BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – PRESIDENT of the St. Kitts and Nevis Chamber of Industry and Commerce, Damion Hobson yesterday made public his organisation’s position on the future of the People Empowerment Programme (PEP).
“One of the revenue drains that we have seen in the last two to three years is the PEP. It is bleeding the public purse. Urgent reform is required before it is too late,” Hobson said during his presentation at the 2015 National Consultation on the Economy held yesterday (Oct. 22) at the Marriott Resort.
He however declared out that the concept of PEP is laudable if its focus is to provide short term opportunities of on-the-job training and development for both young and unemployed people.
Referencing the International Monetary Fund’s latest Report, Hobson said there were 3,300 people on the PEP as at March this year.
He pointed out that the IMF Report stated that the cost of that amount of people on the programme had accounted for about three percent of the Federation’s Gross Domestic Product for 2014.
On that premise, Hobson said that using even the basic minimum of EC$1,300 per month, it is obvious that the programme is not sustainable.
Hobson said: “The IMF has placed the monthly salary figure at $5M or $60M annually,” adding that not only is there a financial problem but also a social issue, because it would not be easy to suddenly release over 3,000 people into the ranks of unemployment.
To lend further credence to the position that the CIC had taken, Hobson declared that the PEP was misused and abused, “but it is also true that some have made the best of the opportunities and are truly interested in making a difference in their lives and becoming productive contributors to the human capital pool”.
In an effort to find creative remedies to craft a new model for the PEP, the CIC President suggested that a joint approach should be taken. This approach, he intoned, would involve discussions which should be led by the Ministry of Finance and his organisation.
The People Employment, an initiative of the Rt. Hon. Dr. Denzil Douglas-led Administration, was launched in December 2012 under the theme “Enriching Livelihoods, Improving Productivity’.
It was designed to ensure that young people in the Federation are equipped with the necessary knowledge and skills to make them more marketable and employable, as well as to assist them with their personal development and to alleviate unemployment among the youth population.
