BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - DESPITE the continued recession, many businesses on St. Kitts have managed to weather the storm and, according to their level of activity, had a somewhat successful year.
The year 2011 was marked as milestones for a few businesses, many of whom celebrated quite a number of years of operation within the Federation.
The St. Kitts Nevis Anguilla National Bank celebrated their 40th anniversary and to commemorate this milestone, held 40 different activities that spread throughout the year.
St. Christopher and Nevis Social Security Board marked their 15th anniversary of Self-Employed Coverage with the Board engaging in a number of activities during the month of July under the theme “Sustaining the Self-Employed through Guaranteed Benefits.”
The Development Bank of St. Kitts and Nevis celebrated their 30th year of operation and as part of its celebration, held a Street Bazaar/Market Day. A portion of Central Street was lined with tents that were occupied by the Bank’s business clients. They displayed their products and services; sold to the public, distributed flyers, brochures and booklets with information.
Small business owners have voiced their distress over the hard time that they are experiencing due to the current economic crisis. Although some have recorded reasonable success, they spoke of the many challenges with which they are faced. According to them, a strong indomitable spirit is not enough. The challenges, they said, are great and they are not operating on a level playing field.
The year for the business world began with the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank, reporting on the Balance of Payments Statistics for 2010, predicted that economic growth in the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU) would show marginal improvement in 2011.
The Customs and Excise Department was ranked as number one in the Organization of the Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) and CARICOM sub-region and number 39 among 183 economies with regard to efficiencies of trading across borders by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the World Bank.
In early January, Predeler Mason of Parsons Village was announced the winner of LIME’s ‘Live for Free’ Christmas promotion that was held in December of 2010. The self-employed wife spent 2011 living free of paying bills as LIME 'took the tab' and paid them for her.
Controversy struck when the Government announced that a hefty number of businesses were collecting Value Added Tax (VAT) but were neither filing nor paying the collected tax to the Inland Revenue Department. However, this situation was soon rectified.
Small businesses in the Federation breathed a sigh of relief in mid-January when it was announced that a range of those businesses would be granted concessions on import duty. These businesses included small manufacturers, services-oriented businesses, information and technology-related businesses, and heavy equipment operations.
In late January, the St. Christopher and Nevis Air and Sea Port Authority (SCASPA) announced that that Department made a profit in the last quarter of 2010, something that had not been achieved in over a decade.
On January 31, thieves broke into S. L Horsford Automotive Sales, Spares and Service on Wellington Road, removed a number of batteries and radios and damaged the windows of some of the vehicles in the process. That was the second break-in for the month.
In early February, the TDC Group of Companies announced that Glenville Jeffers was appointed as an Executive Director of the Company. It was around this time that the Company also made the decision to close their Sandy Point Branch due to low financial returns.
Hugh Vaughan drove away with the 2011 Suzuki Swift, valued at EC$60 000 compliments Digicel as well as one year free insurance from Nagico Insurance Company Limited.
In an effort to provide additional benefits to its members, the St. Kitts Co-operative Credit Union in collaboration with its service providers 4 C’s, in March, increased the coverage on its ATM service. Any member travelling throughout several Caribbean islands can now access their funds using the SKCCU Debit Card without any hassle.
After investing in an on-going international training programme for its operations and support staff, LIME achieved Platinum Partner Status from Avaya - a global leader in enterprise communications systems, software and services - under Avaya’s Connect Partner Program.
This accreditation means that LIME is now able to supply its customers with business communication solutions based on the following Avaya Products: Avaya SME, unified communications and data solutions as well as to provide sales support with accredited engineers.
Nearing the end of March, ECCB held a Trainer of Trainers Workshop in Money Management geared towards maximum learning effectiveness involving persons in managerial positions at financial institutions.
It was also around this time at the end of the month that Clear Harbor, a call center situated within proximity of the RLB International Airport, unceremoniously closed their doors to business at approximately 3:00 p.m. without prior notice to some 131 employees.
April saw the doors opening to a new dental clinic, New Era Dental, located at Unit Four of the TDC Downtown Plaza.
In May, LIME announced the appointment of new Marketing Manager, Darien Belle, former Director of Market Research at the St. Kitts Investment Promotion Agency (SKIPA). It was also in this month that LIME announced the update of their network from 2G technology to EDGE in all markets, except Jamaica, where a 3G upgrade was already completed.
May also saw the appointment of a new Executive Director, Calvin Cable, of the Chamber of Industry and Commerce (CIC).
Nagico celebrated their seventh anniversary in style with a Customer Appreciation Day in both St. Kitts and Nevis.
Also in May, the first in a series of media seminars was staged to promote a better understanding and appreciation of the operations of the ECCB and its role in the development of the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU). In addition, the ECCB sought to enable reporters to build a foundation of economic and financial knowledge on which they could draw when communicating complex financial and economic issues to the public.
With diabetes and hypertension widely recognized as two (2) of the leading public health threats facing any nation; the City Drug Store (CDS), in June, started offering free examination services to the public.
A team of trained in-house professionals, on a daily basis, conduct screenings and provide results, offer useful advice and information, as well as medical practitioner referrals where necessary.
The FirstCaribbean International Bank announced that it was being co-branded under the banner of the Canada Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC).
The new name will be CIBC FirstCaribbean International Bank. The Bank gradually transitioned into its new identity over the months as the CIBC FirstCaribbean brand was introduced to operations across the Caribbean region.
Similarly, The Royal Bank Of Canada (RBC), a financial institution, announced the commencement of the re-branding of the Royal Bank of Trinidad and Tobago (RBTT) Financial Group with RBC Royal Bank as their retail banking brand.
Fans of the clothing line iRepSKN now have the opportunity to shop in person for official St. Kitts-Nevis patriotic clothing and accessories that they adore, as the much anticipated grand opening of the iRepSKN store took place on in June. The store is located at Porte Zante (next door to Scoops).
For the business world, the first half of the year was a bit slow, but as the year progressed, the pace picked up rapidly with countless donations, community-based activities and much more.
SKNVibes will provide this information in a subsequent article.
