Basseterre, St. Kitts, September 6, 2022 (SKNIS): The Cabinet of Ministers met on Monday, September 5, 2022, under the chairmanship of Prime Minister the Honourable Dr. Terrance Drew. During their meeting, the Cabinet of Ministers discussed several matters of national importance and took several significant decisions to benefit citizens and residents of the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis. The decisions taken are as follows:
- The Cabinet received a presentation from the management of the St. Kitts Electricity Company (SKELEC) and has immediately approved the purchase of additional generation capacity to enable SKELEC to alleviate some of the load shedding that is currently being experienced by the general population due to reduced capacity at the Needsmust Power Plant. The Cabinet has also agreed to facilitate the purchase of dual-fuel, high power density generating sets (GenSets), in order to resolve the problem in the long term. Notwithstanding these generator solutions, the Cabinet continues to explore various renewable energy projects.
- The Cabinet has approved gratuitous payments for employees who were unjustly terminated from their workplaces for not taking the COVID-19 vaccine, and who have not benefited from severance payment. Further, a comprehensive review of the Protection of Employment Act has been mandated in order to strengthen the protection of workers.
- To help address the long-standing water shortages in the country, the Cabinet has approved a project to build two (2) partially solar-powered desalination plants. The project is funded by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and is part of a renewable energy project for the Caribbean with similar projects implemented in Barbados, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and the Bahamas.
- The Cabinet has approved to grant economic cost to all nationals studying at the University of the West Indies in all disciplines, thereby reversing a policy of the previous administration.
- The Cabinet reviewed and discussed several significant investment opportunities which will redound to the benefit of the people of St. Kitts and Nevis.
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