St Kitts and Nevis: Donations from the New Year Grand Gala to go into Children’s Medical Fund

St Kitts and Nevis: Prime Minister Dr Terrance Drew said that the earnings from the “New Year Grand Gala” will go into the Children’s Medical Fund to save the lives of children. The yearly event was hosted on Saturday and invited a huge crowd from across the Federation. 

This year gala was hosted under the theme ‘Building Prosperity Through Sustainability’ in St Kitts and Nevis, the event attracted a huge crowd.  

Prime Minister Drew started his address by discussing the growth of St Kitts and Nevis, “Tonight we gather not just to celebrate the start of a new year but to honour the remarkable progress we have made as a nation and the boundless possibilities that lie ahead.”  

He added that this year’s theme is aspirational and the foundation of the government’s vision for a sustainable island state.  

Talking about the gala, Prime Minister Drew said that it presents an opportunity for everyone together as people, friends, colleagues and acquaintances to celebrate the passage of time. 

“I am inclined to add that this significant event also serves as a testament to our Collective resilience and steadfast commitment to progress,” said the Prime Minister. 

Visitor Arrivals Increased by 26 percent  

Prime Minister in his New Year Gala address emphasized the growth in the tourism sector. He stated that there was an increase of 26 percent in visitor arrivals, adding that the projections set to surpass pre-pandemic levels welcoming over one million cruise visitors for the 2024-2025 season.  

Sharing these numbers, he extended his gratitude to Minister of Tourism Marsha Henderson and her team for the tremendous work. 

Changes to CBI bolstered economic standing 

He also shed a light on the Citizenship by Investment Programme of St Kitts and Nevis and outlined that the transformation of the CBI bolstered the economic standing and maintained its overall reputation among the international partners.  

Notably, there have been several changes to the programme during the year 2024 including introduction of Board of Governors, appointment of Calvin St Juste as the new Chairman, assigning of a 24-hour response team to tackle the issue of backlogs and much more. All these changes have helped significantly in upholding the integrity of the CBI programme and attract legitimate HNWI’s to St Kitts and Nevis.  

ASPIRE Launched 

Prime Minister Dr Terrance Drew also talked about the crucial ASPIRE Programme, launched in September 2024 where more than 2500 young people so far have been empowered. He referred to it as the “first of a kind financial education, savings and investment programme provides each child aged 5 to 18 with EC$1000 contribution from the government”. He said that with EC$500 going in a savings account at St Kitts Nevis Anguilla Bank and EC$500 to be invested in shares of local and government owned entities. 

Furthermore, he also discussed the commissioning of new water wells that restored the 24-hour water supply to key area. Prime Minister also discussed the two solar power desalination plants that is set to deliver over 2 million gallons of water every day. He highlighted that more than 100 Housing Solutions are underway with 110 houses already completed.  

Talking about another major initiative which aimed at tackling crime across St Kitts and Nevis, the Prime Minister said, “We saw success following our 90-day campaign against crime and violence and in the interest of Citizen security with a 20% drop in reported crime and a 66% in firearm related homicides indeed a tremendous achievement by us coming together as a people.” 

Not only this, but the Prime Minister also emphasised that the government also implemented an 8 percent salary increase for civil servants and pensioners and introduced pension for the first time for government auxiliary employees and enacted the largest ever national minimum wage increase with further growth to $500 per week. Pensioners also benefitted from a 37 percent increase in payments and a 16 percent rise in the minimum age pension.  

According to Dr Drew, the economy continues to grow despite challenges with St Kitts and Nevis implementing the minimum wage increase which is the largest in the history. 

He noted that this is couples with increasing the subsidy to the people in excess of $320 million which is about a quarter of the national budget with initiatives targeted specifically at controlling the cost of fuel and ensuring that the people can have access to the basic amenities.  

2025 – A year of Progress 

While reiterating his commitment towards serving the people in the New Year, he outlined, “As we navigate 2025 the year for Progress continued progress and prosperity and recovery, we remain steadfast in our commitment to building a more sustainable economy and Society.” 

The projects which are set to be developed this year includes the construction of Basseterre High School, completion of the MRI facility, the road rehabilitation project, brand new climate smart hospital, TABASCO hot pepper project and much more.