Nevis, West Indies. ?A Non-Tourist-Trap? Blog About Nevis.

Don’t Mix Politics and Religion

Basseterre, St. Kitts - Nevis
February 18, 2010 (CUOPM)

The ongoing debate in the media with respect to certain transactions between the Evangelical Association and the Customs and Excise Department has been brought to an end.

This follows a meeting Thursday afternoon between representatives of the St. Kitts Evangelical Association, the St. Kitts Christian Council, the St. Kitts and Nevis Chamber of Industry and Commerce, the Ministry of Finance and the Customs Department.

A joint statement signed by the President of the NGO Coalition, Bishop Ron Dublin-Collins and the Financial Secretary, Mrs. Janet Harris said the parties agreed that there has been certain instances of miscommunications, misconceptions and wrong perceptions which have led to the current situation; that no useful purpose was being served by the current dispute and therefore the current Press Release would be the final official communication on the matter.

“All of the issues having been resolved, the parties decided to retract all of their previous statements to the media,” said the one page statement.

It added that the “parties reflected on their past cordial and supportive working relationship and expressed a desire for that sort of rapport to continue. They further decided that in future every attempt would be made to settle differences of opinion or complaints through the normal administrative channels by way of telephone contact, meetings and written correspondence.”

It concluded: “Having agreed to continue to collaborate for the building of the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis, the parties would like to encourage all citizens to also adopt this approach and to work in harmony for the enhancement of the quality of life of our people.”

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Mr. Thomas Sharpe - Nevis COI Commissioner

Charlestown, Nevis
February 05, 2010

Commissioner to the Commission of Inquiry on Nevis Mr. Thomas Sharpe QC commended Nevisians for what he said was their willingness to provide evidence critical to the investigation.

His commendations came during an interview with the Department of Information on Tuesday, at the Commission of Inquiry Secretariat on Government Road.  He was at the time giving an update on the status of the Inquiry at which public hearings were curtailed due to an appeal filed at the Courts by witness and former Premier Mr. Vance Amory.

“Even though Mr. Amory is successful in his stay application that only stops the public hearings. It does not disable us from doing our homework and taking evidence from people, who I have to say, proved remarkably willing and helpful to the Commission and I pay tribute to that.

“Even people’s interest are not always you would think directly support, even people of opposing political persuasions have been very forthcoming and very helpful and I pay tribute to that,” he said.

Mr. Sharpe who described Nevisians as incredibly friendly said members of the public had come up to him and he had not received any bad complaints about the Commission of Inquiry.

“Nobody has said the Commission is a bad idea, not to me anyway, people are not saying that to my face, I see it in posters but everyone says isn’t it very expensive at this very difficult time and I cannot emphasise enough I sympathise with that completely and my personal position on that I have made well known,” he said.

The Commissioner also used the opportunity to explain what was expected of him and gave a brief insight into some of the matters that he continued to deal with.

“Looking at the paper work and analysing these things deeply, when we look at the Marion Heights acquisition for example, my job is to see whether the people of Nevis got value for money; whether there was a good deal in buying something that on its face, some say, was at a very significant over valuation and in any event was inappropriate for the University offices they were doing, that’s one thing.

“Then the airport tender was for EC$30million and it came out at over EC$20million and that’s serious money and I want to know where that money went and I am looking for people who were very responsible for the whole project who on behalf of the people of Nevis were engaged in that,” he said.

However, he disclosed that some witnesses continued to be resistant to give evidence and urged them to come forward of their own accord.

“I’m hoping they will volunteer as well I hope ex Premier Vance and Ms. Nichols in the Marion Heights matter and Mr. Perkins of the Airport they will come forward on a voluntary basis and give their evidence and explain their side, [and] what went on so we get all the jigsaw pieces on the table and we don’t get gaps.

“This is what I’m hoping and I don’t think I am going to be disappointed. So when I come back again in a few weeks time we get the hearings going and we look forward to more interesting developments,” he said.

Related posts:

1. Nevis’ Commission Of Inquiry Saga Continues
2. Date Set For Court Hearing Filed Against Commission of Inquiry
3. COI Adjourns Prematurely For Temporary Injunction Hearing
4. PM Douglas To Give Evidence In Contempt of Court Matter
5. Denied Request Prompts Mass Walk Out From COI Hearing

Specialist Dr. Ron Brouillette To Conduct Tests

Charlestown, Nevis
January 28, 2010

Parents on Nevis have been urged to take advantage of every opportunity they receive to get their children tested.

The advice came from Minister of Health in the Nevis Island Administration (NIA) Hon. Hensley Daniel when he delivered remarks to mark the official opening of a Hearing Aid Mission at the Alexandra Hospital on Monday. The event was organised by the Florida based Caribbean Foundation For Children Inc.

“Take every opportunity to get your children screened and tested…if you did this testing in the United States and other capitals around the world it would be far more expensive.

“Very often in Nevis the services are provided at a very cheap rate or most times at no cost at all and if the parents don’t access the service, then it becomes much more difficult to provide the curative care years after,” he said.

The Health Minister also warned parents against uncertainty with regard to their children’s health status and encouraged them to not be ashamed if something was wrong. He said early detection of health problems in children was as important as taking early corrective measures.

“We have to be fortunate that we have at our disposal the Caribbean Foundation For Children, the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health and the [ear] Specialist Dr. Brouillette who can help us.

“So make good use of it and I trust that all of our children who are screened will be certified as having proper hearing or if they don’t, that they can be helped and helped immediately. The Ministry of Health stands ready to help in that regard,” he said.

A number of students who had been identified to receive the screening test came from a cross section of Nevis Primary Schools. At the end of Wednesday’s session over 100 students had been examined.

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