PAM plan to send home sugar workers immediately, labeled “completely heartless”
 |
| St. Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister , Dr. the Hon. Denzil L. Douglas (c) assists his Minister of Agriculture, Hon. Cedric Liburd (r)in witnessing the MOU signed between himself and the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Natural Sweet of Canada, Mr. Johnathan Chin (l). Photo by Erasmus Williams |
BASSETERRE, ST. KITTS (JULY 22ND 2004) – St. Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Dr. the Hon. Denzil L. Douglas, has described as “completely heartless” plans by the opposition People’s Action Movement (PAM) to close down the sugar industry immediately without first finding alternative employment for the thousands of persons who make a livelihood from it.
Speaking at a signing ceremony on Wednesday for the establishment of a US$90 million project that will see the cultivation and commercialisation of Stevia, as a viable industry by the NaturalSweet Corporation of Canada, Prime Minister Douglas, noted that while the sugar industry has been making losing money for several years, real people make their livelihood and feed their families from it.”
“We have persevered because we recognise that employed in the sugar industry are real people who are confronted on a daily basis with the demands of life. They have to eat; they have to clothe themselves and their children. They have to live like all of us and we recognise that it would be extremely heartless to just simply close down the industry and put thousands of people out of work,” said Prime Minister Douglas, who made no direct reference to recent remarks by the political leader of PAM that they would close down the sugar industry immediately upon taking office.
Dr. Douglas said: “When you consider that for every person directly employed in the industry, you have at least four other people. You are talking about 6,000 people who are directly and indirectly making a living from the existing sugar industry despite it is a losing industry.”
Prime Minister Douglas said that it is necessary and expedient to embark upon a new initiative in the diversification programme that will present “a smooth transition from the sugar industry as we know it today and historically and thus witness a total absorption of all of the workers in the sugar industry.”
He said that the sugarcane industry which has been the main stay and backbone of the St. Kitts and Nevis economy for the past 200 years has been threatened with extinction and the dictates of the New World Order and the provisions of the World Trade Organisation have indicated that small island states “no longer can enjoy the protected and guaranteed markets in Europe and will now have to compete with sugar producing giants like Cuba Brazil, Mauritius, Thailand and other countries.”
“This level-playing field concept combined with the lack of hitherto preferential market access have resulted in increasing marginalisation of small islands states including St. Kitts and Nevis,” said Prime Minister Douglas, who pointed out that it has not been easy for the local industry which has realised millions of dollars in losses annually.
He confirmed that the Government of St. Kitts and Nevis has entered into a partnership with Natural Sweet Corporation of Canada to develop a pilot project of 50 acres of land at Ogees and subsequently expanding to other areas during the course of operations,
 |
| St. Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister Dr. the Hon. Denzil L. Douglas; Chairman and CEO of NaturalSweet Corporation, Mr. Johnathan Chin; Vice President of NaturalSweet, Mr. Michael Beck; St. Kitts and Nevis' Honorary Consul in Toronto, Mr. John Allen and Agricultural Officer at the St. Kitts Sugar Manufacturing Corporation (SSMC), Mr. Conrad Kelly. Photos by Erasmus Williams |
“The Government of St. Kitts and Nevis welcomes a project of the scope and magnitude of the Stevia Development Project. Through this initiative, the Government is confident that our partnership in development will engender the development of a strong lucrative relationship and a competitive and sustained Stevia industry in the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis,” said Prime Minister Douglas.
He noted that the cultivation, production and commercialisation were labour intensive – a concern that his Labour Government has had in the eventual loss of the sugarcane industry.
Dr. Douglas in welcoming the multi-million dollar project said his St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Party Government is “confident that our partnership in development will engender the development of a strong, lucrative relationship and a competitive and sustained Stevia industry in the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis.”
Prime Minister Douglas noted that NaturalSweet Corporation already has a market in China and other Asian nations and thus St. Kitts and Nevis would be able to access the largest market in the world.
In welcoming the NaturalSweet Corporation management team to St. Kitts, Prime Minister Douglas hoped that “all our dreams will become a reality and the benefits redound to the successes and enhanced lifestyles of all our peoples.”
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Canadian company, Mr. Johnathan Chin said some 300 persons will be employed in the first 12 months of operation.
