BASSETERRE, St. Kitts, July 09, 2020 (Press Unit in the Office of the Prime Minister) – The people-centered Team Unity administration has pledged to do even more in its second term to uplift the people of St. Kitts and Nevis and provide additional opportunities that will undoubtedly improve the quality of life for citizens and residents.
This was one of six pledges made by the Government of St. Kitts and Nevis as outlined in the Throne Speech delivered by His Excellency the Governor General, Sir S. W. Tapley Seaton G.C.M.G., C.V.O., Q.C., J.P., L.L.D., at the opening of the new Parliamentary session today, Wednesday, July 08, 2020 at the St. Kitts Marriott Resort Ballroom.
One such manner of empowering the citizenry identified by the Dr. the Honourable Timothy Harris-led Team Unity administration is that of homeownership.
“Attention has been paid to improvement in the housing stock in the country and family-centred programming. As such, in this new term the public can expect my Government to embark upon the following: further improve the housing stock in the Country through construction of condominiums on East and West Streets in Newtown, for example [and] continue construction of decent, low income housing throughout St. Kitts and Nevis,” His Excellency the Governor General stated in the Throne Speech.
Over the last five years, hundreds of homes were delivered to deserving individuals, close to 500 families assisted benefited through the HELP programme and hundreds more assisted through the First Time Homeowners Programme. The government employee mortgage financing (GEM) programme benefited dozens of civil servants and more than 2,000 households were provided assistance from the widely acclaimed Hurricane Rehabilitation Programme.
Within the next five years, the Government also intends to create an additional 2,000 jobs to help boost the financial security of more families. “in order for families to be more financially secure.” Moreover, greater emphasis will be placed on improving the delivering of social services to vulnerable populations such as children, the elderly, as well as physically and mentally challenged individuals.
Throughout its 2020 election campaign, the Team Unity administration signaled its intention to find new ways to nurture the creative spirits of the nation’s youth. That pledge was reemphasized in Wednesday’s Throne Speech.
The speech noted that the Government plans to “improve opportunities for young people to develop their talents in culture and the performing arts; construct a multi-purposed complex to address the talent formation needs of our young people in various sporting disciplines [and] construct a national theatre for the performing arts.”
To advance this agenda, the second term Team Unity administration created the Ministry of Entertainment, Entrepreneurship and Talent Development.
That ministry is being led by the Honourable Akilah Byron-Nisbett.
