Black Immigrant Daily News

BASSETERRE, St. Kitts, October 04, 2022 (SKNIS) – Prime Minister the Honourable Dr. Terrance Drew has said that his administration is fully committed to resolving the water situation affecting the St. Peter’s area and other communities in St. Kitts.

Prime Minister Dr. Drew was speaking following a visit to a well site in St. Peter’s where employees of the Water Services Department within the Ministry of Public Infrastructure are working around the clock to resolve the situation that caused days of water interruption for consumers in that community.

“What I would like to say to the people of the environs of St. Peter’s is that we are committed to making sure that this is resolved, and I want to say that the Honourable Konris Maynard [Minister with responsibility for Water] is not here this morning because he is away on national duty but had he been [in St. Kitts] he would have been here as well, and of course he has given his commitment, as the PS mentioned, to make sure that we resolve the water situation not just in St. Peter’s but we want to resolve it throughout the whole of St. Kitts and Nevis,” Dr. Drew said.

The prime minister said he was also pleased to know that a water truck was busy making it rounds “to make sure that the residents have access to potable water and so I want to thank everyone who has been involved and we’ll keep a close eye on the situation and we’ll keep pushing towards the restoration of water to the people of St. Peter’s.”

The honourable Prime Minister extended his personal appreciation to the hard-working staff of the Water Services Department for their prompt and efficient response to the problem.

“I want to thank the guys who are working because I think they are the real foundation in making sure that this issue is resolved. I know the guys have been working extremely hard and sometimes we don’t recognize how hard they are working. We just know that the water is there and I want us to understand that it just doesn’t automatically get there. There are people who are working hard and when it goes I think that that really brings to bear how important these guys are in making sure that we have water,” said Prime Minister Dr. Drew.

As of Tuesday (October 04) morning, water was restored to up to eight percent (80%) of consumers in the St. Peter’s community, and work was being carried out today to ensure the remaining residents could have access to potable water by the end of the day.

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Basseterre, St. Kitts, October 04, 2022 (SKNIS): The United Nations (UN) is partnering with St. Kitts and Nevis and three other Eastern Caribbean countries to pilot a project aimed at reducing poverty and inequalities, increasing youth employment, and enhancing social protection systems for households.

The regional programme entitled “Resilient Caribbean: Engaging and Training Youth, Strengthening Integrated Social Protection Sector Delivery Joint Programme” was launched at the Solid Waste Management Corporation (SWMC) Conference Room in Basseterre at a ceremony on Tuesday, October 04, 2022.

Didier Trebucq, UN Resident Coordinator for Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean, attended the launch in St. Kitts and Nevis. He stated that the project is designed to help accelerate progress to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 2030.

“For us at the UN, putting the emphasis on youth empowerment, on young people, is paramount,” said Mr. Trebucq. “It is paramount because we have adopted the Youth 2030 strategy under the leadership of the UN Secretary-General António Guterres and we truly …believe in youth. Give a space to youth, give a voice to youth, working with youth rather than just working for youth. It is important to make sure that youth are inserted in productive activities of societies at large.”

The challenges of the Ukraine-Russia conflict, job losses and the economic slowdown as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the rising cost of fuel and goods, were mentioned as factors that have resulted in a reduced standard of living for millions of persons around the world.

Mr. Trebecq noted that initiatives led by the public sector, private sector, non-governmental agencies and other civil society groups will greatly benefit from this SDG Joint Programme.

“It will contribute to greater and easier access to social assistance as well as jobs and better income for those in greater need such as young people and women. As a result, we expect that the joint programme will increase the resilience of households and communities, … and also link young people to meaningful, formal sector employment or entrepreneurship activities,” the UN official said.

Innovative and evidence-based management operational tools that build up social protection resilience will be used in this joint programme.

The Resilient Caribbean: Engaging and Training Youth, Strengthening Integrated Social Protection Sector Delivery Joint Programme is being piloted in St. Kitts and Nevis, Grenada, Anguilla, and the British Virgin Islands. The opening ceremony featured an address by Senator the Honourable Isalean Phillip, Junior Minister and Minister for Youth Empowerment, Social Development et al. of St. Kitts and Nevis. Virtual addresses were delivered by Senator The Honourable David E. Andrew, Minister of Education, Youth, Sports and Culture – Grenada, The Honourable Dee-Ann Kentish Rogers, Minister of Social Development, Education, Youth, Culture and Sports – Anguilla, and the Honourable Marlon A. Penn, Minister of Health and Social Development – the British Virgin Islands.

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The United Progressive Party (UPP) is supporting the rights of Antiguans and Barbudans living in the Diaspora to return home to participate in the country’s electoral process.

During a town hall meeting in New York on Monday night, October 3, Harold Lovell, UPP Political Leader, gave the commitment that he would help streamline the voter-registration process for nationals abroad.

“We will put the structures in place to facilitate the Diaspora in coming back home to vote,” he says.

Further, he promises to simplify the process for them to take advantage of investment opportunities and home ownership, as well.

“When we are masters of our own destiny, we strive to become ambassadors of our country, because we recognize that we are no longer doing it for other people but for ourselves,” Lovell says.

Meanwhile, Antiguan and Barbudan nationals in New York and surrounding areas got an opportunity to engage with the members of the UPP team on the final leg of the Diaspora Roadshow throughout the United States.

In addition to promises to establish a Ministry of Diaspora Affairs, Lovell says the Consulate Office will be reinstalled to serve the needs of nationals in the northeast region of the USA.

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Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley and wife, Sharon, with specially-invited guests at the closing ceremony of PatriARTism. Photo by Roger Jacob

THE “lavish” party which the Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar accused the Prime Minister of throwing on Saturday was actually the closing-off of a month-long celebration by Angostura.

The company, in a media release, clarified that the event was not state-sponsored but a private celebration where Dr Rowley was an invited guest.

On Saturday, Rowley was the feature speaker at the closing ceremony for the five-week Patriartism exhibition at Mille Fleurs. The exhibition, which began on August 25 and ended on September 30, featured the private art collections of First Citizens Bank, Central Bank and Angostura, which were on show at Castle Killarney (Stollmeyer’s Castle), Whitehall and Mille Fleurs.

Angostura’s participation was to celebrate the country’s diamond jubilee Independence celebration.

In a media release on Monday, Persad-Bissessar accused the Prime Minister of “disrespecting” citizens by throwing a party “for himself and his wealthy friends, paid for by taxpayers.”

The Opposition Leader said the event ignored the suffering of the poor and working class, and chastised not just Rowley but three ministers – Marvin Gonzales, Shamfa Cudjoe and Brian Manning – and MP Keith Scotland. She claimed they were out of touch with reality, judging from their comments in response to criticisms of the budget.

She said: “It was a most evil act of incitement against citizens, reminiscent of the behaviour of detached tyrants and dictators. This latest provocation comes on the heels of statements from PNM ministers scolding the population.”

The Prime Minister did not respond to Persad-Bissessar’s claims.

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More than 180+ countries will come together face to face in Geneva, the “Capital of Peace” where nations gather to solve diplomatic challenges and where scientific innovation flourishes to compete in the 2022 FIRST Global Challenge under the theme Carbon Capture.

Teyanna Nathaniel – Leader

Every year FIRST Global invites nations to compete in a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) themed game that is focused on addressing various challenges facing our planet, including the 14 Grand Challenges of Engineering, in an effort to foster understanding and cooperation among students 14 – 18 years old in secondary school; as they use their abilities to solve problems and safeguard their future together.

Deshini Charles – Programmer

Team DADLIBOTS is set to represent Antigua and Barbuda at this year’s olympics styled international robotics competition from October 13th – 16th and join youth from diverse backgrounds, cultures and experiences that will not only inspire and motivate them to become leaders but also innovators working together to build a better world.

Leyla Reid – Designer

The students competing on TEAM Dadlibots would have been shortlisted from the STEM InFuSed (Innovative Future Sustained) Youth Camp hosted by the Ministry of Education and Sports over the past summer period at UWI Five Islands Campus; where over 250+ students were exposed to emerging technologies and potential career opportunities.

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