CHARLESTOWN NEVIS (January 01, 2007) -- Premier of Nevis the Hon Joseph Parry expects a year filled with challenges but was confident that with cooperation and hard work could be overcome. He made the comment while he delivered his televised New Years message on NTV Channel 8 on Sunday December 31, 2006, to usher in 2007.
The New Year will have its challenges but we are confident that we can overcome together working with your support and your cooperation, 2007 will be a great year for the people of Nevis. Pray for us, work with us and let us have one united country, he said.
He addressed key areas including education, sports, agriculture, health, tourism, crime and police which would receive major attention.
According to the Premier, the Nevis Island Administration (NIA) under his watch, had committed itself to delivering the promises of the Nevis Reformation Partys (NRP) Manifesto entitled The Peoples Agenda and reiterated NRP led Administrations promise to work with the people of Nevis sincerely and at all times.
Regarding Education, Mr. Parry said he would like to see many more students prepared and allowed to write the overseas examinations Caribbean Examination Council (CXC) and the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination (CAPE) and that those students who were still young and well behaved but had not done well in the exams be allowed to repeat the 5th form and given the opportunity to write the exams again.
We will all benefit in the long run. I will put my support behind this endeavour. I do not want our young people on the road when they can benefit by having another year in school, he said.
He referred to two policy decisions that the Administration had implemented recently with regard to teenage mothers who are allowed to resume their education after confinement and students with dreadlocks are allowed to attend school without having to cover their heads, to keep its commitment to provide education for all.
Mr. Parry noted that the Administration planned to pursue quality education to all students; cater to all students with special needs; involve parents to a greater degree in the education of their children; address the problems of gangs, indiscipline and violence in a new way and re-establish good values and standards in schools on Nevis.
Also in education, he said that an already established Advisory Board would examine the delivery of education on Nevis and make recommendations to Cabinet on the way forward in the Administrations quest to establish a comprehensive education policy. It would seek to prepare the islands youth particularly boys, with the requisite knowledge, skills and attitudes for the workplace.
He said given the number and range of programmes to be undertaken in education the year ahead would be exciting and challenging.In the area of sports, Mr. Parry said the government was committed to making sports available to young people as a means to draw people together and to help young people to channel their energies into positive experiences.
The Premier also made reference to the people empowerment programme which would generate major social transformation in Nevis. He explained that his Administration was of the view that the best way to tackle social problems was to focus its activities and programmes at the community level and thus the reason for the Social Action Programme that was launched recently.
This programme seeks to facilitate participatory community-based, self-reliant and sustainable action programmes aimed at reducing isolation, while strengthening the bond between government and the people and to effect meaningful social change throughout the communities of Nevis. No longer will our community centres be used mainly as hurricane shelters. This year 2007, they will be vehicles for community action and development, he said. In the New Year Mr. Parry said greater emphasis would be placed on agriculture with a short to medium term focus to significantly reduce the food import bill. He noted that the Administration had recognized that a critical area of meaningful economic development was food security and therefore they would offer all the necessary support to the farmers and fishers of Nevis in an effort to produce locally more of the food consumed on the island.
Your government will provide farmers with land. We will also assist them as follows: expedited land preparation; acquisition and sale of familiar varieties of seeds and chemicals; improving the physical plant and services at the Marketing Division; securing better prices for local produce. Indeed following negotiations with the Four Seasons Resort, farmers have received an additional 15 percent for their products effective from 10th November, 2006. As part of the diversification of this sector, farmers will be encouraged to experiment with new crops, use new methods and of course incorporate technology in their operations, he said.
Mr. Parry announced that construction of an agro-processing centre at Cades Bay is expected to begin 2007. He said the project would, for the first time, enable Nevisians to have access to a high class facility which would bring some diversity to the Agricultural Sector and to develop stronger linkages with tourism.
He encouraged all persons who were interested in Agro-processing and Agro-business to make maximum use of the facility and the Administration would provide training so that people were equipped with the necessary skills to make that sector a success. Meantime, Mr. Parry noted that the Administration had also recognized the difficulties faced by crop farmers who had to contend with stray animals including donkeys, sheep, goats and pigs. He gave his assurance that the matter would be given urgent attention in 2007.
For the benefit of livestock farmers who suffered loss from dog attacks he urged owners of stray animals to be more considerate and to take the necessary measures to ensure that their animals did not cause stress to others.
In the area of tourism, Mr. Parry said it would continue to be Nevis main foreign exchange earner in 2007 as he spoke of new private projects about to unfold in the sector.We anticipate that a very high end operator will begin construction in Nevis in 2007. Other high end operators have expressed interest in Nevis and we will be negotiating with them and reporting to you accordingly. In the meantime, the Inn at Cades Bay will be refurbished and upgraded into a condominium type hotel and the Carino at Hamilton Estate Development is now projected to have 120 rooms when completed. Mount Nevis will commence an expansion program in January; work on a Villa project will start at Paradise and the Herbert Beach area in the first quarter of the new year, he said.
Mr. Parry explained that the Administration had recognized that with the expansion of the Tourism Sector, there was great need for additional infrastructural development and that was the reason why the NIA had aggressively and systematically pursued development in water, roads and electricity.Notwithstanding, on the issue of the expected increase in the electricity tariff structure at the end of January, Mr. Parry ~~Adz:Right~~explained the importance of the pending surcharge which was unavoidable but said some measure of relief would be put in place.He explained that in the New Year, the Nevis Electricity Company Ltd. (NEVLEC) would receive a loan 0f $29million from the Caribbean Development Bank. The loan would facilitate the purchase of new generators; the expansion of the electricity Plant at Prospect and the construction of a new commercial building in the Pinneys area.
According to Mr. Parry, associated with these projects, was the increase in tariffs and the fact that the cost of electricity today was much higher than what obtained in the past. Last year the commercial sector was asked to pay their portion of the tariff however, he said, as of January, domestic consumers would make the first payment of direct contributions in accordance with the tariff rate and at the end of June a second and final increase would be imposed. He reminded consumers that increase in tariffs was nothing new but in the past, the increases had been imposed on consumers in the absence of any announcements or explanations. He said his Administration had taken the position to sincerely outline the reasons behind the increased tariffs to consumers.Notwithstanding, he said provisions had been made to assist the consumer with reduced consumption through the assistance of the Government of Cuba and the possible alternate sources of energy.
I must also say to you that the Government of Cuba has offered us a number of economy bulbs, these bulbs save electricity and keep the cost of electricity down. Late in January or early in February we will get a shipment of these bulbs that will be made available to the people of Nevis. The People of St. Kitts and the people of Nevis would be benefiting from this exercise.
I must also say to you, that we are experimenting with geothermal energy and we are hopeful in the next few years we are able to provide some electricity from our own geothermal source. That will indeed bring the cost of electricity down. In the mean time I am appealing to everyone to bear with us as we go through this difficult period, he said.
In the area of health, Mr. Parry said because his Administration believed that, health care was important to the development of Nevis and the Governments overall strategy of people empowerment, its investment in health care would bring significant returns in terms of the competitiveness of the island. He said the Administration was seriously considering the possibility of establishing a health insurance scheme particularly to assist persons who had to travel overseas for medical attention.
Mr. Parry said in 2007, there would be a focus on the upgrade of the health centres; increase in staff at the Alexandra Hospital and awareness and prevention. Other health issues including renal care; the early detection of prostate cancer and services to stabilise persons who need overseas medical attention which included persons who suffered from the Bends would also be addressed.
In July he disclosed there would be a health conference held on Nevis organized by Nevisian doctors at home and abroad. The aim of the conference would be to highlight hypertension and diabetes, the main health problems on the island.
The Premier took the opportunity to address the police on Nevis and noted that the NIA would continue working closely with the police and have been working closely with the Minister of National Security to ensure that some of the problems and concerns expressed by the police on Nevis would be dealt with. In the New Year we will be working with the police to improve their situation and we will be seeking to have more power to deal with police and policing on the island of Nevis, he said.
