St Kitts & Nevis PM Harris 'reconnects' with his people in VI
Dr Harris told this news site, following the over two-hour long meeting at the Althea Scatliffe Primary School’s auditorium on Saturday October 22, 2016, that it was a very constructive and productive discussion. He noted that it assisted him to reconnect with his people, to get a better understanding of where they are at, and how they as policy makers needed to ensure that their policies are broad enough so that all of their citizens, irrespective of their location, could have equal opportunities in their homeland.
Issues such as benefitting from scholarships while abroad, housing, lands, duty-free exemptions, were some of the questions posed by the audience. The Prime Minister also updated them on the present state of affairs and what he referred to as the impressive report card that the Team Unity led administration has already been able to accomplish since it was sworn into office in 2015.
“I think these are important policy questions which now have to be addressed by the government and coming here helped to put them in focus,” he noted.
“The concerns that the people raised would be typical concerns raised by our citizens in New York and everywhere. So if we can resolve some of these issues raised then we are resolving it for a broad cross-section of our citizens. How do we ensure that as citizens they get their fair share? That is an important policy question and although I don’t have all the pieces, certainly by understanding we can get our policy advisors to begin looking at what we have,” Hon Harris added.
Helping the diaspora community to settle when they return
He said presently, returning St Kitts & Nevis nationals can get duty-free exemptions on household items and vehicles, however, the country may now need to take another look with a view of broadening that scope.
Scholarship opportunities
Another question was posed, regarding applying for scholarships while living abroad, and whether one had to be residing in St Kitts and Nevis to benefit from it. The Prime Minister informed that once the applicant provides the requisite information, that person receives a fair chance for a scholarship as another residing in the Federation of St Kitts and Nevis.
Feedback
Following the meeting, Virgin Islands News Online questioned a few persons on their thoughts of the town hall meeting.
One gentleman, who preferred to be anonymous, said the meeting met his expectations.
“Well, of course, it met my expectations because a lot of people were oblivious of things going on home and they were clarified by the Prime minister,” he said. “I think the meeting was fruitful, I think it was a good town hall meeting and the Prime Minister made it known that the country is moving on and is the number one country in the Caribbean economically.”
Another gentleman, Franklyn Caines, remarked that the meeting for him was two-fold.
“The meeting was really good, some discussions on the economy, land, housing and agriculture I think they were really good and it was the first chance I had to meet the Prime Minister. I learned some things,” he remarked.
Mr Caines has been in the Virgin Islands (UK) for the past 42 years.
Prime Minister’s schedule
So far Dr The Hon Timothy S. Harris has met with the Acting Premier Dr The Hon Kedrick D. Pickering (R7), where a number of matters were discussed, including looking at the VI’s experiences in terms of its Cruise Pier since it is about to begin construction of a second one in St Kitts.
“So we compared notes about that and other avenues,” he remarked.
Those other avenues include the state of the financial services sector and its challenges to the banking sector in the region, as well as the National Health Insurance Scheme since the twin-island state is also planning on doing something similar.
Furthermore, he informed, he had an opportunity to speak to a few potential investors who showed some interest in his country and he was able to be part of a meeting of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) which was facilitated via teleconference by the Office of the Premier.
On a lighter note, he graced the wedding ceremony of a young Police Officer from St Kitts and Nevis, who has been serving in the Royal Virgin Islands Police Force for a number of years.
This was his first visit since taking up the reins as Prime Minister and described his stay as a “busy” one.
“So I think overall it has been a very productive stay. I think we did [meet our target], we were able to connect as you see from the variety of questions that there were concerns and issues that people have,” he surmised.
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