BASSETERRE, St. Kitts, Jan.11.18 – THE Government of St. Kitts and Nevis has acknowledged that they were not ready to accept ownership and responsibility for the Eco-park, but the Republic of China on Taiwan, will maintain the facility until such time that the government sees fit.
The park, which is a joint facility between the local government and the Taiwanese people, was slated to be handed over to the government last year.
Since its opening in 2014, the park is a well-known tourist attraction, highlighting local agro-tourism.
At a ceremony to hand over a lab to the Agriculture Ministry in Needsmust today, Taiwan’s Ambassador to St. Kitts and Nevis, His Excellence, Chiou Gow-wei handed over a cheque for the sum of US$241,000 to Minister of Agriculture, Hon. Eugene Hamilton for maintenance of the facility.
The Minister, while delivering an address at the ceremony, confirmed that the government should have received the park in March last year, but indicated that they were not ready to do so.
“We were not ready for the handing over in 2017. And I want to thank the Ambassador; because when we spoke to the Ambassador, we were just not ready [and] he said just put something together and I will appeal to my people in Taiwan.”
According to Hamilton, that appeal was successful, as they funded the facility’s operations throughout 2017 and again in 2018, with the Federal Government eyeing 2019 as the takeover period.
That time period, the Minister outlined would allow the government to get itself ready to deal with the operations of the park, since they have commissioned two Ministries - Tourism and Agriculture - “to work together to produce a strategic plan for the eco-park.
Hamilton explained that he understands that a number of private entities are interested in the park, but that would not stop the two ministries from fully managing it.
The view of the government is to make the facility financially sustainable without the support of the Taiwanese.
