Published 4 October 2017
Buckie Got It, St. Kitts and Nevis News Source
Lindsay Grant cries over his Team Unity Government’s decision to kill the Real Estate component of the CIB
BASSETERRE, ST. KITTS, OCTOBER 3RD 2017 – Days after St. Kitts and Nevis’ Prime Minister Dr. Timothy Harris announced a Cabinet decision to introduce a Hurricane Relief Fund option, which in essence, finally kills the Real Estate component of the Citizenship by Investment Programme, his Minister of Tourism, Hon. Lindsay Grant, appears to be at logger heads with that decision and is lamenting about the slow pace of progress on the several hotel projects which were already under construction when the St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Party left office in mid-February 2015.
Mr. Grant, who recently spoke with reporters, explained that the land-based side of St. Kitts’ tourism sector is not progressing as quickly as officials would want, but they are working to alleviate the challenges surrounding that problem.
“…we have to work with the developers; urge them, encourage them, engage them to see if we can come within the timeline that the government has given them – but you know how business is,” Grant said in the SKNVIBES news article dated October 2nd.
But Mr. Grant ought to be reminded that while in opposition, Dr. Harris and his Team Unity candidates including Mr. Grant himself, launched a massive negative campaign locally, regionally and internationally to undermine the programme and on taking office in February, immediately closed the Citizenship by Investment Unit in Ministry of Finance and Financial Services Complex and the Dubai office for several months thus creating further havoc for hundreds of economic citizens, most of them Iranians, who had fled from Iran and were living in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
With the Dubai office closed the Passport Office in St. Kitts sent the new passports directly to Iran. Some were also sent to the St. Kitts and Nevis Embassy in Taiwan, who also sent the new passports to Tehran. The Dubai and Abu Dhabi-based Iranian never received the passports and opted to take economic citizenship in Dominica.
When Dr. Harris closed down the Citizenship by Investment Unit in St. Kitts for several months in 2015, the Silver Reef investor, Sebastian Mottram, told WINNFM that the once the leading programme in the world, is now “at the tail end of the market” as competitors Dominica, St. Lucia, Grenada ad Antigua and Barbuda “steal the march and creeping into the market.”
In May, Prime Minister Harris further harmed the industry with the bombshell announcement that he was phasing out the Citizenship by Investment Programme.
In the SKNVIBES news article, Mr. Grant noted there are a number of hotels and other developments, started under the Labour Administration that have missed their deadlines, including Park Hyatt St. Kitts – which was scheduled for a summer opening but is now expected to receive its first guests from November 1st.
According to Mr. Grant, his officials work with the developers on a regular basis “to bring them into the old collective environment of the tourism industry.”
“And so the Embassy Suites (a project that started under the Labour Government) you can see that it has been at a slow pace for a long time. We have the development right here in the Frigate Bay area; that has also been slow (T-Loff). Koi (another project that started under the Labour Administration), they said the last time I spoke to them that they would come on base December, whether or not that is feasible I don’t know…” SKNVIBES quoted Grant as saying.
The media outlet stated that Mr. Grant said they are however working with them, pointing to Ramada (also another Labour Administration project between Sandy Point and Newton Ground) as another development that has slowed.
He opined that it is the vagaries of life, despite tourism officials wanting those hotels under constructions to be finished overnight.
Questioned on how the slothful movement of those developments could affect the Ministry’s ability to arrange airlifts to St. Kitts and Nevis, the Minister explained that it would prove a challenge because Puerto Rico is no longer a home port of the Eastern Caribbean and the Federation does not have the hotel stock for mass stay-over visitors.
Grant said though he is pushing for developers to work quickly to finish their hotels, the Federation continues to see average numbers in stay-over visitors.
SKNVIBES said Mr. Grant did not provide figures.
CBI projects constructed under the St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Party administration of former prime minister the Rt. Hon. Dr. Denzil L. Douglas, included Christophe Harbour, Christophe Harbour Marina, Koi Sales Office, Silver Reef Resort and Residences, Kittitian Hill and Imperial Bay Golf & Beach Residences and St. Kitts Castle.
Other projects still under construction or stalled are Embassy Suites, Koi Residences, Rendezvous Residences, Golden Rock Commercial Park, Park Hyatt St. Kitts, Montebello, T-Loft (Radisson) and Helden’s (Ramada).
Nearly three years in office the Team Unity Government is yet to attract an investment under the Citizenship By Investment Programme.
Photo 1 – Embassy Suites (stalled
Photo 2 – Koi Resort (still under construction)
Photo 3 – Golden Rock Commercial Park (still under construction)
Photo 4 – Imperial Bay Golf & Beach Residences (completed)
Photo 5 – T’loffs (under construction)
