February 26th, 2021 -- The St. Kitts- Nevis Chamber of Industry of Industry and Commerce its annual AGM on Thursday February 25, 2021. The Business Meeting was held in the Conference Room of the Caribbean Confederation of Credit Unions (CCCU) where the main order of business was presentation of the Auditors Report and the Financial Statements for the financial year ended December 2020.
The Meeting also conducted the Election of the Board of Directors re-elected to serve for 2021 to 2022.
President – Mrs. Giselle Matthews, Vice President - Mrs. Natalie Kelsick-Marshall, Treasurer Mr. Michael Davis - Treasurer; Mr. Faron Lawrence – Immediate Past President; Miss. Kara Daly – Director Mr. Steve Tyson –Director, Mr. Earle Kelly - Director; Mr. Donald Thompson – Director ; Miss. Sonya Parry – Director; Ms. Patricia Walters – Director; Ms. Nathalie John – Director; Mr. Desroy Tate - Director, Representative for the Manufacturing Division;
The Board of Directors welcomed two members who were elected at the AGM. They are Ms. Nathalie John – CEO of the Dreamy Group of Companies and Mr. Steve Tyson – Chairman of the Nevis Division of the Chamber.
Three new companies received their Certificate of Membership at the Meeting:
Quality Diagnostic Laboratory Inc, MASA Marketing of St. Kitts ltd and Binnacle Marine Ltd operating as Budget Marine.
In her presentation, the Re- Elected President thanked CIC Members for their commitment to the core obligation as spelled out in the Chamber’s Mission Statement: "To improve the standard and quality of life of all people of St. Kitts and Nevis”, despite the unforeseen and unplanned challenges they faced during 2020 due to the Covid-19 Pandemic.
The theme for the meeting was “Collaborating for Success”, which reflects the approach taken by the CIC to forge greater relationships with members, non-members and the Government and Public Sector in order to work towards one goal of protecting not only the health of the nation but providing sound businesses advice and measures to help businesses to reopen and remain open despite the sluggish economic climate.
She informed the meeting that according to the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB), the Federation's Economy has been severely impacted with expected to decline by 15.2 percent in 2020. The ECCB has reported that a partial recovery is anticipated in 2021, which will not nearly return the Economy to where it was in 2019 (pre-Covid-19).
Additionally, the Government's Fiscal balance deteriorated drastically in 2020 as revenue loss continued to decline with the closure of the borders in March 2020, the shutdown of the Tourism Sector which accounts for over 28% of GDP as a result of international travel restrictions, and adherence to national public health protocols.
The President encouraged members to continue the focus of the overall objective of providing the avenues for business continuity stating that “despite the impact of the Covid-19 on our businesses, we will continue to work responsibly and smart and be vigilant.in the process. 2020 has been a challenging year, but I am confident as we continue to collaborate between our newly formed Private Sector Liaison Committee and Public Sector through the Covid-19Task Force we will all succeed in the end.
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