Chairman Calvin St Juste unveils strategic roadmap for St Kitts and Nevis CBI Programme

St Kitts and Nevis: The New Chairman of the newly reformed St Kitts and Nevis Citizenship by Investment Unit (CIU), Calvin St Juste, has outlined a clear roadmap and six core principles which he said would guide his operations to reclaim the CBI programme’s position as a global leader in the migration industry.  

He said that Transparency, Communication, Good Governance, Transformation, Global Leadership, and Sustainability are the pillars that will drive CIU’s success and will maintain the position of St Kitts and Nevis CBI' Programme at the top. 

Speaking during the two recent events, hosted on behalf of Authorised Agents, public benefactors and real estate developers in St Kitts and Nevis, Chairman St Juste unveiled his bold vision for the transformation of the unit as it is set to enter its next phase of its transition.

He emphasized the significance of following these principles and outlined, “We're in reset. We're not stopping. St Kitts and Nevis is ready, and we are coming back. We're building back better, and that is important. And to do that, we definitely are going to follow deliver on the set on those 6 key principles.”

The Three Concentric Circles 

Apart from the principles, St Juste also noted that his vision is centered around three concentric circles, with the first one being ‘CIU.’  

“We are in the process of rebuilding, resetting the unit and the key principles there, ensuring that we have a strong communication process. We want to ensure that the St Kitts CIU is world class with quality service and ensuring that results are given,” he outlined. 

The Chairman highlighted that in order to get the concrete result for this first circle, he will be implementing a communication division which will be headed by a chief marketing officer and command led by a communication specialist.  

The goal of that specialist will be to an individual who will be speaking on behalf of the unit. He added, “So whatever communication comes out, that will be the official communication from the unit.” 

The 2nd concentric circle, he said, focuses on the stakeholders. St Juste remarked, “It is important that you understand in order for us to be successful, we are in it together, and I want to stress this: it is important that your voices are heard. You are in the market; you are the one who hears the feedback, and it is important for me to know where we may need to make adjustments.”  

For this, he said, the unit will be hosting quarterly check-ins with the stakeholders to ensure that their voices are being heard.  

The CIU Chairman continued to say that the 3rd and the last concentric circle will be around the brand and stated, “We are looking forward to really making sure that St Kitts and Nevis remains on the forefront. You know, it is important that we will be branding in different aspect to demonstrate that we're here.” 

New Chairman Addresses Investors' Concerns

Not only this, but St Juste also addressed the several common concerns of the investors which he said will be solved in this new phase. According to him, the number one concern was around communication, and he had already assured that there is going to be continual updates and follow-up between CIU and the stakeholders.  

The second one he said is the processing time which he referred is a ‘balanced approach’ to ensure that CIU can appropriately vet the applicants but also in the most efficient and speedily way. 

“So we are going to put every process and ensure that we do the right due diligence in place we want, but we're going to make sure it's done expeditiously,” he mentioned. 

Another aspect he said was around the backlogs and while addressing this issue, the Chairman reassured that, “We at the board of governors have been very clear that we are about to we are about to resolve the backlog issues. We've heard there's been situations that have not been resolved over a period of time, and we understand that. So that is our first priority.” 

In addition to this, he also confirmed that the CIU will be setting up two separate teams to work on the new applications to avoid creating another backlog.  

In his remarks, the Chairman also noted that the government of St Kitts and Nevis made a decision to transition the CIU from a government entity into a statutory body, which will be effective from October 1st and as soon as the body will begin its operations, St Juste is set to embark on a global tour of key partner locations, starting in the Middle East and Asia, shortly thereafter. 

Furthermore, the unique approach and leadership of St Juste was endorsed by Prime Minister Dr Terrance Drew, who addressed the local audience during the event and provided significant insights into the history of the CBI Programme.  

During the event, the guests were also invited to offer their crucial feedback on how to reinvigorate a healthy pipeline of activity to ensure that the Federation of St Kitts and Nevis remains competitive globally and restores its reputation for excellence.  

The new chairman also bid farewell to the former chairman Michael Martin who stepped down from his role and thanked him for his tremendous contributions to the Citizenship by Investment Unit of St Kitts and Nevis throughout his tenure.