By: Spokesman Newsroom
BASSETERRE, St. Kitts (Wednesday 6th July 2022) — Under a St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Party (SKNLP)-led government, the current Poverty Alleviation Programme (PAP) will not end but will be improved upon, including increasing monetary support according to the needs of households as well as providing other means and opportunities for wealth creation and empowerment. So explained SKNLP Leader Dr. Terrance Drew when he appeared on the ‘Let’s Get Real’ Facebook talk show on Tuesday 5th July 2022, in shutting down rumours that Labour would end the PAP.
“I want to say to the people of St. Kitts and Nevis that the St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Party will not end the intention of what the PAP is. We had a programme called MEND — Mold, Empower, Nurture, Direct — and we are going to challenge the PLP who has suggested that we want to end PAP. Tell them that we started the PAP but we didn’t call it a poverty programme. And now we’re saying we’re going to mend the PAP,” Dr. Drew stated. He explained the MEND approach: “You will get the necessary funding to lift you out of poverty but we will not just give you the funding alone. That family might require $1,000 to lift out of poverty, that family might require $1,500, that family might require sending the child to a private class because they need that extra help, that family might require getting a laptop and internet service so that the children themselves can get a proper education.”
The SKNLP Leader, who was raised by a single grandmother and partly a single mom, stated: “I understand what families need from my own experience and upbringing. We’ll help them to live above the poverty line and create opportunities for them so that one day they would be in a position to continue and would not need the assistance of a government for all of their lives. We will be looking to ensure that the economy doesn’t just look good on paper because we have surplus after surplus. We want to ensure that the economy is working for people, putting money in people’s pockets and ensuring that people have good places to live, that they have healthcare for their children, energy, water, so that they can live a life that they will be pleased with.” Similarly, the SKNLP has publicly spoken about the importance of providing opportunities to empower individuals, rubbishing rumours that the Peace Programme will end under their administration.