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CDM ON THE AGENDA FOR COP’s MONTHLY LECTURE SERIES, MARCH

Published: 3 April 2017

Members of the Rank and File of the St. Christopher and Nevis Royal Police Force said that they benefited from a presentation on Comprehensive Disaster Management (CDM) held last month at NEMA HQ, Lime Kiln, as part of the Police Commissioner’s monthly Lecture Series.
CDM is a strategic effort spearheaded by CDEMA in collaboration with regional and international stakeholders, to strengthen regional, national and community level capacity for mitigation, management and coordinated response to natural and technological hazards and the effects of climate change.

Deputy National Disaster Coordinator, Mrs. Claricia Langley-Stevens, made the presentation
In attendance were men and women ranging from Corporals to Assistant Commissioners of Police and also the Commissioner of Police, Ian Queeley, who was present for much of the seminar. The interaction was lively and well received by all, with questions coming from the entire audience, throughout the session.

In her presentation, Mrs. Langley-Stevens placed great emphasis on what she termed “key stakeholders”, which she said defines the critical partnership between NEMA and those agencies that provide First Response and Security during an event.
“Everything begins with the police,” she stated, “especially as the Tsunami Warning Focal Point (TWFP) for St. Kitts-Nevis.” is based at Police Headquarters.

This arrangement, Langley-Stevens added, encapsulates the 24/7 nature of the Police Force, in the event that a Tsunami or other seismic event occurs after normal work hours or at night.

“It is true that we are in the process of addressing the need to have a ‘National Multi Hazard Early Warning System’ but until that is achieved, the police will play a key role in helping to alert communities about threats or potential impacts, assist with evacuations if necessary, also crowd and traffic control. They also provide critical support during exercises,” she said, “when the NEMA conducts drills in communities in order to test capacity.”

She added that the Fire and Rescue Services and St. Kitts-Nevis Defence Force, will collaborate with the police in such events.
“Even in the midst of chaos and disaster,” she said, “there still has to be control.”

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LABOUR DEPARTMENT TO FOCUS ON BOOSTING YOUTH EMPLOYMENT

Published: 3 April 2017

Acting Labour Commissioner, Shernel James.

Basseterre, St. Kitts, April 03, 2017 (SKNIS): Strategies to boost employment for young people and to enhance the quality of jobs that come to the Department of Labour are key areas that will be addressed over the next six months.

Acting Labour Commissioner, Shernel James, said that the department will receive assistance in this regard and more having won the call for proposals from the Bilateral Cooperation through the Inter-American Network for Labour Administration (RIAL).

Ms. James said she was pleased that the federation was successful in formulating the proposal that will receive support from the Department of Labour in the United States (U.S.)

“I am proud,” she stated, noting that a lot of hard work went into preparing the proposal. “It gives us a great sense of satisfaction knowing that we were able to beat out other countries from the Caribbean, Central and South America.” She said this speaks to the quality of the proposal.

The 10th RIAL Call for Bilateral Cooperation ran from January 16 to March 15, 2017 and received 41 proposals involving 20 Ministries of Labour from countries including Chile, Colombia, El Salvador, Jamaica, Mexico, Paraguay, and Suriname to name a few.

Two persons from the Department of Labour in St. Kitts and one from Nevis, will travel to the U.S. for one week to observe operations of the Job Corps, which according to its Department of Labour website “is the nation’s largest and most comprehensive residential education and job training programme for at-risk youth, ages 16 through 24.”

Commissioner James added that officials will also seek to explore ways that they can boost employment for young people and also study best practices to increase the number of skilled job vacancies that are sent to the Labour Department to fill via its Employment Services Unit. The visit is expected to take place in the third quarter of this year.

Funding for the visiting team will be provided by the Organization of American States (OAS).

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RENAL FAILURE DISEASE PREVENTION AND CONTROL PROJECT TO BEGIN THIS MONTH WITH HELP OF TAIWAN EXPERT

Published: 3 April 2017

Minister Hamilton (centre), Mr. Tsai (second left), Ambassador Chiou (second right), along with other Taiwanese officials

Basseterre, St. Kitts, April 04, 2017 (SKNIS): The Renal Failure Disease Control and Prevention Project is expected to begin this month, offering better care to patients of chronic non-communicable diseases, particularly, kidney failure and improving strategies to reduce high incidences.

Against this backdrop, Feng-Ta Tsai, Project Manager, who arrived in the federation to oversee the proceedings, paid a courtesy call on the Honourable Eugene Hamilton, Minister of Health, on Monday, April 03.

Minister Hamilton welcomed Mr. Tsai and noted that he is quite pleased that the programme will commence. The health minister gave a brief overview of what the project entails.

“It will involve training of our people, it will involve our point of service being brought to the level where we can test for the persons who are at risk. Therefore, our persons who are out there should not fail to have themselves tested where necessary to determine whether they are candidates for renal failure,” said Minister Hamilton, while encouraging persons to get as much assistance as possible because hemodialysis in St. Kitts and Nevis is expensive. “None of us can afford to pay EC$120,000 a year on hemodialysis and so it is important that once this programme is up and running that those of you in the country, who may be likely candidates, you can get yourself tested so that there can be a programme set out for you so that you can avoid chronic failure of the kidneys.”

The health minister said that this is an important initiative because the “health profile of the country has been changing”, especially as it relates to renal health. He added that over the last 20 years the numbers have moved from zero to more than 100 persons who have some stage of renal disease.

Taiwan’s Resident Ambassador to St. Kitts and Nevis, His Excellency George Gow Wei Chiou, echoed similar sentiments as it relates to the project and expressed his government’s delight in having the honour of assisting St. Kitts and Nevis. He said that Mr. Tsai’s presence in the federation will be one of great significance.

“His coming represents a new era for our medical cooperation because late last year we signed an agreement for the renal failure disease control project and we are happy to say that after several months of preparation our new project manager has arrived in early April,” said Ambassador Chiou. “The purpose of this is not only to release the pressure on renal patients, but also to cooperate with your government to help the people to understand the best diet for their daily life and try to help the people to prevent renal failure disease.”

Minister Hamilton thanked Ambassador Chiou and the Government and people of the Republic of China (Taiwan) for such an important initiative, noting that the Government of St. Kitts and Nevis appreciates and welcomes the assistance.

He recalled his visit to Taiwan in October 2016, and said he was impressed with the staff and facilities at the Veterans General Hospital. He added that medical officials there seemed “very excited” by the prospect of partnering with colleagues from the twin-island federation.

In a posting titled “Best 100 Hospitals in Asia by Ranking” on www.iasisnet.eu, Taipei Veterans General Hospital is ranked as the second best. It is widely considered to be among the top 15 hospitals in the world.

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St. Kitts and Nevis and the Republic of Colombia Strengthen Its Bilateral Agenda

Published: 3 April 2017

Basseterre–Wednesday 15^thMarch, 2017 — The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in an effort to strengthen the Federation’s relations with Colombia convened a meeting with senior officials from various Ministries and a four (4) member delegation from Colombia, headed by Mrs. Patricia Cortes, Director of the Americas of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Colombia and included H.E. Roberto Garcia Marquez, Ambassador of Colombia to St Kitts and Nevis who had one day earlier presented credentials to the Governor General H.E. Sir S.W. Tapley Seaton, GCMG, CVO, QC, JP.

The Meeting was chaired by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Permanent Secretary, Ms. Kaye Bass, who informed of the longstanding friendly relations between both countries and highlighted the fact that the cooperation peaked after 2010, when the Colombian Foreign Ministry launched its initiative, Colombian Cooperation Strategy for the Caribbean Basin. Ms Bass explained that St Kitts and Nevis also supports Colombia in the international arena.

The Colombian side expressed its interest in advancing the bilateral agenda and proceeded to elaborate on specific areas for further cooperation including Bilingualism, Academic Mobility, Technical Education, Disaster Prevention and Management and Security.

This meeting was a follow-up meeting to one held almost two (2) years prior. Since that meeting three (3) project proposals submitted have been approved: The Green Vervet Monkey Control Methods Programme, The Music Programme under the Batuta National Foundation and The Craft Project for Cultural and Tourism Development. The projects have since been initiated and are already yielding positive results.

Discussions were also held on the possibility of submitting other proposals from additional Ministries. At the completion of the meeting, the chair expressed sincere appreciation to the Colombian delegation and by extension to the Government of Colombia for its generous assistance to date.

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Minister Grant Calls For A Broad Global Alliance To Advance The Cause of Small Island Developing States (SIDS)

Published: 4 April 2017

22^nd March 2017, Ministry of Foreign Affairs — Minister Grant made a call for a broad global alliance to advance the cause of SIDS at the 3^rd Crans Montana Forum held in Dakhla, Morocco. The Tourism Minister was at the time addressing a high level audience of SIDS representatives from various regions around the world at the Extraordinary Conference of Small Island Developing States being convened as part of the Forum.

The conference focussed on the global integration of SIDS as the new dynamic actors of South-South cooperation and highlighted the impact of climate change on agriculture and tourism industries.

Minister Grant’s intervention, concentrated mainly on the effects of climate change on the tourism sector, also called for the inclusion of sustainable tourism to be embedded within the broader framework of the critical range of interrelated sustainable development initiatives.

In concert with the Caribbean leaders, including the Foreign Minister of Jamaica and the Economic Development Minister of St. Lucia, Minister Grant summoned global and collective action to combatting the detrimental effects of climate change on the tourism sector in the Caribbean and urgent implementation of climate adaptation and mitigation strategies.

Other interventions were made by the Prime Minister of Vanuatu, the Prime Minister of Tuvalu, and the Deputy Prime Minister of Samoa.

Minister Grant also attended a special luncheon in honour of CARICOM Countries, hosted by the Government of Morocco. Also, Minister Grant enjoyed a brief encounter with Morocco’s Ambassador to the Federation, His Excellency Kamari Abderrahim.

The Forum is considered a platform for advocating and accelerating the dialogue on avenues for south-south cooperation. Moreover, it creates an awareness and promotes the Kingdom of Morocco as a gateway towards deepening our relations with other countries on the African continent.

Further, it provides opportunities to strengthen bilateral cooperation between the Federation and Morocco, one of the Federation’s closest partners in south-south cooperation.

Ms. Asha DeSuza, Foreign Service Officer and Mr. Mohammed Benchekroun, St. Kitts and Nevis’ Honorary Consul to Morocco comprised the delegation.