CHARLESTOWN, Nevis — Hon. Spencer Brand, Minister of Public Works and Physical Planning in the Nevis Island Administration (NIA), says the recently purchased milling machine is a sound investment and a significant asset to the Public Works Department (PWD).

Minister Brand’s remarks came during a site visit on February 8 to the road resurfacing work underway on the Island Main Road starting from Horsfords Building Centre to the roundabout at Delta Gas Station.

“The public will recall that last year the Nevis Island Administration purchased a milling machine…I would say it was money well spent,” said Hon. Brand.

The NIA acquired the Wirtgen Cold Milling W150CF milling machine for US $515,000.

Brand explained that because the machine digs up the old asphalt, mills or grinds it up, and that material can be re-used, it will save the government a considerable amount of money. He added that the machine cuts back on the time it takes the road crew to carry out their work.

“The good thing about this machine is it will allow the Nevis Island Administration and Public Works Department to recycle this material,” said Brand. “I recognized that every piece of work we had to do over we had to use all new materials, and I felt that this machine would help us to mill this material, send it back to the asphalt plant, recycle it and use it again. The idea [too] is that this milling machine would help us to speed up the process of our road maintenance program.

“It would be saving the taxpayers of Nevis significant sums of money throughout the years,” said Brand. “It would also help us with the expeditious process of our road maintenance program.”

Brand explained that since the machine was purchased in the fourth quarter of 2020, PWD staff had undergone virtual training on its operation. A representative from the company that supplied the heavy equipment was on hand on February 8 to provide in-person training.

Jevon Williams, Director of the Public Works Department described the present training.

“We are seeing the culmination of a live training exercise that has been going on for the past week with a representative from the supplier of the milling machine,” said Brand. “As part of this training we thought it was important to do an actual on-the-ground project to culminate the training.

“This section of the Island Main Road is a section that has plagued us over an extended period of time,” he said. “It has reached to a point where the life of the asphalt has almost been extinguished and we thought it was a good idea to use this section of road as top priority for the first major project of the milling machine.”

Brand called on road users to cooperate with the department and adhere to the traffic guidelines as it pertains to the re-routing of traffic in the area for the duration of the project.

The resurfacing of the Island Main Road from Horsfords Building Centre to the Rams Shopping Complex, and Pump Road from the Roundabout to Club Trenim, will be undertaken in two phases over a two-week period ending February 19.

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CHARLESTOWN, Nevis — The progress and quality of work on the construction of the Technical Wing at the Gingerland Secondary School has received high marks from Hon. Troy Liburd, Junior Minister of Education in the Nevis Island Administration (NIA).

“I was very pleased to hear that we can expect the building to be somewhere close to completion by the commencement of the new school year,” said Hon. Liburd. “Our students who attend Gingerland Secondary School can look forward to sometime in the near future or sometime in the next upcoming school year to start inhabiting and using this building.

“I know that all of the things that are going to happen here in this building when it’s complete they are only going to be for the benefit of our students and for the benefit of the island of Nevis,” said Liburd. “I am very, very pleased with the progress. I am pleased with the workmanship and the level of work that I have seen. The level of work that I have seen is top quality. I must say that I am very, very happy about what I have seen here.”

Also on the tour were Kevin Barrett, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education in the NIA; Dorson Ottley, TVET Officer in the Department of Education on Nevis, and Lester Blackett Project Manager.

Meanwhile, Oswald Wilfred, Construction Manager for Lefco Equipment Rental and Construction Company, contractor for the project acknowledged that construction was moving along well and gave an update on the status.

“So far in relation to progress, I could say that we are progressing fairly well,” said Wilfred. “We hope to increase the progress as we move along to the finishing stages of the project which is happening soon, probably in February.

“We definitely feel that we should be able to bring in the project at the recommended time probably a little pass it but according to construction you normally have certain difficulties that you have to encounter,” said Wilfred.

Darius Comberbatch, Engineer for FDL Consult Inc. in St. Lucia, consultants for the project noted that their main responsibility is to supervise the contractor’s construction work. He explained that according to the plan, progress at this stage is around 60 percent. However, they had fallen just short of that target.

“We are at around 56 percent, which is around 4 percent light,” said Comberbatch. “We believe with the contractors executing the works and continued progress we should have the project completed before the start of the next school year which will be to everyone’s benefit.”

The project is part of the US $8 million St. Kitts and Nevis Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Enhancement Project, an initiative of the Government of St. Kitts and Nevis funded by the Caribbean Development Bank, the Federal Government and the NIA. It is being executed by the TVET Secretariat in the Ministry of Education in St. Kitts.

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BASSWTERRE, St. Kitts — Improving regional air and maritime transportation is crucial to advancing regional integration if the Caribbean Single Market and Economy (CSME) is to operate optimally, said officials working in St. Kitts and Nevis’ Regional Integration and Diaspora Unit (RIDU).

“We can’t get the CSME operational to the optimal point without dealing with transportation,” said Samuel Berridge, Assistant Secretary in the RIDU in the Office of the Prime Minister.

Berridge said the issue of transportation has to be dealt with in earnest, however, there is a price tag attached.

“It is a cost, and somebody will have to bite the bullet – either the public or private sector,” said Berridge. “We would need a public-private partnership but then the public should not bear all the cost,” said Mr. Berridge.

His Excellency Lionel Sydney Osborne, Head of the RIDU head and Ambassador to the Caribbean Community and OECS Commissioner shared similar sentiments and raised a very important point concerning air transportation.

“Is it a public good, or is it a profit-making exercise?” asked Ambassador Osborne. “If it really is a public good then one has to understand subsidies that are going to be required if we really want to move persons effectively, quickly… from one point to another. I think it is something which will have to be discussed.”

In terms of rapid ferries, Ambassador Osborne, and Assistant Secretary Berridge shared similar sentiments noting that while some countries report success stories with sea transportation it has proven to be very difficult for others.

“The issue is public-private partnerships. The private sector wants to gain the profits, but they want to spread the cost,” said Berridge. “The same discussions which we have with LIAT in terms of spreading the cost now, Chapter six of the Revised Treaty of [Chaguaramas] speaks about transportation policy. You need to make it more effective, and then there are some less economic points.”

RIDU officials reiterated the importance of improving regional transportation and noted that it will require multi-sectoral support.

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BASSETERRE, St. Kitts — His Excellency The Governor-General Sir S. W. Tapley Seaton, GCMG, CVO, QC, JP, LL.D has dispatched the following message to Her Excellency Dame Cecile La Grenade, GCMG, OBE, Ph.D, D.Sc, Governor-General of Grenada.

“As Grenada celebrates the 47th Anniversary of its Independence, on behalf of the Government and People of Saint Kitts and Nevis and on my own behalf, I am pleased to extend to you and the Government and People of Grenada greetings and congratulations.

Please accept, Your Excellency, every good wish for your personal well-being and for the continued progress and prosperity of the People of Grenada.

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PARIS — The Federation’s permanent delegate to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Ambassador H.E. David Doyle, conferred this week with his counterpart, H.E. Ambassador Vishal V. Sharma, representing the Republic of India, in an exchange of views on UNESCO activities of mutual interest.

Discussions focused on India’s quest to secure a seat on the influential UNESCO World Heritage Committee, a body on which St. Kitts and Nevis sat for the past four years, and now enjoys the privilege of being the only Small Island Developing States (SIDS) member.

Both envoys agreed that India’s accession to this committee would strengthen the Commonwealth presence on the committee, currently comprising Uganda, Australia, South Africa, and the Federation.

India, a member of UNESCO since 1946, “has much to offer the UNESCO heritage community,” noted Ambassador Doyle, with such world-renowned sites as the Taj Mahal, Agra Fort, and Jantar Mantar (Jaipur), making up its 28 world heritage monuments and sites.

The envoys discussed the latest information technology (IT) techniques pioneered by India in creating virtual museums tracing important historical events in the country’s past. Given St. Kitts and Nevis’ work in reconstructing its own historical legacy, and updating its federal world heritage tentative list, it was felt that certain best practices employed in India could be meaningfully used in the Federation.

Ambassador Sharma, who was accredited as India’s permanent delegate to UNESCO in October 2020, had previously worked as part of the Project Team implementing the Museum on Prime Ministers at Teen Murti Bhawan, New Delhi, under the Ministry of Culture.

Underlining the importance of both countries being a member of the Commonwealth, Ambassador Doyle noted “the renewed interest with India’s presence at UNESCO to strengthen the Commonwealth Group to UNESCO”, a dedicated UNESCO committee comprising permanent delegates of the 54 UNESCO member states making up the Commonwealth. A large proportion of this Group is small island developing states seeking to have their voice heard at UNESCO, and at other important international organizations, and representing 20 percent of the UN membership.

The envoys agreed to work together in re-energizing the Commonwealth Group to UNESCO.

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