Basseterre, St Kitts and Nevis: Prime Minister of the Federation of St Kitts and Nevis – Dr Terrance Drew, has participated and addressed the meeting of the National Assembly regarding a number of issues, challenges and future projects under the consideration of the government of St Kitts and Nevis Labour Party (SKNLP).
The National Assembly sitting was held on Tuesday, June 20, 2023 (yesterday), where the Prime Minister delivered his remarks and outlined key factors related to the nation.
As per the shared update, Prime Minister began with his opening remarks, extended his heartfelt greetings, and welcomed other attendees of the national assembly.
Prime Minister Terrance Drew noted in his speech, “I rise to make a statement and update the country on significant financial institutions which is a cornerstone for our social safety and security while keeping the spirit of open government, transparency and good governance.”
In addition, it was stated that the reports showcased by Prime Minister Drew were an essential part of the national assembly. In this context, he added, “It was important to bring these reports as the government of the people has been working tremendously hard to make sure that these financial institutions become even stronger.”
Meanwhile, he mentioned the concept of social security and said that at the end of April 2023, the social security fund of St Kitts and Nevis stood at 1.73 billion dollars.
“There was a surplus of income over expenditure of 5.1 million dollars for the year to date compared to a deficit of 7.5 million at the same time in 2022,” he said.
Furthermore, he also mentioned that the contribution income was increased by 12 per cent and was recorded at 35.7 million compared to 31.9 million in 2022. In his speech, the PM said that the investment income was boosted by 180 per cent, which was a significant upsurge.
It was reported that there were improvements and enhancements in the financial institutions in the twin island federation. He stated that the benefits expenditures also increased by 10 per cent while administrative expenses increased by 6 per cent compared to 2022.
“As part of the transformation agenda, the social security board is looking at all the possible aspects of operations to ensure the fund’s sustainability while enhancing its efficiency,” noted Prime Minister Terrance Drew.
As per the speech of PM Drew earlier this year, the social security board has also introduced a new information technology (IT) system in keeping with the trajectory and trust to incorporate technological advancements to become a more technologically accessible nation.
He stated, “The system is key to enhancing the business processes and applications and data that are essential for the social security board to meet its financial and business goals.”
The advancements can be achieved through implementations of the web and mobile technology; the social security board aims to conduct and provide business operations at customers’ fingertips and in their hands, said PM Drew.
At the same time, the board continues to enhance its research and development wing in order to obtain better results while introducing social security reforms which will begin in the second half of 2023.
“Madam Speaker, this is good news, excellent news coming from social security, which shows how responsible we are”, he added. Moreover, he continued his remarks and addressed the assembly on the updates regarding the National Bank Group of Companies. In this regard, he stated, “I want to state here the NBGC suffered a loss and deficit last year, one of the first in its history.”
As per the current numbers, the national bank Group of Companies is on a rebound this year, will turn green, and is expected to pay dividends again. The other national banks are also going through several critical transformative changes by improving their IT systems and easing expanding the number of products and services offered by the bank.
The offers will be available to people of St Kitts and Nevis and others who want to do business with the bank. “The bank is very much alive and healthy, and I am honoured to pronounce these statements,” stressed PM Drew.
“I also want to thank the leadership of the bank who handles everyday operations and whatever capacity they may be working,” noted the Prime Minister of St Kitts and Nevis.
He further stated that the National Development Bank is also roaring back after having not done an audit since 2018. It was outlined that many institutions have lost faith and confidence in the development bank due to such irregularities; still, we have found a path to get back the development bank on the road of progression, integrity, and good governance to serve the people of St Kitts and Nevis.
While wrapping his speech, Prime Minister Drew stated that “The social security and the national bank is ruin, and the development bank has a smaller role, but unlike months passed, we have been able to keep up with our loan payment to the government, the national bank along with social security and amount of quarter a million dollars per month.”
He added that as the bank is getting stable, we are able to increase our payment from two hundred thousand to a quarter million dollars per month.
In the end, he concluded, “The government has been extremely responsible because we understand that our financial institutions are critical to our development and growth in the national bank, social security and development bank.” “These institutions are stronger than ever,” Prime Minister said.
