BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – ON the 25^th Independence Anniversary of the Federation of St. Christopher and Nevis, nationals and residents were proudly reminded of the development, progress and success that the nation has seen and were also urged to resolve to commence work on the development of those “intangible assets” which are the keys to the nation’s future success.

The pronouncements were made by Prime Minister of the Federation, the Hon. Dr. Denzil Douglas while delivering many described as an “inspirational” and “captivating” speech at the 25^th Independence Parade held at Warner Park yesterday (Sept. 19).

The Nation’s Political Leader said according to the United National Development Index, “We are the leading nation in the Eastern Caribbean sub-region; we rank among the top third of all nations of the entire world,” and noted that the Federation has done well for itself. However, he added, the future would be better shaped and prepared for success if “powerful intangible assets” were developed.

“People of St. Kitts and Nevis, I ask you this question on this auspicious occasion, ‘what does the future demand of us?’ If I may answer, I would say the future demands of us vision…vision and determination. The future demands of us self-awareness; self-awareness and self-mastering.  The future demands of us courage, conviction, competence and of course compassion. Nothing less! I stress nothing less will do. At this stage of our development, we must learn, all of us place as much emphasis on developing our intangible assets as we have been on developing our very important tangible assets that is our physical infrastructure. We must do so because it is the powerful intangible assets like discipline and determination, like initiative and perseverance, like fair-play and integrity, like respect for self and respect for others, that will determine the future and the fate of this nation of ours.”~~Adz:Right~~

Outlining some of the Federation’s tangible achievements, Douglas said, “We have been very successful at building schools across the length of our proud Federation; we have been very successful at establishing hospitals and health  centres throughout St. Kitts and Nevis to serve as oases of preventive and curative care; we have been very successful at distributing hundreds of acres of land to the Federation’s farmers; [and] we have been very successful at establishing important educational facilities like the Clarence Fitzroy Bryant College and the Information Technology Center."

With the first 25 years of our development as a nation behind us and with our eyes on the future, the Prime Minister reiterated the need for the development of the Federation’s intangible assets.

“We are at a point in our history where focusing only on physical, material and economic advances will not do. We must now also stress and develop the powerful intangibles that define a people as well. So we must now, like all responsible peoples of the world, begin to look inward, inward to assess, not only who we are as a people but who and what we want to be and what it will take for us to get there. It is these powerful intangibles that determine which societies realise their potential…its people truly become masters of their own destiny. Almost 70 years ago, Maslow noted that human beings of all cultures concern themselves first and foremost with survival, with physical safety, with their material well-being. He further noted that once these needs have been met generally however, we begin to have higher-order needs; for example, the need for community, the need to have one’s skills, competences and character recognised; the need to be thought of highly by one’s own fellowmen.”

Douglas was careful to note that the promotion and development of these intangible resources is a collective venture, which is especially important in the molding and stimulation of “innovative young minds so that they will become equipped to seize the new opportunities being created by our evolving economy”.