Basseterre, St. Kitts, December 06, 2017 (SKNIS): Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Dr. the Honourable Timothy Harris, on Wednesday, December 06, during the Sitting of Parliament introduced the Appropriation (2018) Bill, 2017, of just over EC$700 million, under the theme: “Putting People First in the Pursuit of Sustainable Development”.
“All of the major initiatives sponsored and implemented by my Team Unity Administration over the last 34 months have been centered on making life better for our people. Many around the region marveled at the long list of accomplishments of my administration in as much as we have in so short a time,” said Prime Minister Harris. “Every citizen of this Federation can count on my administration to continue to do what is best to support growth and development of our people and our nation.”
Dr. Harris noted that it was imperative to place increased focus on the people of the nation as they are the country’s main resource.
“As we consider the theme for the 2018 Budget, we were not only concerned with environmental sustainability of our Federation and our ability to mitigate and adopt to climate change, but most importantly, how these and other related issues are impacting the lives and livelihoods of our beloved people,” said the finance minister. “One of the fundamental issues that we were and are determined to address in 2018 is the modernization of our education and training system to prepare our people for a modern work environment.”
He said the government will continue to play its part in ensuring that all stakeholders benefit.
“We are committed to assist our micro-small and medium-size enterprises even further,” he stated. “And in the interest of our people, we will advance improvement in social development, health services, access to good, quality and affordable housing, and the formulation and update of supporting policies and legislation to facilitate reform actions in a number of areas.”
The Appropriation (2018) Bill, 2017, is a Bill to provide for the services of Saint Christopher and Nevis for the financial year commencing 1st January, 2018, and ending on 31st December, 2018.
The finance minister used the occasion to express his profound appreciation to the staff and the entire government who worked diligently day in and day out to ensure that the preparations of the 2018 Budget Estimates were successful.
The introduction of the Appropriation (2018) Bill, 2017 came just minutes after the laying of the Estimates of Expenditure, which was approved by the Honourable House.
