BASSETERRE, ST. KITTS – Leader of the opposition The Right Hon. Dr. Denzil L. Douglas expressed thanks on Tuesday to all persons who assisted his 20 year St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Party Administration in placing the twin-island Federation on a sound and sustainable development path.
Listing several areas of achievement, Dr. Douglas told listeners on the second edition of “Ask the Leader” on Kyss FM that on taking office in July 1995, the new SKNLP Government “struggled with the economic issues that confronted his government as a nation and as a people, especially in transitioning the economy from one based on sugar agriculture to one that is now pursued on sustainable services led by tourism – hotel and cruise based; we have to give God thanks for successfully transitioning from one state of the economy to the next and from several generations of the past to generations of the present and the future.”
He noted that the SKNLP Government under his leadership had moved the cruise industry from a mere trickle of a few hundred annually to one which now sees five cruise ships in one day amounting to one million passengers annually.
Dr. Douglas thanked God for the foresight of the SKNLP in moving St. Kitts and Nevis to a phenomenal economic growth and development.
He also expressed thanks for helping the SKNLP Government to oversee the construction of the massive Marriott Resort and Royal Beach Casino, which the then PAM opposition said will never be built and after construction started added that it would become a white elephant.
Dr. Douglas noted too that construction of the five-star Park Hyatt St. Kitts and the Koi Resort and Residences, which began under his SKNLP Administration, are soon to be completed.
The Imperial Bay Resort and Residences, Silver Reef, Kittitian Hill Resort and the St. Kitts Eco Park have been completed and the Four Seasons Resort in Nevis and the Ocean Terrace Inn (OTI) in St. Kitts were renovated under his SKNLP Administration.
Construction continues on the T-Loft, Heldens, Golden Rock, The Castle, and Rendezvous projects, approved by his SKNLP Administration under the Citizenship by Investment Programme. The Embassy Suites project has stalled.
“We have taken tourism in St. Kitts and Nevis to a high level competing and surpassing some of the established tourism destinations in the Caribbean,” said Dr. Douglas.
He thanked the Almighty for giving his SKNLP the opportunity for quadrupling the number of taxi operators from a mere dozen to hundreds serving not only those who visit the country but also residents.
“The tourism industry has also transitioned from a few restaurants to scores serving the public not only through the tourist season, but the entire year as well as our craft vendors and sea taxi operators,” said Dr. Douglas who recognised the role played by the private sector “in responding to our call for investors and developers to help build this great nation not only for this generation but for generations to come.”
Dr. Douglas also made reference to the provision of over 5,000 homes under the Aegis of the National Housing Corporation (NHC) programmes and several initiatives in empowering young people and single-parent families in home ownership and land ownership.
“We thank God for the provision of improved health services at the hospitals and community centers over the 20 years that the Labour Party Administration was in office. We thank God also for giving us the insight and the foresight to provide unparallel educational opportunities at both the secondary and tertiary levels to our young people so that they can continue to assist in the economic, social and political transformation of St. Kitts and Nevis,” said Dr. Douglas.
He said his SKNLP Government while in office paid specific attention to the areas of hospitality and information technology and constructed at Saddlers, one of the most modern secondary schools in the Caribbean region that catered not only to those academically inclined but also to others who wished to pursue career paths in the building trades and skills that can be acquired and pursued.
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