By: Spokesman Newsroom
BASSETERRE, St. Kitts (Wednesday, 20th March 2025)-Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Dr. Terrance Drew has highlighted his administration’s commitment to handling the affairs of the country responsibly, emphasizing that the people have given his government a clear mandate to lead.
Speaking at a recent Cabinet press conference held on Thursday 6th March 2025, PM Drew discussed the latest International Monetary Fund (IMF) report, which highlighted the nation’s economic growth and repeated the government’s approach to financial management without imposing additional burdens on the people.
“I want to say clearly that we’ve taken the IMF’s recommendations very seriously in terms of consolidation and so forth, in terms of the tax regime, some of which we will address without bringing any extra burden to our people,” said PM Drew. “Now, when you look at the IMF Report, we expect that there will be growth this year because the economy-as I told you-this is our year of recovery as we transition our economy to end the heavy dependence on just the CBI program, and so we intend to take a number of measures.”
He outlined his government’s commitment to renewable energy, stating that the IMF has urged swift action on the matter. “One with respect to renewable energy, they ask that we do it as quickly as possible, which we have been working on since day one. And I want to thank the Minister of Energy for his work on this one,” he said.
PM Drew announced that the government has secured funding for the drilling phase of the geothermal project, with support from the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) and the Saudi Fund for Development.
“We have now secured the funding to do the drilling for the geothermal project, and the Premier of Nevis has spoken to this. The funds that we have secured come from the CDB, and we have a meeting this afternoon at 5 p.m. with the CDB as we near the completion of the procurement and bidding process to start the drilling,” he explained.
The Saudi government has also partnered with St. Kitts and Nevis in the energy sector, providing funding for new generators and supporting geothermal energy development.
“The Saudis, as we know, they are also helping us with our brand-new generators to be installed here, and they are now partnering with us to get the geothermal done, which I think would be to the benefit of all of our people,” PM Drew stated.
PM Drew also highlighted ongoing efforts to strengthen financial institutions such as the National Bank, Social Security and the Development Bank, which have faced challenges in recent years.
“We take these recommendations very seriously because for the longevity of our country, we want to make sure that we are set on a solid foundation,” he said. “With respect to the Development Bank, the IMF did its own assessment, and I have been reporting to our people the state in which we found the Development Bank. It is sad; don’t even have an audit to speak to international funds to help us access financial resources to help our transition to a sustainable island state.”
PM Drew reiterated his government’s commitment to ensuring that the Development Bank is never mismanaged again. “We’ll continue to work to reform the Development Bank so that it can be an institution never to be bastardized again,” he emphasized.
The Prime Minister also addressed concerns regarding the management of the Sugar Industry Diversification Foundation (SIDF) under previous administrations.
“As you know, with respect to the SIDF-whereby the Labour administration led by the Rt. Hon. Dr. Denzil Douglas left about $300 million plus in raw cash plus what was to come in-a total of over $400 million was spent from the SIDF,” PM Drew revealed. “I’m not talking about the CBI program; I’m talking about SIDF as a fund. Over $400 million was spent-nearly half a billion dollars-and the country was not informed.”
The Prime Minister emphasized that forensic audits are ongoing, and each discovery raises more concerns. “Now we are doing all the forensic audits, and the more we dig, the more we find. This seems like a bottomless pit. How can you spend over $400 million of people’s money and not inform them?” he questioned.
To ensure future financial stability, the government is implementing a sovereign wealth fund. “The IMF has given us the framework for our sovereign wealth fund, which we will implement this year. So that when we raise capital again at a national level, we can put it in that fund. And that fund will be set up in such a way to make us more resilient and make us more stable,” he stated.
PM Drew reaffirmed that his government was chosen to lead because of its commitment to transparency, economic growth, and sustainable development.
“This is why the people chose this administration to lead the government,” he expressed.