(L-R) Mr. Dwight Morton of the Nevis Cooperative Credit Union, Mr Halva Hendrickson Chairman of the St. Christopher and Nevis Social Security Board and Premier of Nevis the Hon Joseph Parry sign the loan agreement with Mr. Charles Wilkins QC the Board’s lawyer present (extreme right).

Minister with responsibility for Housing on Nevis the Hon Robelto Hector, noted that the loan which would provide funding for home construction and renovations for the NIA’s employees, was a crowning achievement in the Nevis Reformation Party-led Administration’s first year in office.

He said as the demand for housing on Nevis continued to grow, it was the first time in the island’s history that civil servants were specifically facilitated for housing finance. Notwithstanding, he said additional funding had been sought from the Social security Board and had been approved for future home construction for the people of Nevis.

“It’s a crowning moment because this is something that we would like to see really benefiting civil servants here in this country… For the first time non established workers are also recognised and I think we ought to offer great hands to this moment that non established workers are benefiting under this scheme…

“We have also sought to secure an additional $10 million that I am told was approved already. This would help us again to fill the applications that we have and to see to it that our programme is a reality, our programme of doing 300 homes over the next five years,” he said.

The Housing Minister explained that the agreement was part of a series of agreements brokered between the NIA and the Social security Board.

“This agreement is just one in a series that we have negotiated with the Social security Board. We had indicated to you when we took office that our mission particularly in housing would be to make sure that we satisfied the needs of the housing community.

“We indicated to the general public that throughout our scheme you would be able to have housing needs being met and so today in signing this agreement we are just taking care of one facet of the demand that is before us,” he said.

According to Mr. Hector, The Nevis Land and Housing Corporation had received in excess of 700 applications for housing and within the last year they had constructed at least 22 homes under the Bigger and Better Homes Project, an initiative of the new Administration.

The Hon. Robelto Hector Minister with responsibility for Housing on Nevis.

The Minister thanked the Board for its renewed confidence in the new Administration to honour its commitments. He explained that the current Administration had cleared an outstanding $900,000 interest payment incurred by the former Administration.

He also thanked the Nevis Corporative Credit Union for their compassion and confidence having agreed to be the agency which would execute the loans to civil servants.

“I am happy today with the guidance of the Premier and the guidance of Cabinet and the great support of the Corporation for us to pay that interest payment and move forward,” he said.

Premier the Hon. Joseph Parry who signed the agreement on behalf of the NIA said he had a glad heart now that civil servants were in a position to benefit from their employ of the NIA.

“For too long I have seen non established workers working their hearts and souls out and at the end of the period, they get very little… and that has always bothered me. So I am glad to see that the changes are being made and the Nevis Reformation Party is present and is part of that change.

“Civil servants, non established workers it is a great day for you and new beginning for you. You don’t have to take the hassle from some of the banks you can get the assistance from the government, from the Credit Union and from Social Security. Let me assure you that this is only the beginning when we see that 10 [million dollars] is being well spent we will ask for another 10,” he said and added, “let this be on our first anniversary, a sign of things to come,” he said.

Meantime, Chairman of the St. Christopher and Nevis Social Security Board Mr. Halva Hendrickson said, apart from the $10 million made available to the NIA for the Nevis Civil Servants Loan Agreement, there was a $9 million which had been redefined plus a $10 million which had just been approved for the provision of 300 houses for Nevisians over the next three years.

He explained that the Fund was in a healthy state and over the years the Board had been involved in Nevis’ infrastructure and had spent much on the island.

“Social Security has been very active in Nevis in terms of development and this is really what the fund is all about. The fund is really the people’s fund it is the contribution of the people which has made the fund and the fund is now in a very healthy stage it is now according to our last accounts we had about $760million.

“So the fund is big in relation to the population and so we expect that over time we will do a lot more of these and we will try to play our part in terms of the infrastructural development in both St. Kitts and Nevis. So therefore, I hope that this is the start of many similar agreements over the next few years,” he said.

Mrs.  Sephlin Lawrence Director of the Social Security Board.

Other remarks came from Mr. Dwight Morton on behalf of the Nevis Cooperative Credit Union, while the vote of thanks was delivered by Mrs. Sephlin Lawrence Director of the Social Security Board.

 Among those present at the ceremony was attended by the Hon. Hensley Daniel, the Hon. Carlisle Powell, the Hon. Dwight Cozier, the Hon. Patrice Nisbett, Mrs. Georgette Hanley Acting General Manager of the Nevis Credit Union, Mr. Recaldo Caines legal representative of the NCCU and Mr. Steve Wrensford, Deputy Director of the Social Security Board.