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| (L-R) Mr Osbert De Suza overall Project Manager of the Basic Needs Trust Fund in the Federation and Ms Paulette Walters the Funds Community Liaison Officer in Nevis. |
CHARLESTOWN NEVIS (August 30, 2006) -- The Basic Needs Trust Funds (BNTF) programme is in the process of change. Mr. Osbert De Suza overall Project Manager based in St Kitts, made the disclosure during an interview with the Government Information Service, while on a one day visit to Nevis for a first hand look at the ongoing projects on Tuesday August 29, 2006.
Mr. De Suza said that the Programme which is in its fifth cycle that the focus of the Fund would be shifted to address more tangible areas including skills training and target young women and youth.
"We are trying to shift the BNTF programme from a lot of [road projects] access that was experienced under [previous cycles of] the BNTF to something that was more tangible in terms of skills training because the overall objectives of the BNTF programme is poverty reduction and the thinking in this current cycle is that if you are able to train more persons they will be able to generate income for themselves via employment or starting small business and we are moving in this direction," he said.
Mr. De Suza explained that the funds available under the BNTF programme are provided on a grant basis by the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) and under the Cycle 4 of the programme, it had received an injection of funds from the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA).
"I should also say at this point that the involvement of CIDA has brought on board more attention being paid to gender issues and to environmental issues. This is very good the gender aspect of it for our young ladies and the previous cycle never paid much attention to that.
"The Poverty Assessment Report for St Kitts and Nevis indicates that the vulnerable groups that the BNTF should be really targeting are our young ladies, our youths and our single mothers and we are paying serious and close attention to this in the targeting process at BNTF programme," he said.
Notwithstanding, Mr. De Suza who was accompanied by Ms. Paulette Walters, Community Liaison Officer for the Fund in Nevis, gave a progress report of some of the projects in Nevis that had received approval for funding from the CDB.
"To date in Nevis we have had, due to the hard work of the Community Liaison Officer, approval from the Caribbean Development Bank for at least three of the projects that were submitted. These are the Barnes Ghaut Adult Education Centre, the Prospect Primary School Improvement and the refurbishing of a building in Gingerland to prepare hot lunches for our senior citizens," he said
Mr. De Suza indicated that at present the consultants interested in providing consultancy services for the Banes Ghaut Adult Education Centre had already submitted technical proposals to the Bank and were awaiting word as to the assignment to one of them.
Regarding the hot meals kitchen in Gingerland, Mr. De Suza explained that there had been some setbacks though Mr. Elms of Elms and Associates had been assigned to that particular project, "unfortunately, the delivery from Mr Elms has not been as forthcoming as we expected it and as such we are experiencing some delay on that project."
Meantime, Mr. De Suza called on contractors in Nevis to get ready to take advantage of work that would soon be available on the Prospect Primary School.
~~Adz:Right~~"The main item of work at this school would be the removal of asbestos from the ceiling of the school and of course there are some other important work items. To date we have had the tender documents submitted to the Caribbean Development Bank and we are awaiting a no objection from the Bank on the tender document for this particular project at the Prospect School. As soon as we receive that no objection, the document would be made available from the BNTF Office in Charlestown and interested contractors can contact Ms. Paulette Walters our hard working Community Liaison Officer in Nevis at 469-0173.
"I would like to encourage the contractors in Nevis. We have several of them who have worked with the BNTF programme before to try and buy one of the tender documents so we can try to implement this project in a much speedily manner," he said.
The BNTF Programme which was officially launched in St Kitts in June 2004. The current cycle of BNTF5 makes funds available for project implementation in Health, Education, Road Access, Community facilities and particularly in skills training.
Under the BNTF Cycles 1, 2, 3 and a number of projects had been undertaken in Nevis including the refurbishment of the Cotton Ground Health Centre, the Combermere Health Centre and the Remedial Section of the Gingerland High School; the removal of asbestos from one of the roofs to the annex to the hall at the Charlestown Secondary School and the upgrade of the School's Biology Lab and the Home Management Centre.
Several road projects were also undertaken in Nevis including Old Manor Road, Pond Peas in Brick Kiln, Stoney Grove, Grove Park Road and construction of the Nisbetts Bridge, the Fund's biggest project undertaken in Nevis.
The projects undertaken under the BNTF are done on a reimbursable basis. The implementation takes place, the government puts up the money and the CDB would reimburse 80 percent of expenditure.
