BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – ANOTHER measure of holiday relief was announced to the public that all duties on food packages of up to 440 pounds have been waived effective yesterday, December 12.
The duty-free allowance previously applied to gift parcels of up to 66 pounds of imported personal foodstuff, but according to a press release issued by the Communications Office of the Prime Minister, the allowance now accommodates foodstuff of up to 440 pounds until December 31, 2009.
The duty-free allowance is extended on “personal foodstuff within the contents of the baggage of residents and non-residents arriving in St. Kitts by air or sea” for the next two and a half weeks. This initiative by the government marks the fourth initiative in the last week designed to bring economic relief to the nation.
The decision, made recently in Cabinet, comes hot on the heels of a list of policy initiatives announced by Prime Minister Hon. Dr. Denzil Douglas in a national address last Monday (Dec. 7).
Initiatives in the recently-announced package include a double salary for civil servants, a waiver on the fuel surcharge and the duty-free importation of paint for the month of December.
The decision comes in the wake of one of the most uncertain economic crises in recent history, but PM Douglas explained that the policy initiatives were necessary to bring relief to the population.
The PM’s announcements have been met with both celebration and criticism as questions of the affordability and appropriateness of such measures still abound.
They have been celebrated as well-needed relief at a time of widespread economic tightness, but critics have labelled them as a vote grabbing stunt ahead of the impending General Elections in early 2010.
