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IMMIGRATION ACT AMENDED TO GIVE WAY TO THE ADVANCE PASSENGER INFORMATION BILL

Published 28 May 2017

IMMIGRATION ACT AMENDED TO GIVE WAY TO THE ADVANCE PASSENGER INFORMATION BILL

Basseterre, St. Kitts, May 24, 2017 (SKNIS): The Immigration Amendment Bill 2017 was read a third time and passed into law on Tuesday, May 23, during the Sitting of Parliament, with the object to amend the Immigration Act Chapter 6.02 and for matters connected therewith.

“It is a matter of replacing the provisions which hitherto relate to Advance Passenger Information System (APIS) and to give notice to the fact that we have just brought an Act which stands on its own in relation to the administration of APIS requirements,” said Prime Minister and Minister of National Security, Dr. the Honourable Timothy Harris.

Deputy Premier of Nevis and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Aviation in the Federal Government, the Honourable Mark Brantley, said that the amendment to the Immigration Act was to “tidy up the legislative framework” and to be granted permission “to bring into force and to have and give efficacy to the APIS legislation.”

Local news, News

CFBC TEAM WORKING TO EXPAND SCOPE OF AGRICULTURE PROGRAMME

Published 28 May 2017

CFBC TEAM WORKING TO EXPAND SCOPE OF AGRICULTURE PROGRAMME

Basseterre, St. Kitts, May 24, 2017 (SKNIS): The agriculture programme at the Technical and Vocational Division of the Clarence Fitzroy Bryant College (CFBC) is approximately three years old and the organizers are strengthening systems to enhance its scope.

The institution’s Director of Employee and Programme Development, Dr. Leighton Naraine, and Science Lecturer, Stuart Laplace, shared about the agriculture programme on Wednesday’s (May 24) edition of the government radio and television programme “Working for You.”

Mr. LaPlace stated that a lot of effort was made to dispel the stigmas associated with the field of agriculture such as the commonly heard: it is not for persons who are academically inclined. Once this was understood and appealing features such as hydroponic systems were introduced, it became easier to attract students.

“We started off with a high level of interest in terms of enrollments and then that increased very rapidly,” said Dr. Naraine. However, the numbers have shown some decline in recent times, which has troubled the educators

Education, Local news, News

TECOYA WARNER EMERGES AS JUNIOR TOURISM MINISTER

Published 28 May 2017

Basseterre, St. Kitts, May 25, 2017 (SKNIS): Tecoya Warner of the Charles E. Mills Secondary School emerged victorious at this year’s Local Tourism Youth Congress, which was aimed at creating greater awareness among youth about the island’s tourism product, while presenting solutions about how it can be improved.

The now 2017 Junior Tourism Minister, who will go on to represent St. Kitts at the Regional Tourism Youth Congress in October, 2017, in Grenada, was passionate about her topic, gave sound points and captured attention, just to name a few, according to the judges.

In second place was Treasure Cannonier of the Cayon High School and in third, Sheski Christian of Saddlers Secondary.

Having young persons put forth their views on tourism topics and express themselves convincingly on matters of concerns to the country as a tourism destination is vital to the future development of tourism, says Minister of Tourism, Honourable Lindsay Grant.

Local news, News

APIS BILL ENHANCES ST. KITTS AND NEVIS’ REPUTATION, WHICH HAS SEEN A MARKED INCREASE UNDER HARRIS-LED ADMINISTRATION

Published 28 May 2017

BASSETERRE, ST. KITTS, MAY 26^TH, 2017 (PRESS SEC) – Prime Minister Dr. the Honourable Timothy Harris said on Tuesday that the safe passage of the Advance Passenger Information Bill “helps St. Kitts and Nevis’ reputation as a responsible member of the international community.”

The Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis stated that the safe passage in the Parliament furthered the progress, which the Government of National Unity is making at a steady clip in offsetting the reputational damage to the country suffered under the previous Denzil Douglas-led administration.

Progress on that front has seen reforms to the country’s AML/CFT [anti-money laundering/combating the financing of terrorism] regime, as well as a robust overhaul and rebranding of its Citizenship by Investment Program to include a strengthened due diligence process that is now the platinum standard. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) commended these improvements during the recently held Article (IV) Consultation in St. Kitts and Nevis.

This progress has also seen a reputational rebound for St. Kitts and Nevis’ passport, which is ranked number one in the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS), number two in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) behind The Bahamas, and number 50 in the world out of 199 countries and territories, according to the Nomad Passport Index 2017.

Education, Local news, News

DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS ASSURES NEW BHS SITE WILL BE SAFE

Published 28 May 2017

Basseterre, St. Kitts, May 26, 2017 (SKNIS): Cromwell Williams, Director of Public Works, has reassured the public that the site of the new Basseterre High School (BHS), Ponds Estate, has been properly assessed and all checks have been carried out to ensure that the environment remains safe.

On May 25, Mr. Williams, along with the technical team appointed by the government, made his way to the site, which is at the southern end of the Basseterre Aquifer. The director said that “there will be some concerns in the public domain due to the fact that this area is considered an environmentally sensitive area,” but that plans have been put in place to mitigate any fallout.

“The fact that we have chosen this site, which is at the southern end of the aquifer, in itself is a mitigation step in that it is downstream of the wells and the water in this area moves from north to south,” he explained. “So, by the time it gets to this area on its way to the sea, it would have passed the wells already. Notwithstanding that we will ensure that in the design and construction that adequate redundancies are put in place to deal with any possibility of any spill of any kind of waste whatsoever.”