Nevis was given $28.7M out of $2.32B earned by CBI under Labour govt: Mark Brantley

Premier of Nevis Mark Brantley once again questioned if the Nevis Reformation Party (NRP) cares about the people of the island. In a Facebook post on Sunday, he raised several points. Brantley, who is also the leader of the Concerned Citizens Movement, stated that NRP was with Labour in the Federal government when The Sugar Industry Diversification Foundation (SIDF) earned $2.32 billion from citizenship by investment programme.

He said from the $2.32 billion, Nevis was only allowed a mere $28.7 million, including $13 million that was given to the island in loans. He questioned if the NRP ever cared about Nevisians.

[caption id="attachment_41681" align="alignnone" width="990"] Status published by Premier Mark Brantley[/caption]

Brantley had been long demanding a fair share of CBI revenues for Nevis. He stated that the government must act upon the Charlestown Accord, which was signed on 17 December 2014; as per the document, the funds must be shared between two islands (St Kitts and Nevis) on their population basis.

He maintains that after all these years, Nevis has been given a very small proportion, and the government must disclose the actual money it is receiving from the CBI Programme.

Just a week ago, Brantley stated in a press conference that even during the pandemic, while St Kitts had surplus funds, Nevis was struggling to keep everything afloat. He said as a Premier, he had to borrow money to pay all salaries on time, keep the garbage being collected and give overall support to all citizens and residents.

Furthermore, during the press conference, he added that due to a lack of government support, Nevis established itself as a great location for movies, and many films are currently being shot on the island. He said it is helping the island survive.

As per Brantley, Nevis has been given a small amount of financial support under "Team Unity", while under the Labour administration, it was deprived of all the benefits.