Last Updated on April 28, 2020, 8:22 AM AST by Anthony Morris
The political opposition, St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Party (SKNLP) which expects to win the next general elections has established an Economic Recovery Advisory Council (ERAC) that will commence its work immediately.
“This initiative provides another vivid demonstration of the vision and commitment of the St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Party towards building resilience into the economy of St. Kitts and Nevis. Our NextGen SKN team wants to hit the ground running, with great urgency from our first day in office, in a manner that would make life more affordable and less stressful for our young people, all families and all businesses,” the SKNLP National Political Leader, the Rt Hon Dr Denzil L Douglas said in a statement.
The former prime minister said that despite the setbacks and fear caused by the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, the St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Party is ready to seize the opportunities upon which the foundation of a new post-COVID economy can be laid for the betterment of our people.
The Economic Recovery Advisory Council will comprise experts, thought-leaders and professionals in relevant areas of economic and social reconstruction.
The Council will provide monthly written reports on the progress of its work to the executive of the St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Party and the future NextGen SKN Labour Administration leading up to the Federal election, which must take place no later than August 2020. The National Assembly will dissolve automatically on May 14, unless it is dissolved sooner by the outgoing Prime Minister, Dr Timothy Harris.
The Economic Recovery Advisory Council is tasked with:
(1) – reconnecting and realigning the local economy with the global tourism, trade and investments markets at the earliest possible time.
(2) – Resuscitating and growing the main drivers of the national economy – Tourism, Manufacturing, Construction and Financial and other Services in order to put people back to work as quickly as possible.
(3) – Identify and invest in opportunities for further economic expansion and diversification based on the new norms and imperatives of the post-COVID-19 environment including inter alia, Agriculture and Food Security; ICT and Digital infrastructure; Comprehensive Primary Health Care and Universal Public Health Insurance and NextGen Education.
(4) – Guide, channel and monitor foreign direct investment into public sector projects that will generate economic growth and yield exponential development dividends.
(5) – Facilitate and stimulate bottom-up approaches to small and medium enterprise development in ways that would incentivize and reward our risk-takers and enhance their viability and competitiveness and create jobs.
(6) – Restore St Kitts and Nevis Citizenship-By-Investment Programme to global competitiveness.
(7) – Create an institutional framework for harnessing the full spectrum of economic benefits that the Diaspora can bring to bear in St. Kitts and Nevis in the areas of remittances; direct Investments; human capital transfers (knowledge, skills, ideas, contacts and technology); philanthropic contributions; capital market investments; tourism; job creation; business development and Innovation.
(8) – Optimize the quality and delivery of our public services to ensure maximum impact and efficiency and that will enhance the ease-of-doing-business in St. Kitts and Nevis.
Anthony Morris covers stories related to politics and regional developments. His in-depth reporting about governance and reforms makes him stand out in regional journalism, with a deep analysis of political trends and their impact on Caribbean communities.
