BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - PRIME MINISTER Hon. Dr. Denzil Douglas has given residents an early Christmas gift with his announcement of a double salary for civil servants, a waiver on the fuel surcharge and the duty-free importation of paint.
The Kittitian leader made these promises and more during a national address aired last evening (Dec. 7) on ZIZ television. In explaining the rationale behind these new initiatives, Douglas said the effects of the global economic crisis had forced his government to think of additional alleviation measures.
“I am pleased to announce that my government will pay a double salary to public servants in December of this year...this bonus payment will also be made to government pensioners and to workers in public corporations.
“We expect that the payment of the bonus will boost economic activity throughout the Federation. It is my hope that this double salary will cause our business sector, this Christmas, to be as generous to their employees as possible,” he asserted.
Stressing that there was “a need” to put more money in the hands of residents, Douglas revealed that, beginning in December, the fuel surcharge imposed by the Electricity Department would be waived entirely, as would all duties and taxes on the importation of paint by households.
According to Douglas, these concessions were made possible due to the economy’s robust performance throughout the year. He explained that a primary surplus of EC$162 million (10.7 percent) of GDP was initially budgeted for 2009, but based on the fiscal performance to date, that projection had been raised to a primary surplus of EC$171.8 million (11.4 percent of GDP).
However, residents eager to peruse next year’s budget will only be able to do so after general elections (constitutionally due in mid-March) are held. Douglas remained coy about a possible polling date, but did give a preview of his government’s 2010 budget should his St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Party (SKNLP) claim victory.
“We are determined that the people who have been allocated land under the Special Land Initiative must be assisted in building homes if they so desire. Hence, we will accelerate the provision of infrastructure to the allocated lands and we will give the landowner access to the financing that they need to construct their homes. We will also devote considerable human, technical and financial resources to crime prevention and control, health promotion, and human resource development including technical and vocational training.
“We will build a new pier at Port Zante to carry the number of cruise visitors to one million and we will pursue a comprehensive Basseterre Redevelopment Programme that would transform Basseterre into the leading attraction for tourists coming to the Caribbean. During the course of next year, we will also unveil a comprehensive environmental strategy that would build on our current activities to develop alternative sources of energy and give St. Kitts and Nevis a special niche in environmental tourism,” he revealed.
Douglas also spoke of a measure that he called “dear to his heart” - a new proposal that would give each schoolchild in the Federation a laptop by 2010.
The Prime Minister of 14 years assured that the national economy is one of the “most vibrant” in the Caribbean, and that government expenditure is generating the returns required to pay its debts. He stressed that the SKNLP leadership could be trusted to keep national development on the steady path that it is progressing.
“The public debt which a few years ago was approaching 185 percent of GDP has now fallen to some 165 percent of GDP, and we are confident that we will keep it on a downward trajectory over the medium term.
“The leadership that my Labour Party offers this country can be trusted in difficult times to provide the economic vision as well as the social safety nets required for building our economy while protecting all of our people, but especially those who are most vulnerable.
“Our very survival as a nation is at stake. This is not the time to experiment with the untested or to grope in the dark behind new and untried leadership. We must consolidate our gains and move forward with the secure hands of Labour at the reins,” Douglas added.
