BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – AS the New Year begins, Prime Minister Dr. Timothy Harris has outlined several plans to ensure that citizens and residents of St. Kitts and Nevis remain safe and have an improved year against that of 2020.
From building a safer and stronger nation to providing expanded opportunities for the business community, the Prime Minister highlighted how he plans to rebuild the nation’s economy on the back of COVID-19 virus.
“The COVID-19 pandemic continues its impact on our Federation and the rest of the world. Nevertheless, this year we will rebuild our economy. We will rebuild our workforce and redouble our efforts to keep the Federation healthy and safe. All of us must come together to restore our economy and our standard of living to its pre-COVID-19 levels and above.
“Part of our plan will see a significant improvement in the delivery ethos of our people. Our employees in the public and private sectors must not only render loyal, but efficient, effective and courteous service,” explained Dr. Harris in his New Year’s Address to the nation.
Additionally, Dr. Harris reminded of the pay-for-performance within the public sector, which is expected to see the Government revisiting the Regulations and Laws governing the public service.
“High performance must become the norm, and sterling performance must be identified and rewarded so others can be motivated to follow.
“Our future will be stronger and safer as we enhance the quality of our technology infrastructure and provide greater access to the benefits so derived, Dr. Harris added.
Another area of focus that he mentioned is the ICT buildout which is expected to ensure wider use in every domain and facet of society.
This initiative is being carried out with the support of The Cable and will see the provisioning of free Wi Fi hotspots in all Community Centres in St. Kitts; offering of up to 200 specially developed High Speed Internet Packages to approved entrepreneurs by the new Ministry of Entertainment, Entrepreneurship and Talent Development; and the deployment of a multi-million dollar fibre to the home network upgrade, which would result in High-Speed Internet to all households in St Kitts.
He pointed to the E-Government reform that would see the Government working to ensure the ease of payment that would assist revenue agencies, including the Customs and Excise Department and the Land Registry, to accept E-payment.
“Our Land Registry, Departments of Health and Labour will enhance their information systems, all in a thrust to make government more modern, efficient, elegant, viable and responsive to the demands of an E-society,” noted Dr. Harris.
