BASSETERRE, St. Kitts — Homebuilders in St. Kitts and Nevis are strongly encouraged by Director of the Public Works Department Cromwell Williams to include a cistern or water storage tanks in their building designs to promote sustainability and address water shortages.

A cistern is a large tank or a container that is used for water storage.

The twin-island Federation and other Caribbean countries have experienced reduced rainfall over the past five years, which experts suggest is a consequence of climate change.

“You should consider it when you are building,” said Williams. “There can be no argument against that. I strongly recommend persons to give that some serious consideration – including a cistern when you are building your house.”

Williams extended the recommendation to persons that already own a house of their own. Having a backup water supply “is definitely the way to go.”

To reinforce the usefulness of a cistern, Williams referred to the implementation of a climate change adaptation project in September 2020. The project involved the installation of water storage tanks and retrofitting others in 17 educational institutions across the Federation.

Several health institutions, including the Mary Charles Hospital in Molineux, also have water storage tanks.

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BASSETERRE, St. Kitts — National Covid-19 Task Force members met on January 26 with St. Kitts and Nevis Football Association (SKNFA) executives to consult on plans for upcoming major football tournaments.

The meeting focused on the need to exercise precautionary measures in light of the highly transmissible and deadly coronavirus, especially in relation to large sporting events with massive crowds.

The SKFNA delegation was led by President Anthony Johnson; and included: General Secretary, Stanley Jacobs; Technical Director, Geoffrey Hazel; and Office Manager, Dexter Tyrell. The United St. Paul’s Football Club was represented by its President Donald Freeman.

Johnson notified the Task Force of the upcoming Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) World Cup qualifiers. There is a proposal to hold qualifying matches in the Federation in March; in June with Puerto Rico; the Bahamas; and Guyana. The Task Force was also informed of the local President’s Cup, Champion Cup, Premier Matches, and the Under-13 and Under-15 Leagues, events which should end by August 15.

Freeman, reported that the United St. Paul’s Football Club is interested in having its team, the present champion, represent the Federation abroad, but was concerned about quarantine costs upon the team’s return to the Federation.

Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Hazel Laws, said the SKNFA needs to be careful going forward with the number of persons gathered in one space at any one time. She emphasized the importance of strictly following all safety and health protocols, especially given the threat now posed by three new variants of the virus originating in the United Kingdom, Brazil and South Africa.

Dr. Laws noted that the UK variant was already present in at least three Caribbean Community (CARICOM) territories. She said that it was far more transmissible and deadly than previous strains of the virus. The dramatic rise in cases of Covid-19 in neighbouring islands was also cause for concern for our Federation, said Dr. Laws.

Minister of Sports, the Honourable Jonel Powell, corroborated what the Chief Medical Officer said. He said the Department of Sports, in collaboration with the Cabinet, recommends that football tournaments be held without spectators. He said that the Department of Sports supports the local leagues, as long as there is consistent adherence to the health and safety protocols by everyone.

“We have a situation in our country that is not normal,” said Chairperson of the Disaster Mitigation Council, Hon. Vincent Byron. “We would expect all our citizens and institutions to understand that.”

He stressed the need to restrict massive gatherings and proposed that international competitions be live-streamed in the absence of spectators.

They discussed health and safety protocols with respect to quarantine and testing, the need to carefully assess the risks associated with the local team playing in both overseas matches and those with visiting teams.

The Task Force recommended ongoing discussions with Freeman to arrive at a decision that would satisfy the health and safety of all involved and the Federation.

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CHARLESTOWN, Nevis — The International Merchant Bank will soon open its doors on Nevis, according to Nevis Premier, Hon. Mark Brantley, Minister of Finance and Foreign Investment in the Nevis Island Administration. It will be the third international bank to open on Nevis.

“As we seek valiantly in Nevis to rebuild our economy after the ravages of COVID-19, I’m pleased to announce that the Nevis Island Administration has been successful in attracting another international bank in Nevis, which brings us to three,” said Hon. Brantley. “The International Merchant Bank will soon open their doors and has already started to hire personnel.”

Brantley said this is excellent news with respect to the additional employment opportunities that will be created in the prevailing constricted job market, as a result of the negative fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic.

He noted that the established international banks, Nevis International Bank & Trust Limited, and Bank of Nevis International Trust Services, have more than 50 employees on combined staff. He anticipates the International Merchant Bank will hire a similar number.

Brantley spoke to the impact of this latest foreign direct investment venture on the Nevis economy.

“In this difficult economic environment globally, it speaks volumes that Nevis is still attractive to foreign investors,” said Brantley. “These institutions would have undergone a rigorous due diligence and vetting process before being considered.

“Their presence in Nevis adds to the appeal of Nevis as a growing financial services centre, which is well regulated and compliant with all international standards.”

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CHARLESTOWN, Nevis — Mrs. Latoya Jones has been appointed Special Advisor to the Premier of Nevis. Her duties are specific to community matters.

Hon. Mark Brantley, Premier of Nevis made the announcement at his first monthly press conference for 2021, in Cabinet Room at Pinney’s Estate on January 28.

“We have taken a decision to employ Latoya Jones as a Special Advisor to the Premier on community matters,” said Hon. Brantley. “I welcome Mrs. Jones…and hope that she will provide excellent service to the people of Nevis, as we put the community front and center, as we seek to develop and bring to the fore concerns emanating from our community.

“All the other constituencies, you will be aware, have their representative in terms of a parliamentary representative, in terms of a representative in the parliament more specifically, and I speak of course of the good people of Gingerland, the good people of St. Johns’, the good people of St. Pauls’ and the good people of St. James.

“The good people of St. Thomas’ have been without a Cabinet representative now since 2013,” he said. “Prior to that they were without a Cabinet representative from 1992, if memory serves until 2006. They have been left out for the most part, and it is our hope that having someone appointed from that constituency, someone who is active in that community, that the concerns, the needs of that community will be brought more forcefully to the attention of the government and of the Cabinet.”

Brantley added that Mrs. Jones’ duties will not be confined to St. Thomas’ but she will serve all of Nevis, a move that the people of Nevis should welcome.

“Mrs. Jones, of course, will not be restricted to St. Thomas’. She will have the responsibility to advise on matters throughout the island in terms of community, but that constituency and that community in particular.

“I think of the people of Craddock Road, the people of Jessups, the people of Barnes Ghaut and Cotton Ground, the people of Westbury, and those have been without any formal representation for a very, very, long time in Cabinet,” said Brantley. “Having someone who can come and report, direct and advise as to concerns, we feel it is an important initiative which ought to be welcomed by the people of Nevis.”

Mrs. Jones holds a bachelor’s degree in Accounting with a concentration in Finance. She graduated summa cum laude. She has been a teacher, a senior Tax Officer, an Auditor, an assistant Regulator in insurance, and her involvement in the community is very well known. She is currently President of the Rotaract Club of Nevis and has been involved in athletics and Culturama and in a host of community activities.

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By Everson W. Hull, Ph. D.

It is not very often that this author departs from the very thoughtful views expressed by one very distinguished analyst on the full range of policy issues of great national importance that affect our region.   Of special concern is the claim that:  

“…leaders and ordinary citizens in every corner of the globe exhaled the collective breath of trepidation they had held for four troubling years. …… and gave reason for optimism about the future……”

With all due respect, the empirical data does not reveal a sufficient basis for this optimism.  The World Bank and other reliable data sources tell quite a different story.  The polar extreme “lofty appeals for empathy” come into conflict with a barrage of contractionary fiscal policy actions  that will not only be harmful to the US. economy; but will yield a slew of harmful spill-over effects on St. Kitts and Nevis and the CARICOM member states whose economies are highly dependent on the performance of our hospitality centers.

Although the lofty “appeals for empathy” are necessary in maintaining the peace; they are by no means sufficient.  They have little or no effect on the little Man on the Street who is hustling daily from sunrise to sunset, trying to feed his family and make his rental payments on time.  What also matters to Joe Sick-Pack are the proceeds that derive from his work effort that allow him to proudly hold his head high and step up to the counter at Mem’s Pizzarea and proudly lay on the table hard cash in exchange for a slice of Pizza.  Cash and the varying forms of “nearly-money” are recognized, universally, by buyers and sellers in exchange for goods and services.  

It turns out that access to cash played a most important role in both the USA and St. Kitts and Nevis during the PRE-COVID-19 years of 2017, 2018 and 2019.  The US. experienced its best-ever performing years, in tourism expenditures for leisure travel.  In 2018, Americans spent an all-time record high US$186.5 billion on leisure travel.  A significant portion of the spillover benefits arrived on our shores.  In 2018 St. Kitts and Nevis stood proudly at the head of the OECS class with 1,297,385 visitors, with the dominant share arriving from the USA.  And, the number of stayovers from the USA for St. Kitts and Nevis reached 80,509 in 2019, the highest level ever recorded.

With the exception of Dominica, which was hard hit by Hurricane Maria, all other OECS member states, as well as tourism-dependent states like the Bahamas, each recorded all-time performance levels in their own hospitality sectors.  In the special case of the Bahamas, located a mere 110 miles and a 50-minute flight from Miami to Freeport, the number of tourism arrivals soared to 1,633,000 in 2018 and its tourism receipts reached a staggering US$3.383 billion.   Its stellar performance thrust the Bahamas to the head of the 34-member OAS regional class, with a per capita income of US$37,921.  

The flow in receipts from our CBI programs largely moved in tandem as investors sought a safe haven for unloading their surplus income and wealth.  In the case of St. Kitts and Nevis; we were able to provide for the welfare of our people without having to show up at a commercial bank or the IMF to borrow funds to address the high cost of minimizing the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.  Setting aside the USA and Canada, the per capita income of the Bahamas, Panama and St. Kitts and Nevis surged to the head of the class of the 34 Western Hemispheric states of the OAS.  

These unprecedented record-breaking outcomes across the tourist-centric region did not occur by accident.  These effects go beyond appeals for “Empathy”. They are the result, in substantial measure, from the expansionary low-tax fiscal policies put in place in the U.S. during the 2017 thru 2019 interval; as well as discretionary measures aimed at reducing excessive and burdensome government regulations.

Based on the campaign promises and pronouncements made by President Biden, it is anticipated that the same contractionary fiscal “punish the rich” taxes, coupled with burdensome government regulations which crippled the growth of the US economy during the earlier Biden years will be re-introduced.  During that eight-year interval, the average annual rate of growth for the U.S. was 1.6 percent per annum, the slowest rate of growth of any US presidential term in 67 years.

If the US economy is to prosper and make any contribution to the development of its neighbors         in the CARICOM region, those spillover effects must come from the two dominant sectors – household consumption expenditures and business capital investment which form the fundamental pillars that undergird the growth and expansion of the U.S. economy.  All other stimuli combined account for a mere 1.5 percent of the U.S. economy.  Any slowdown in the U.S. economy will lead to a reduction in US. expenditures for leisure travel; which will, in turn, lead to harmful spillover effects on our region.

We are to be reminded that there are 435 representatives in the U.S. House of Representatives and 100 members in the U.S. Senate.  They have been sent to Washington to “bring the bacon home”.  The U.S. does not have a strong record of support for Caribbean causes.  When the US. prospers, St. Kitts and Nevis does well.  By contrast, if we are served the same lofty rhetoric and menu of promises that are not highly-valued in exchange for money, as was dispensed in the first Biden terms,  I fear that we will see outcomes that are not very different from those that occurred under Biden’s first term.  

Biden has revealed his intent to apply the same contractionary fiscal policies that he learned during his tenure at the White House as Vice President.  I expect to see the same harmful effects on our region; unless the new president is persuaded differently and very early on.  It is not too late to change course.

• Dr. Everson Hull is a business economist.  He currently serves as Permanent Representative for St. Kitts and Nevis to the Organization of American States (OAS).  He graduated from Howard University in 1977, becoming the first-ever recipient of the University’s Ph.D. award in Economics.  For more than 20 years, he served as Adjunct Professor in the Department of Economics.  In the private sector, he has served as Senior Economist for the American Petroleum Institute, TRW Inc. and Fannie Mae.  Dr. Hull also served at the Congressional Research Service as Head of Money and Banking.  This latter tour of duty led to a U.S. Presidential Appointment as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy and Research at the U.S. Department of Labor. 

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