SKN is expected to witness economic growth of 5.5 percent in 2021: PM Harris

St Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister Timothy Harris revealed that the Federation is presumed to witness economic growth of 5.5 percent in 2021.

St Kitts and Nevis:  St Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister Timothy Harris revealed that the Federation is presumed to witness economic growth of 5.5 percent in 2021.

He made this statement during his weekly government programme.

The development is a notable improvement from 2020, which saw St Kitts & Nevis’ economy drastically decrease due to the global ramifications of the coronavirus pandemic.

However, after getting COVID vaccine donations from the Government of India and rolling out its mass vaccination programme over the islands, the government has said they will be moving attention to now focus on economic recovery.

Prime Minister Harris has stated this will include the plan of tax incentives and other financial and policy-based support. 

The government will also proceed to commit itself to national development and ensure that capital projects are performed as outlined in the 2021 Budget Address.

PM Harris said one of the ways the government will utilize is one of ‘pro-growth’: “We expect that the key sectors that would accelerate our economic recovery would include construction, manufacturing, agriculture, ICT and services including tourism.”

“Notably, construction activity, which generally provides about 16 percent to GDP, would be positively affected by ongoing projects so as the resurfacing of the island main road including residential construction. 

The construction of other significant projects including the solar farm, the new Basseterre High School & health centres around the island are also expected to add to the projected growth in 2021,” he noted.

Before the coronavirus pandemic, St Kitts and Nevis enjoyed continuous economic growth over five years. 

The dual-islands also became the 1st independent state in the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union to align its debt-to-GDP ratio to international standards twelve years before the deadline.

The Caribbean country St Kitts and Nevis is familiar with adapting its economy to encourage positive growth. The Federation used to be massively reliant on the sugar industry up till the late 1970s however had to expand its economy due to declining world prices. 

A few short years later, St Kitts & Nevis pioneered the Citizenship by Investment Programme (CBI) – the manner of attracting foreign direct investment(FDI) on the islands in exchange for the granting of citizenship.

Today, the CBI Programme has been in work for almost 40 years, inspiring several similar initiatives worldwide. Revenues from CBI have provided to countless national development projects and have been a ‘major contributor’ to supporting the economy during the pandemic. 

Investors interested in becoming citizens of SKN must make a one-time qualifying investment to the Sustainable Growth Fund. Families of up to 4 can take advantage of a limited-time offer that gives citizenship for $150,000 – the equivalent price as a single candidate – rather than the previous $195,000.

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