“The resources expected to flow to the Government from the Citizenship by Investment

Programme have also been taken into account in the IMF supported Programme and has served to substantially reduce the level of adjustment that our people and our creditors must bear as part of the programme,” said Prime Minister Douglas, who disclosed that the accounts of the SIDF have been audited and, because of the national significance of this import Foundation, “I have requested the independent Board of Governors, which is responsible for this Foundation, to make available the audited accounts of the Foundation for public scrutiny. I am certain that the public would, on examining these accounts, commend this important institution for its outstanding contribution to the development of St. Kitts and Nevis.” 

He said that in a crisis of the magnitude of the global financial crisis, the risk for vulnerable groups including young people and low-income families, are especially high, and his St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Government was “not prepared to play games with the livelihood of these groups or compromise the future of our people by unnecessary delay arising from short-term political or other considerations. 

“We combined the outstanding technical resources of our Ministry of Finance and Development with the best technical advice available regionally and internationally to craft and implement a programme to protect our country from economic devastation, and we proceeded immediately with its implementation,” said the Prime Minister. 

“We rationalized the Citizenship by Investment Programme that was established by the previous Government as early as 1984, and we have converted it into an important source of economic stability through its very positive impact on the real estate and the construction sectors and through the operation of the Sugar Industry Diversification Foundation (SIDF), which is funded by the contributions of persons obtaining citizenship under the programme,” said the Prime Minister in his traditional new year message on Sunday.