The Ministry of Agriculture as part of its ongoing Asset Management Programme continues to rehabilitate various properties and compounds across St. Kitts in an effort to boost productivity and create more clean green spaces. On September 29, 2022, Minister of Agriculture Samal Duggins and his team facilitated a clean-up of the compound of the George Moody Stewart School.
“As I stand here in the compound of the George Moody Stewart School, one of the assets under the management of the Ministry of Agriculture we are standing on our commitment to managing our assets well. Also, in keeping a very clean and healthy environment free of pests and free of diseases and one that our children can feel comfortable in and play whilst developing well. Today, we are cleaning the compound and surroundings of this premises, we would have been made aware that a number of insects would have found a home in the overgrowth and so today we want to remove all of that overgrowth so that we can remove the homes developed for centipedes and other pest and insects because we have young children here at the school and we do not want any injury or adverse effects to these children”, said Minister Duggins.
On September 27, 2022, also as a part of the ongoing Asset Management Programme, the Ministry of Agriculture also held a cleanup exercise in the vicinity of the Old Road Fisheries Complex in an effort to improve the sanitary conditions at the facility. Acting Manager of the Basseterre and Old Road Fisheries Complex Mr. Lorinston Jenkins spoke about the importance of the ongoing exercise.
“We are down here trying to maintain and clean up of the Old Road Fisheries Complex because this is one of the focus areas for our department right now as we work towards getting the facility back up and running at its maximum capacity. We want to make this facility more effective and useful for the fisherfolk and residents of the surrounding area. We want to get everything done in a sustainable way to the benefit of all involved. Another reason for this major cleanup exercise is that in Old Road we catch a lot of ocean pelagic species of fish so we attract a lot of customers here and for food safety purposes we need to ensure that the area is kept in great condition,” said Mr. Jenkins.
The Ministry of Agriculture intends to rehabilitate a number of its properties across the island in an effort to improve the delivery of its services to the general public. Fisherfolk across the Federation will be assisted with the various equipment and materials necessary to boost production.