BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - PRIME MINISTER of St. Kitts and Nevis and Minister of Finance Hon. Dr. Denzil Douglas has once again given his support to the Beacon Heights Residential Development Project and is confident that it would be a remarkable success.
He made this endorsement after noting a three-percent rise in construction in 2011 during his weekly radio programme ‘Ask the PM’.
The Prime Minister said that the Project has the probability of doing the nation a great deal of good, as there are as much opportunities available to the individual as there are for Social Security and the economy.
"Permit me here to reiterate something that I have said before…Beacon Heights has tremendous potential for job creation, for stimulating the economy, for providing a healthy return on investment for Social Security. In other words, for advancing the social and economic interest of this Federation," the Prime Minister stated.
He went on to state that the Project would remain an important one for his administration, noting that the outcome of the Project would see the Federation's confidence in it restored.
"It remains and will remain a priority project for my government and it will without a doubt prove to be an undertaking of which every man, woman and child in St. Kitts and Nevis will be justifiably proud," said PM Douglas.
The Beacon Heights Residential Development Project is the St. Kitts and Nevis Social Security Board’s (SSB) first residential initiative and involves the construction of 191 houses on 80 acres of land at Dewar’s, just outside Buckley’s Site in Basseterre.
In December 2008, the contract for the construction of these homes was given to Construction Technologies Limited (CONTEC) with a projected target of completing the first 10 by the end of June 2011.
PM Douglas had previously endorsed the Project after controversy struck when the deadline was not met although the construction company was allegedly paid some $49M by Social Security.
The public learned of it through a leaked memo purportedly written by a Director of Social Security, which addressed concerns on how contributors’ money were being spent and a number of prominent citizens and organisations called for the Board's resignation.
