Services as an area of economic activity have always been of considerable importance, but nevertheless have not been a topic of serious and consistent policy-making in St. Kitts-Nevis. A change of attitude has taken place in the Federation since the closing of the Sugar Industry and the move to Tourism and Services. This has been fuelled in part by the decisive push by the industrialized countries, led by the United States of America, to use the Uruguay Round of international trade negotiations to bring international trade in services under the disciples of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) which is now replaced by the World Trade Organization.
It seems also to be propelled in part by the growing awareness in many developing countries, such as our own, that in era of rapidly changing technology and of transformation of production structures, the prospects are not very bright in the unfolding world economy for many of the staple commodity exports on which developing countries (including our own) have traditionally relied for its export earnings.
I believe very strongly that trade in services is one of those areas in which St. Kitts-Nevis is better served if we deal with the outside world as a group (that is the government and the Chamber of Industry and Commence) in partnership with the CARICOM, rather than individually. In practical terms, this means that this group should move expeditiously to establish free trade in services regionally and internationally, and pursue this positively.
St. Kitts-Nevis must start positioning itself to secure viable niches in emerging international markets like China for services. I expect that even in St. Kitts-Nevis, along with other like-minded developing countries, succeed in securing a breathing space to allow for consolidation of sensitive areas in our services sector, our economy will nevertheless be constrained, overall, to operate in a more liberalized system of international trade services.
I believe that in this context to hold our own in services for regional and international markets, we must consciously target the creation of cadres of high-level professionals in the new technologies in computer science, telecommunication, informatics, international finance, and with the capacity to understand and operate in an increasingly complex and sophisticated international market place. As in other areas, this perhaps points to new demands that must be placed on our tertiary education system; that is the Clarence Fitzroy Bryant College should up-grade its academic programmes from diplomas and associate degrees to full degrees - Bs, BA MSc, MA etc. I also think that we need to take a serious look at the standards and viability of the University of the West Indies (UWI), the efficiency of its delivery and the costs of its operations, and move towards having our own UWI campus in the Federation.
In all this I think it particularly important to be conscious of those circumstances in which Kittitians and Nevisians abroad provide rich potential markets for which St. Kitts-Nevis entrepreneurs can provide certain services. Already, enterprising business groups in the Federation have been established, such as TDC, Horsford, St. Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla National Bank, St. Kitts-Nevis Credit Union to name a few, where there is a concentration of Kittitians and Nevisians. I believe that, once it can be demonstrated that these operations function in a manner that produces real tangible developmental benefits for the Federation, appropriate incentives should be devised to encouraging Kittitians and Nevisians in the Diaspora to avail themselves to the services provided.
