Five members of the Brimstone Hill Fortress National Park Society were honoured today, Thursday, November 03, 2022, for their long, dedicated and meritorious service to the management and success of the cultural organization.
The Brimstone Hill Fortress National Park Society is a voluntary organization that manages the Brimstone Hill Fortress National Park on behalf of the Government of St. Kitts and Nevis.
At an Investiture Ceremony held at Government House, Governor-General of St. Kitts and Nevis Sir S.W. Tapley Seaton G.C.M.G., C.V.O., K.C., J.P., LL. D; Former Governor-General of St. Kitts and Nevis Sir Edmund Lawrence K.C.M.G., G.C.M.G., O.B.E., C.S.M., J.P.; Mr. Kenneth Martin M.B.E., M.K.; Mrs. Gloria Wilkin and Mr. Larry Armony were conferred with the title of Honorary Governors of the Society.
His Excellency Sir S.W. Tapley Seaton was unable to attend Thursday’s ceremony.
Along with today’s honorees, the Investiture ceremony was attended by Government officials including Prime Minister the Honourable Dr. Terrance Drew; Deputy Prime Minister the Honourable Dr. Geoffrey Hanley; Attorney General the Honourable Garth Wilkin; Senator the Honourable Dr. Joyelle Clarke and Cabinet Secretary Dr. Marcus Natta, as well as President of the Society, Mr. Michael Morton C.B.E., J.P. and past and present members.
Delivering remarks on the occasion, Prime Minister Dr. Drew expressed his appreciation to the five honorees for their years of service in helping to preserve the Brimstone Hill Fortress National Park – a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
“Our Brimstone Hill Fortress National Park is known as the Gibraltar of the West Indies. When I hear the word gibraltar it conjures up notions of strength, support, steadfastness, and longevity. These superlatives more aptly describe the five honorees we are here to celebrate today. These are indeed outstanding members not only for the Brimstone Hill Fortress National Park Society but our Federation as a whole. You have made significant contributions in many spheres and are well deserving of this recognition,” the Prime Minister said.
The Honourable Prime Minister went on to speak of the significance of the Brimstone Hill Fortress National Park to the history and culture of the Kittitian and Nevisian people.
He said, “Brimstone Hill Fortress National Park is one of the most prized possessions of our beloved Federation. It is much more than a tourist attraction. It is the embodiment of our rich history and remarkable culture. So much of our ancestral heritage is cemented in this historical site. It is well admired as one of the most well-preserved historical sites, not just within the Caribbean, but if I may dear say throughout the world. The UNESCO World Heritage Convention described it as an outstanding, well-preserved example of 17th and 18th century military architecture in a Caribbean context. It is indeed an extraordinarily beautiful site and I’m sure you can sense the great pride that I have in this historical park.”
The Honourable Dr. Terrance Drew also commended the current members and donors of the Brimstone Hill Fortress National Park Society for their continued hard and tireless work “to help to enhance and maintain this historical gem.”
The Society for the Restoration of Brimstone Hill was founded in 1965.
Five Nationals Awarded Honorary Governor Status of the Brimstone Hill Fortress National Park Society
Department of Constituency Empowerment Partners With SKNFA to Promote Community Development
The Department of Constituency Empowerment and the St. Kitts and Nevis Football Association (SKNFA) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Thursday, November 03, 2022, signalling a commitment to partnering for community development and empowerment programmes through sports empowerment ambassadorship.
Minister responsible for Constituency Empowerment, the Honourable Senator Dr. Joyelle Clarke signed the MOU with the President of SKNFA, Atiba Harris and the Presidents/representatives of the 2022 Super Six Teams, namely Conaree FC; St. Paul’s FC; Garden Hotspurs; Village Superstars; St. Peter’s FC and Cayon Rockets FC.
“We are thankful that the SKNFA have willingly decided to support us and to provide that channel or that bridge between the clubs and Constituency Empowerment. Essentially we are going to provide development brands through the SKNFA and then through the clubs, first with the Super Six Teams and then, of course, with all 12 teams in the Premier Division,” said Minister Dr. Clarke. “The Prime Minister [the Honourable Dr. Terrance Drew] expressed his desire to have partnership for empowerment with the sports, in particular with football because of the number of young persons who play football and, of course, because youth could be useful ambassadors for some of the empowerment programmes that we have.”
Dr. Clarke noted that the department will focus on eight (8) empowerment areas including energy; water; food security; youth activism; education; climate action; culture and sports development.
“We do have a focus on energy, water, youth activism… and we are happy that the teams in the Super Six would be able to have a very general memorandum of understanding with us to be ambassadors for one of the empowerment areas,” said Minister Dr. Clarke.
Teams will be able to access grants in the amount of EC $10,000 among other assistance. Senator Dr. Clarke said that the grants will be used to support club development. Grants will also be made available for the empowerment agenda. There is also a “small grant” that will be provided for community activists to host events such as impromptu football festivals, or to support a community event by past footballers or a party to name a few.
The grants will be accessible through the Premier League Football Teams and then Constituency Empowerment will provide the sponsorship.
“I think that the final grant approach is very critical because usually, individuals can’t access project funding through Constituency Empowerment, but if the individual can partner with the community to access the funds, it would be good,” said the Minister.
President Harris described the initiative as extremely timely, adding that SKNFA “appreciates” the government’s “contribution.” He said that clubs have a “social responsibility and it is timely in [the sense] that we are about to take the games back to the communities.”
Prime Minister Dr. Drew Urges All to Tune in to Friday’s Sitting of the National Assembly as Four Important Bills Are Scheduled to Be Tabled
Citizens and residents are being encouraged to tune in to the live Sitting of the National Assembly on Friday, November 04, 2022, when four critical Bills are set to be tabled.
The four Bills, namely: the Companies (Amendment) Bill, 2022; the Evangelistic Faith Church Incorporation Bill, 2022; the Small Business Development (Amendment) Bill, 2022, and the Domestic Violence (Amendment) Bill, 2022, are expected to have their first and second readings on Friday.
Speaking on a radio programme on Wednesday, November 2, Prime Minister the Honourable Dr. Terrance Drew urged citizens and residents to pay keen attention to the Parliamentary session as the Bills being presented are of significant importance.
For instance, Prime Minister Dr. Drew said the Domestic Violence (Amendment) Bill, 2022 will outline his Government’s new measures aimed at combating the recent surge in domestic violence in St. Kitts and Nevis.
The Prime Minister said, “We’ll be very busy in the Parliament because there are a number of critical things that we must pass. For example, we have the [Domestic Violence (Amendment) Bill, 2022] and there are a number of critical things in there because as you know there was an upsurge in domestic violence and we said that we would move quickly to deal with it and we will deal with it. So, there are four Bills we will put forward but that one I think is the one that would maybe draw a lot of attention at this point in time.”
Junior Minister responsible for Youth Empowerment, Social Development, Gender Affairs, Aging and Disabilities, the Honourable Isalean Phillip will move the Domestic Violence (Amendment) Bill, 2022.
Prime Minister Dr. Drew will seek leave to introduce and have read a first and second time Companies (Amendment) Bill, 2022, while Deputy Prime Minister and Minister responsible Ecclesiastical and Faith-Based Affairs, the Honourable Dr. Geoffrey Hanley will move the Evangelistic Faith Church Incorporation Bill, 2022 through the Honourable House.
The fourth Bill to be tabled during Friday’s sitting, Small Business Development (Amendment) Bill, 2022, will be moved by the Honourable Samal Duggins, Minister responsible for Small Business and Entrepreneurship.
St. Kitts and Nevis Says U. S. Embargo on Cuba is Unjust and Calls for It to End
Her Excellency Nerys Dockery, Permanent Representative of St. Kitts and Nevis to the United Nations (UN), has emphatically called for an end to the embargo imposed on the Republic of Cuba by the United States of America.
While giving her maiden address to the United Nations General Assembly on the “Resolution on the necessity of ending the economic and financial embargo by the United States of America against Cuba” on Thursday, November 03, 2022, H.E. Dockery said that the embargo is damaging the economic situation in Cuba and significantly affects the standard of living among the Cuban people.
“Mr. President, we consider the financial, commercial, and economic embargo as an extreme burden on the development, well-being and stability of our brothers and sisters in Cuba, and indeed the entire Caribbean. The socio-economic impact on the economy of that Small-Island Developing State is quite profound and unfair to the people of Cuba,” said Permanent Representative Dockery. “This unjust embargo drives a stake through the heart of international law, makes a mockery of the principles of sovereignty and non-intervention that governs interstate relations which are protected by the United Nations Charter, and severely impedes Cuba’s ability to fully engage the international community, to adequately provide basic public services for its people and thereby its aspirations for meeting the sustainable development goals,” Her Excellency Dockery added.
Permanent Representative Dockery said that the “harsh economic and social conditions caused by the COVID-19 Pandemic have produced much despair among the people and have led to a new migrant exodus from Cuba.”
“That is why St. Kitts and Nevis once again calls upon the United States to end the unjust embargo. It is said that an unjust law is no law at all and in the words of one of America’s most notable founding fathers, Thomas Jefferson, the international community not only has a right to disobey it, but we are obliged so to do – for the moment, we choose only to express our righteous indignation at its imposition,” she said.
Her Excellency Dockery described Cuba as a friendly neighbour who supports countries around the world. She added that the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis has benefited tremendously.
“St. Kitts and Nevis has had a deep and enduring relationship with the Government and people of Cuba and has benefited immensely from cooperation in many areas including but not limited to health, agriculture and education,” she said. “St. Kitts and Nevis remains ever grateful that within these our United Nations there remains a space where member-states, large and small, must work to protect the interests of the global population; where small island-developing states like St. Kitts and Nevis and Cuba can continue to find a place of shelter and succour and large states could be looked in the eye and urged to act with a sense of responsibility and accountability.”
The United States maintains a comprehensive economic embargo on the Republic of Cuba, which has been in place since February 1962. The embargo prevents American businesses and businesses organized under U.S. Law or majority-owned by American citizens from conducting trade with Cuba and Cuban interests.
The Resolution was adopted with 185 Member States of the United Nations voting in favour, two (2) against and two abstentions.
MSR Media Commits to Making 35 Movies Over Five Years in St. Kitts & Nevis, Making It a Top Film-making Destination in the Caribbean The First Film is the Action Movie “fast Sea”
MSR Media has announced that it is set to produce 35 films in St. Kitts & Nevis over five years. The first film is the action movie Fast Sea, written by Sean Michael Argo and Leigh Scott, produced by Philippe Martinez and directed by Leigh Scott. Production is slated to start in January 2023 in St. Kitts.
During a meeting this week with the Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis Honourable Dr. Terrance Drew, MSR Media producer Philippe Martinez revealed that MSR Media, a SKN based company, is committed to hiring 150 people over the next four months and is finalizing the purchase of a leading hotel in Basseterre, St. Kitts, which will create 100 new jobs when the hotel reopens. MSR Media is looking to hire now 50 young persons who are college graduates to work in their film division and will be opening a new film academy in all disciplines in St. Kitts for nationals. MSR Media’s total investment in this new deal with St. Kitts will be $150 million over five years.
Christmas in the Caribbean, a romantic comedy shot entirely in St. Kitts starring British actress Elizabeth Hurley and directed by Philippe Martinez is set to premier in the United States in December.
The Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis is becoming a top film-making destination in the Caribbean thanks to MSR Media and its Chief Producer Philippe Martinez and Lee Beasley, Managing Director, who since setting eyes on the two Caribbean Islands, have been seduced by their beauty and charm and have made them their home.
Since coming to the Federation, a year and a half ago, MSR Media has produced several films including One Year Off, Assailant, A Week in Paradise, Christmas in the Caribbean and Us or Them.
In an interview with Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis Honourable Dr. Terrance Drew on Sunday, October 30, 2022, at Kittitian Hill, Mr. Martinez said:
“In the past 18 months, MSR Media has invested and produced eight (8) films in the Federation. The creation of the Ministry of the Creative Economy is a wonderful initiative by the Prime Minister and his Government that will help companies like ours to continue creating many more jobs and portray this beautiful country in our films to a worldwide audience.”
Prime Minister Dr. Drew said “We have always thought that St. Kitts and Nevis has what it takes to present itself to the world in the way that it will be presented with these movies. We are developing here what you call the orange economy where we are developing the Arts, and this definitely fits into that.”
Mr. Martinez thanked Prime Minister Dr. Drew for reopening the country and for his commitment to a diversified economy, investing in education, and for his Government’s dedication to making St. Kitts and Nevis a hub for the Hollywood film industry.
Actress Elizabeth Hurley, who was also in the interview said “What’s really important for me and for the other actors that are involved is that we really feel that we are working within communities that seem so open to have us as filmmakers, that seem to be very keen to be involved…we’ve now integrated and we have so many local people learning all the different trades, backstage, in the film and in front of the camera and that’s a wonderful thing for us to see.”
Prime Minister Dr. Drew, who was impressed with the proposals from MSR Media said “You will definitely have our support and we will develop this industry.”
Minister Douglas Lends Support to the Public Health [amendment] Bill, 2022
![Minister Douglas Lends Support to the Public Health [amendment] Bill, 2022](https://thelabourspokesman.com/wp-content/uploads/AMENDMENT.jpg "Minister Douglas Lends Support to the Public Health [amendment] Bill, 2022")
The Right Honourable Dr. Denzil Douglas, Minister of Foreign Affairs et al. has thrown his full support behind the Public Health [Amendment} Bill, 2022, which was passed in the Federal Parliament on Thursday, October 27.
“I want to commend the Government of course, before us, for taking the initial steps by bringing the appropriate legislation, especially at the height of the [COVID-19] Pandemic because I think it was absolutely necessary, so to do,” said Minister Douglas. “But I think the point that is being made in repealing is that it should have been repealed before and I support the position that has been taken by the Mover of the Bill [Prime Minister, the Honourable Dr. Terrance Drew] that the science was there and there was no need to continue this prolongation of these restrictions on people’s rights because the time had passed when we believed that natural immunity of the population was already there and there was no need to prolong it in the way it did.”
Dr. Douglas used the occasion to acknowledge the frontline workers who went above and beyond the call of duty during the COVID-19 Pandemic.
“I want to commend the frontline workers, those who went out, those who gave their lives – because some have died – and we want to, therefore, say to their families that their lives hopefully would not have gone in vain,” he said. “We insist however, that each individual must take care of his/her health. If you are on an airplane and everybody around you is coughing, get out your mask and cover your face. The virus is still there and, it depends of course on your own immune system to fight the virus that is there.”
The parliament repealed the restrictive COVID-19 (Prevention and Control) Bill and effectively signalled to the world that St. Kitts and Nevis is open and ready for business.
Strengthening the Human Resource Capacity of the Federation’s Healthcare System is Key to Improving Service Delivery
As an important part of its plans to further enhance the delivery of healthcare services across the Federation, the Government of St. Kitts and Nevis is making a significant investment in developing the skills and capabilities of the country’s healthcare workers.
On Friday, November 04, 2022, a large cohort of healthcare workers will be involved in training with officials from the Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine and CPR Solutions, which is a US-based organization authorized by the American Heart Association to provide training in a number of areas including Basic Life Support (BLS), Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS), Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS) and Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR).
“We will train 200 healthcare professionals to be certified in ACLS, PALS and BLS. These are basic certifications that healthcare professionals, especially doctors and nurses who are at higher levels, are to be trained in. We also have basic life support training as well for our healthcare workers and we’ll have healthcare workers coming over from Nevis,” said Prime Minister the Honourable Dr. Terrance Drew during an appearance on the Freedom SKN Issues programme on Wednesday, November 2, 2022.
The Prime Minister stated that a number of healthcare professionals are also set to participate in an upcoming customer service training session “because one of the issues that people have been complaining of is customer service.”
Prime Minister Dr. Drew said another important aspect of upgrading the healthcare system in the Federation has to do with filling previously vacant positions.
“While we are making the infrastructural changes, we want to make sure that we change the human capacity and take care of the human resource. So far, we now have a Director of Health Institutions—a position that was vacant for a long time. Dr. Jenson Morton has been appointed to that position. We also had an issue where we needed more help with operations at the hospital and Ms. Lindsay Francis, who has a Master’s degree in Operations, is now at the hospital. We’re also getting ready to put in a PNO, a Principal Nursing Officer, so we’re upgrading our professionals and our personnel in the healthcare field and we are also investing in their training as well,” said the Prime Minister.
Prime Minister Dr. Drew, a medical doctor by profession, ended by commending the nation’s hardworking healthcare workers, adding that, “if we give them the tools they can even improve upon what they deliver already.”
Government Focused on Making St. Kitts and Nevis a Sustainable Island State
The Honourable Dr. Terrance Drew-led Government is busy at work finding innovative ways to generate economic activity that will propel St. Kitts and Nevis on the path towards becoming a sustainable island state.
Prime Minister Dr. Drew stated today (Wednesday, November 2, 2022) that his administration inherited an economy that was too heavily dependent on the Citizenship by Investment (CBI) programme.
Dr. Drew, who also serves as Minister of Finance in the Federal Cabinet, said as a result of a lack of economic diversification under the former administration, the Federation’s economy right now is approximately 50-60 percent dependent on the CBI programme.
“What does that mean, it means that we are very vulnerable. [The economic citizenship industry] is a very fragile industry. It is even more fragile than tourism as I can say here today. There was hardly any diversification in the economy. It was as if you collected money through the CBI and you just did what you wanted to do with it, and so that has put us in a very vulnerable state that we have to quickly start to work on to get out of,” Prime Minister Dr. Drew said while making an appearance on Freedom FM’s Issues radio programme.
“We are in the red, dependent heavily on CBI and therefore we now have to chart a different course in order to make sure that St. Kitts and Nevis remains strong and viable,” the Prime Minister added.
The Honourable Dr. Terrance Drew outlined that his Government’s plans for creating a sustainable island state is being spearheaded by the recently formed Economic Council and these plans will be highlighted in his administration’s first National Budget, which is expected to be delivered later this year.
“Our Budget will be focused on the sustainable island state where we will seek to resolve a number of these issues and create a foundation which is strong to propel us forward. That is why I have put an [Economic Council] together and we met even up to yesterday [November 01] with of course persons from National Bank, Social Security, Development Bank, Inland Revenue, Treasury, Ministry of Finance and we had a consultant there who represented the data that was collected from St. Kitts and Nevis and we had other persons there as well, and that meeting was chaired by the Financial Secretary and we looked at where we are in St. Kitts and Nevis. We saw that we are down in areas while we have gone up in spending, depending too much on the CBI programme,” Dr. Drew said.
Prime Minister Dr. Drew further noted that his Government is also focused on attracting viable investment projects to the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis, and in that regard he indicated that discussions are being advanced with officials from the Africa Export-Import Bank on the possibility of establishing a fish processing facility in the Federation.
Differently-abled Individuals Applaud Government for Commitment to Improving Their Lives
Differently-abled individuals are applauding the Government for its commitment to improving the situation of persons impacted by a disability and consulting with them in finding solutions to issues they face.
On Tuesday (November 01, 2022), Junior Minister responsible for Social Development and Disabilities et al, the Honourable Isalean Phillip, met with members of the St. Kitts and Nevis Association of Persons with Disabilities and the St. Kitts Society for the Blind as well as parent/guardians and other advocates of the differently-abled.
Persons at the meeting spoke openly about many issues including housing, healthcare and insurance, job opportunities, access to public spaces, introducing/updating legislation, and more.
Shodella Taylor, a member of the SKNAPD, said that she was impressed with the Junior Minister during the engagement. She described Honourable Phillip as sincere and applauded the Government’s announcement to create a department/unit that will tackle disability issues.
“That sounds absolutely amazing,” Ms. Taylor said. “Hearing the fact that persons with disabilities will sit in [some] positions, I think that is an amazing thing to do.”
Ms. Taylor also gave the Junior Minister high praise for organizing the meeting and listening to their concerns.
Jamal Herbert, another member of the SKNAPD, noted that the meeting was very productive, and he was pleased to hear some of the plans outlined by the Government. Others in attendance also shared positive feedback.
Junior Minister Phillip said she was pleased by the interactive discussion and appreciated the “openness and honesty” of persons in attendance.
“For me, it was a fruitful exercise since I was able to find out what the common needs and challenges are for persons with various disabilities,” she said. “This was my main focus since the ultimate objective is to deliver more support and improve quality of life for persons with disabilities in St Kitts and Nevis.”
In terms of takeaways from the meeting, Honourable Phillip indicated that “the most common issues I noted include the urgent need for housing that is designed to accommodate persons with disabilities, the need for education and skills training for young persons with disabilities so they can be integrated into the mainstream workforce, and the need to adopt a National Disabilities Act/Policy so that issues around the treatment, accommodation and elimination of discrimination for PwDs can be enforced and addressed.
“I believe these are valid and feasible goals to achieve in the medium to long term. So, with the establishment of a new Ministry and unit for persons with disabilities, the intention is to dedicate more time and attention to supporting PwDs and delivering on these goals,” Junior Minister Phillip stated.
Mental Health Professional: Counselling A Start To Feel Better Action Plan
By: Spokesman Newsroom
BASSETERRE, St.Kitts (Thursday 27th October 2022)- President of the St. Kitts Mental Health Association (SKMHA), Counsellor Zahra Jacobs says counselling can be a start for an actionable plan towards feeling better.
Speaking on Freedom FM’s ‘Youth Beat’ programme aired on Wednesday 26th October 2022, she made the disclosure.
“So, the same way if…your pressure is up, you go to the doctor and look for some pointers, counselling can be a good way for you to start an actionable plan towards starting to feel better; help you think about things a bit differently so you can feel better,” she explained.
Commenting on the significance of mental health awareness by the association, she stated: “We just want to bring light to the very fact that most of us feel a little out of balance sometimes and that balance could be anything right? If you’re stressing about money, all of a sudden, your mood isn’t quite right If you’re struggling with your faith, all of a sudden, your mood isn’t quite right; you can’t make sense of things. If you’re having conflicts with family, friends, romantic relationships, that throws us off too. We could be having a career issue, a job…for young people, school might be the challenge-your homework, the SBAs, all of that throws us off balance.”
He continued: “I say sometimes when people are thrown off balance, they’re thrown off balance, they tip all the way and fall down, and that’s when we say, they [are] crazy or they need to go up the psychiatric ward but some of us are maybe not far off from that balance either, and we need a little help getting back up right. So, the same way if…your pressure is up, you go to the doctor and look for some pointers, counselling can be a good way for you to start an actionable plan towards starting to feel better; help you think about things a bit differently so you can feel better.”
The mental health professional expressed that healthy boundaries are important: “Healthy boundaries are important. No one is a super hero; you cannot be everywhere or do everything for everyone. So, before you say you are to help a bunch of people, make sure that you in your corner is fairly stable. Then listen to people…Engage people, listen to what’s going on and a lot of time we just want to talk to people to tell them how to feel, how they should be dealing with it…you might not agree with everything they say but just be present, ask questions, find out what’s going on.”
She added: “The other thing you want to do is see if you can link them to some sort of support. It might be professional or it might just be helping their family figure out a way to support them a bit more. So, you might be saying, go up to the hospital, seek psychological services, go to the national counselling centre; whatever it is but remember your limitations in things. One of the things that I always tell people is whatever people tell you is only part of the story so try not to carry the burden for then because you might not know everything that is going on and all the factors so listen, don’t talk, and try to link them to some services but that first thing is healthy boundaries because women especially have a tendency of wanting to take on the world and everything, and everyone in our families, everyone in our communities; people who we see walking on the street hearts are just pouring out. Run confidently because you have to think about your limitations too.
Speaking about the four M’s of mental health, she listed Mindfulness, Movement, Mastery and meaningful engagement.
“Mindfulness-take time for yourself. It doesn’t have to be a lot, maybe five, ten minutes, just a little stillness in our lives. Movement- we don’t move nearly enough. Walk somewhere, take a few extra steps, we need to a little bit of that. Mastery- Do something to challenge yourself. Not just young people need a challenge but we need to …so it’s not enough to look at nice things. Like if make-up is your thing…don’t just watch the tutorial, tamper; do something and see if you get a little bit better…and the last one is Meaningful engagement-We need to connect more meaningfully our community, to our families in a way that’s going to facilitate that when we do say that ‘Maybe you need some help’, they trust that it’s coming from a good place. That’s the empathy, that’s the community building that we need in order for us to get better as a nation.”
‘Make Mental health & Well-being for all a Global Priority” was this year’s theme for World Mental Health Day, observed on October 10.
Contact for the National Counselling Centre are as follows 662-8086 and 465-5000.