BASSETERRE, St. Kitts — The Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) Project, will enable culture in St. Kitts and Nevis to transcend generations, according to Minister of Culture, the Honourable Jonel Powell.

Minister Powell’s commented during Phase Four St. Kitts and Nevis Internal Cultural Heritage (ICH) Awareness Campaign, “Seminar for Policy Makers and Community ICH Stakeholders St. Kitts and Nevis UNESCO Capacity Building Project entitled “Strengthening Inventory Preparation Capacity for Implementing 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage in St. Kitts and Nevis” on February 24.

“Throughout the Federation there is evidence of mingling and intertwining of various cultures and traditions,” said Hon. Powell. “This is not only with our Caribbean neighbours like Guyana, the Dominican Republic, and Jamaica, but from international cultures like the Chinese and the Indians.

“These non-nationals practice their culture, adhere to their principles and traditions and all aspects of their living,” he said. “In this paradigm, it becomes critically important for us to not only be aware of our own culture and heritage, but for us to continue to live it, practice it, preserve it, and indeed pass it down from generation to generation.

“If we do not do this, our cultural identity and uniqueness would not only be diluted, but it would gradually become obsolete,” said Powell. “As fragile as intangible cultural heritage is in the face of growing globalization it is an important factor in maintaining cultural diversity.

“An understanding of the ICH in different communities across the Federation helps with intercultural dialogue and encourages mutual respect for other ways of life and living,” he said. “That is why the last two years or so we have had teams, some 14 of them, going out into the communities to do research and to interview you the man of Phillip’s Village, the woman in Butler’s, to gain much insight.”

According to the convention text, intangible cultural heritage’ means “the practices, representations, expressions, knowledge, skills – as well as the instruments, objects, artifacts and cultural spaces associated therewith – that communities, groups and, in some cases, individuals recognize as part of their cultural heritage.”

“This intangible cultural heritage, transmitted from generation to generation, is constantly recreated by communities and groups in response to their environment, their interaction with nature and their history, and provides them with a sense of identity and continuity, thus promoting respect for cultural diversity and human creativity,” the text stated.

In 2018, St. Kitts and Nevis was the first country in the English Speaking Caribbean Community to successfully apply for the project.

Minister Powell pledged the Federal Government’s support to the continuity and longevity of the Secretariat that has been established within the Department of Culture to carry out the project.

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BRIDGETOWN, Barbados — After an extremely difficult year in which the economies of its 19 Borrowing Member Countries (BMCs) contracted by 12.8 percent on average due to the onset of Covid-19, the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) is projecting an average gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 3.8 percent in 2021. However, this projection, made in Part 1 of CDB’s Regional Report: 2020 Review and 2021 Outlook, released today, is clouded by the ongoing uncertainty, caused by the global pandemic.

“The pandemic has underscored the importance of building economic and social resilience,” said CDB President Dr. William Warren Smith. “We can only reduce the susceptibility to external shocks when we accelerate the diversification of our economies; broaden our productive base; and take appropriate measures to build competitiveness whilst providing adequate safety nets to protect our most vulnerable groups.”

In 2020, the majority of BMCs registered double-digit declines in GDP. Countries with significant tourism industries, such as The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Cayman Islands, Dominica, and Grenada, were hard-hit by a more than 70 percent drop in overnight visitors in 2020, which spilled over to affect other economic sectors. An increase in agricultural production in Jamaica could not prevent the economy shrinking by 10.4 percent . Agriculture in Belize was affected by a severe drought from the previous year, and then a reduction in tourism-related demand. The economy contracted by 13.3 percent.

Guyana was the only economy to record economic growth (26 percent ), solely due to the start-up of its first oil production. However, growth was lower than expected due to lower global oil prices. Declining oil prices also caused economic contraction of 11.1 percent in Trinidad and Tobago. Guyana also saw mixed performances in agriculture – sugar production fell while rice production rose. In Haiti the pandemic affected manufacturing supply chains. This compounded the effect of social unrest on the economy early in the year.

Across the Region, the fall in economic activity led to a steep decline in government revenues. At the same time governments increased expenditure to support health sectors, and to provide social support and economic stimulus. Primary fiscal balances worsened in every BMC, averaging -4.1 percent of GDP compared with -1.3 in 2019. Increases in unemployment rates were recorded in many countries, including The Bahamas, Belize, Cayman Islands, Grenada, and Jamaica, and are expected in most others. Unemployment rates were generally higher for women and for young people.

In 2020, debt rose in every BMC except Guyana. The regional debt-to-GDP average moved from 66.5 percent to 79.5 percent . In Barbados debt reached almost 150 percent of GDP. While regional debt is projected to continue rising to 81.5 percent of GDP in 2021, debt-to-GDP ratios are expected to fall in seven countries, with the steepest decreases in Barbados by 8.3 points to 141.2 percent and in Jamaica by 6.7 percent to 97.4 percent .

While the bank does not expect a return to 2019 tourism levels this year, tourism-dependent BMCs will experience some economic recovery, led by Anguilla, where GDP is expected to increase by 10.9 percent . This recovery is underpinned by a gradual return of tourists, which is expected in the fourth quarter of the year, and focused efforts to roll out mass vaccination programmes throughout the Region. However, recovery is subject to risks, such as new waves of infection and possible new variants of the virus, and widespread availability of vaccines for some countries.

Expected oil price increases along with production expansion should contribute to projected GDP growth of 8.4 percent for Guyana in 2021. Higher oil prices will also support modest economic growth of 0.3 percent in Trinidad and Tobago.

When the pandemic diminishes, countries must continue to address the enormous economic challenges that confront the Region. Accelerated programmes to strengthen macro˗fiscal frameworks and broad-based structural reforms are required to address the development constraints limiting productivity and growth.

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CHARLESTOWN, Nevis — The Ministry of Human Resources in the Nevis Island Administration has announced that the Government of India is conducting a series of short training online courses under the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) Programme.

The ITEC programs are diversified in areas of:
1. Solar energy technologies;
2 Water transmission and distribution engineering;
3.Policies on biomedical devices;
4.Large data analytics for policy planners;
5.Data analytics for beginners;
6. Finance for non-finance background leaders;
7. Financial inclusion and development;
8. Entrepreneurship and small business development trainers/promoters;
9. Institutional planning and management for heads of educational institutions;
10 Management systems;
11. Promotion of start-ups in healthcare sector; and
12. Laboratory quality management systems and internal audit.

Interested persons must register online at least four days before the start of the course at https://itecgoi.in/e-itec.

Courses begin as early as March however, the commencement date for each program differs.

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BASSETERRE, St. Kitts — The Team Unity Cabinet of Ministers met on Monday, February 22, at the Ministry of Finance Conference Room, under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Dr. the Honourable Timothy Harris. Several issues affecting the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis were deliberated on.

• The National COVID-19 Task Force gave its weekly briefing to the Cabinet where the usual update on statistics with respect to infections, recoveries, and deaths locally, regionally, and internationally was given. Apart from the customary update on statistics, the Cabinet was advised about the detailed plan for the rollout of the COVID-19 immunization programme to be launched on Monday, February 22, 2021, at the Newtown Dental Clinic. Four health centers on St. Kitts and three on Nevis were identified for the vaccination rollout. The health centers on St. Kitts are the Basseterre Health Center, the Sandy Point Health Center, the Newtown Health Center, and the Tabernacle Health Center. On Nevis, they are the Charlestown Health Center, the Gingerland Health Center, and the Combermere Health Center. Additionally, the Task Force shared with the Cabinet that a private sector entity was offering physical space and human resources in the vaccination rollout process, and support in diagnostics going forward. The phasing protocols according to the WHO (World Health Organization) were explained to the Cabinet. Cabinet members were willing and ready to participate and accept the COVID-19 vaccine. The Task Force also informed the Cabinet of several stakeholder meetings which were to take place during the upcoming week, one at the Ross University Veterinary School of Medicine (RUSVM) campus and the other at the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) Headquarters.
• Cabinet approved one submission dealing with parliamentary matters.

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