BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – A communiqué from the Minister of Information, Senator Nigel Carty, stated that Deputy Prime Minister and Minister with responsibility for Social Security Hon. Sam Condor said that five properties at Beacon Heights were sold and the project is progressing smoothly.
This information, Carty said, was revealed by Condor when the Cabinet met on Wednesday (Apr. 11).
“Minister Condor was pleased that things were progressing smoothly at Beacon Heights and that the recent issues surrounding the project had now subsided. In particular, he indicated that a number of matters which had been raised by the Chamber of Industry and Commerce (CIC) were satisfactorily addressed and responded to by him as Minister responsible, and that there was no further major issue reported by stakeholders,” the communiqué read.
It also stated that “five properties at Beacon Heights had been purchased and that there was now increased interest in the project. As matters were progressing smoothly, the Hon. Minister foresaw the completion of the landscaping component by May of this year and the complete build-out of the project over the next seven to 10 years”.
The Deputy PM revealed that the project was going to benefit from a major promotion exercise to be hosted in Canada around the time of Whit week in May and that further interest is likely to be generated thereafter.
The communiqué further stated that Minister Condor informed the Cabinet that “a policy decision was taken that going forward the Beacon Heights project would be funded by the receipts from sales by clients’ deposits, as this was the most appropriate strategy at this time taking all relevant matters into consideration”.
The Beacon Heights Residential Development Project is the St. Kitts and Nevis Social Security Board’s 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.
Prime Minister Dr. Denzil Douglas had 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, including the CIC had called for the Board's resignation.
