget, Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis and Minister of Finance, the Honourable Dr. Terrance Drew took the opportunity to update the nation on the progress being made with the ELEVATE Programme. In July 2023, the ELEVATE programme effectively replaced the troubled Alternative Lifestyle Pathways Programme (ALPP), commonly referred to as the “Peace Programme”. In his remarks, Prime Minister Dr. Drew highlighted a key distinction between the ELEVATE Programme and the Peace Programme, which had several shortcomings. He emphasized…

BASSETERRE, St. Kitts, December 19, 2023 (SKNIS) – During his intervention on the 2024 Budget in the National Assembly on December 19, Senior Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Right Honourable Dr. Denzil Douglas said through strategic and timely interventions over the past 15 months, the Dr. Terrance Drew Administration has reconnected St. Kitts and Nevis with the rest of the world, and will, in turn, leverage these renewed relationships to help the Federation realize its development agenda. Senior Minister Douglas said the positive relationships that have blossomed with top diplomatic officials around the world have so far resulted…