Basseterre, St. Kitts and Nevis: Prime Minister, Dr. Terrance M. Drew has given a clarion call for all citizens of St. Kitts and Nevis to seek new opportunities and work for the development of the nation. These remarks were made during the Prime Minister’s New Year Gala, which was hosted on Saturday, January 4, 2025
While hosting the celebratory event under the theme “Building Prosperity Through Sustainability,” the Prime Minister also spoke about the achievements recorded by the federation during the last year.
While speaking on the occasion the Prime Minister said that St. Kitts and Nevis had made major progress in various spheres including tourism, youth development, infrastructure development, education, healthcare, agriculture and business.
He said that those engaged in building the nation must remain aware of becoming complacent and must never let their focus be diverted from the national goals.
The Prime Minister said that Year 2014 had been a year of achievements for the federation during which the government had chalked out various plans to develop multiple sectors of the economy, including infrastructure, hospitality, education, healthcare, agriculture development and businesses.
He said that the federation registered a 26% hike in the number of tourists who arrived to spend their holidays in the federation. The Prime Minister said that they were expecting that over 1 million visitors will be coming to the federation during 2024-25.
He said that in order to encourage the young people and help them chalk out their life path, the government had launched the Aspire Programme which had been received well by the citizens of the nation. Under this program around 2300 young individuals were benefited.
Prime Minister Drew said that the federation also made great progress in the field of renewable energy, while ensuring that there was enough housing for its people.
The Prime Minister also reflected on the law-and-order situation in the federation during his address. He said that during 2024 there had been a reduction of over 19% in the crimes reported from across the nation. At the same time the number of gun or firarm related homicides also went down by 66% during 2024.
The Prime Minister said that while the federation was proud of its achievement during 2024, it was also aware of the challenges that it was now facing and plans on how it can overcome these challenges in 2025 were being drafted and implemented.
The Prime Minister also lauded the role of public sector employees, local businessmen and community leaders in working together for achieving the national goals.
He said that in order to meet the national aspirations all citizens must work together dedicatedly and must remain determined to achieve the goals.
He said that the government will be working towards bringing more financial stability while empowering the nation’s youth and will continuously strive to keep the crime under check.
Special Assistant to the President of the United States Ms. Raheemah Abdulaleem was also present during the occasion and in her speech, she called upon the people of St. Kitts and Nevis to work for the empowerment of all sections of the society. She said that the government should provide good leadership to its people so that they can work collectively for achieving the national goals. In her speech she also laid focus on international cooperation.
The Prime Minister has shared that the year 2025 is the ‘year of recovery,’ Furthermore, Prime Minister said that his government has worked out a detailed plan to ensure that the challenges being faced by the citizens were overcome during the current year.
He said that the government was also working to complete the construction of the Basseterre High School, improving the healthcare facilities across the nation and launching the Tabasco Hot Pepper Agricultural Project, to promote the agriculture economy of the nation.
The Prime Minister said that the government was promoting exports from St. Kitts and Nevis so that the local businesses also grow during 2025.