Basseterre, St. Kitts, May 08, 2018 (SKNIS):The formal meetings of the Cabinet took place on Monday, April 30, and Tuesday, May 01, 2018. The meeting was chaired by Prime Minister Dr. the Honourable Timothy Harris. Here are the salient matters that were discussed at that meeting:
- Cabinet reviewed the objectives and overview of two Bills to be debated in the upcoming Parliament on Thursday 3rdMay: The Freedom of Information Bill, 2018 and the Data Protection Bill, 2018, which both had their first reading on 15thSeptember, 2015.
- Cabinet received an update from the Minister of Public Infrastructure, the Honourable Ian Patches Liburd, on the construction of the second cruise pier, particularly as it relates to the start of dredging of the sea bed.
- Cabinet discussed in general human resource management issues across the Civil Service in terms of staff restructuring to improve output and efficiency.
- Cabinet addressed the Brazil-Guyana Partial Scope Agreement and received a report from the Minister of International Trade, the Honourable Lindsay Grant, on the matter. The objective of the Brazil-Guyana Partial Scope Agreement is to foster bilateral trade flows by the exchange of tariff preferences between the Parties, cooperation on trade matters and increased participation of the private sector. St. Kitts and Nevis signed the agreement in 2012.
- Cabinet received a delegation from USAID (United States Agency for International Development) and the United States Embassies in Barbados and Jamaica, who discussed with Cabinet the recently signed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for programmes to empower young people and to complete the work that needs to be done with the Juvenile Justice Act.
- Cabinet received a report from the Attorney General, Senator the Honourable Vincent Byron Jr., on the project that has to do with the proposed annex to the Magistrates Court in Basseterre.
- Cabinet further engaged in the discussion to do with the relocation of the vendors and bar operators on the South Friars Bay.
- Cabinet agreed to accede to the NAGOYA Protocol. The Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization (ABS) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) is a supplementary agreement to the Convention on Biological Diversity. It provides a transparent legal framework for the effective implementation of one of the three objectives of the CBD: the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising out of the utilization of genetic resources. The Nagoya Protocol on ABS was adopted on 29 October 2010 in Nagoya, Japan and entered into force on 12 October 2014, 90 days after the deposit of the fiftieth instrument of ratification. Its objective is the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the utilization of genetic resources, thereby contributing to the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity.
- The Minister of Public Infrastructure updated the Cabinet on the ongoing issue to do with water shortages in certain communities and what measures are being taken to address this.
- Cabinet approved the sale of land for development purposes by local entrepreneurs.
