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Governor General, His Excellency Dr. Sir Cuthbert Sebastian (background) delivers the Speech from the Throne. Foreground is Speaker of the National Assembly, the Hon. Marcella Liburd. (photo by Erasmus Williams). |
BASSETERRE, ST. KITTS, DECEMBER 22ND 2004 (CUOPM) The Government of St. Kitts and Nevis intends to expeditiously implement policies aimed at privatization, commercialization and overall public sector asset management.
Announcing the policies of the new St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Party Government in the Speech from the Throne, Governor General, His Excellency Dr. Sir Cuthbert Sebastian said the Denzil Douglas Administration will consult with the public concerning a privatisation and commercialisation strategy in the first quarter of next year with a view to finalising the strategy and proceeding with its implementation by the middle of 2005.
Sir Cuthbert said the strategy will clearly identify the assets recommended for privatisation, commercialisation or more effective management and will set out the methods of privatisation or commercialisation that would be deployed in respect of each asset, and the expected time frames for the various activities that would be necessary to ensure successful implementation of this programme.
The assets or enterprises that will be proposed for privatization or commercialization will include CEMACO, the Quarry Operations, the Development Bank, Governments ownership interest in Cable and Wireless and in the Cable, and the Electricity Service, said the Governor General.
He said Government has been making great progress in upgrading the electricity distribution system and in achieving greater reliability in the generation of electricity. The Crown Agents/Bank of Nova Scotia project for electricity and water development is proceeding quite smoothly and will make a huge difference in the reliability of these services. We are satisfied that with the changes and improvement that we have made to the system, we will, in the upcoming months, be able reduce even further, if not eliminate entirely, the incidence of power outages, said Sir Cuthbert.
He said the Government is convinced that the electricity would be best run as a business enterprise instead of a Government Department. We will work towards commercialising this operation within an 18-month period with a view to privatising it thereafter. We will start with the establishment of a limited liability company that will take over the assets of the Electricity Department during the course of next year, the Governor General said.
He told Parliamentarians and the Nation that resource mobilisation and enhanced efficiency are not the only objectives of privatisation as the Government also views privatisation as an important tool for further empowering its citizens.
He noted that in 1995, the people of the island of St. Kitts, in particular, were still viewed as landless and today, about ten years afterwards, thousands of persons now own real property and over 1,600 low-income families now live in their own homes through the direct involvement of the Labour Government in the housing market.
The next stage of the empowerment process is to give our people a share- of the enterprises in St. Kitts and Nevis and to foster a culture of share ownership among our people. My Government therefore intends that in the privatization process, our people will be given first priority in the allocation of assets and shares of public sector enterprises earmarked for privatization, said the Governor General.
He said the Government also expects that the privatisation strategy will strengthen the regional programme for capital market development by increasing the number of companies listed on the Eastern Caribbean Securities Exchange, and by fostering even greater participation of nationals in capital markets.
My Government is aware that this will require enhanced public education in financial matters, and we propose to work closely with the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank, the Eastern Caribbean Securities Exchange and the other Governments of the Currency Union to implement a wide range of public education and awareness programmes for the people of the region including the citizens and residents of St. Kitts and Nevis, said Sir Cuthbert.
