The Labour Administration's commitment to provide safer drinking water and to improve the foreign language capability of students and other residents in the twin-island Federation, is getting a shot in the arm from the Government of Spain.
The Jamaica-based Spanish Ambassador accredited to St. Kitts and Nevis, His Excellency Jesus Silva told the Federation's Prime Minister the Hon. Dr.
Denzil L. Douglas during a courtesy visit, that his government in Madrid has accepted the request of the Federal authorities to finance the two projects.
"We are trying to establish maybe from this year, a lecturer in Spanish teaching. There will be a young lady who will be sent by our Ministry of Foreign Affairs to be resident in St. Kitts, to help you ministry and you teachers to improve their qualifications in the teaching of the Spanish language at the Clarence Fitzroy Bryant College. So that a very good start and through her, we will try and encourage further cooperation in educational and cultural programmes with your country," said Ambassador Silva.
The Ministry of Public Utilities in keeping with its promise to the electorate to provide safer drinking water, plans to purchase chlorination equipment with financing from Spain and install it at the reservoirs at Pond's, Newton Ground and Conaree.
"We will soon finalise the agreement in the (water) project which helps you to with the water distribution and the chlorination. This is going to be a US$300,000 project that we will be able to develop and this is also very good news. We will by September hope to be able to sit down with the CARICOM Secretariat and with the individual countries, to make a new agreement for the next few years on cooperation. Our initial idea is to multiply by three the amount that is already allotted to the Caribbean countries," saud the Spanish diplomat.
He said Spain will assist St. Kitts and Nevis in the areas that the Federal Government deem a priority "like programmes in the tourism industry for your people to become better qualified in these areas."
The Spanish diplomat said his Government in Madrid will also assist the Federal Government in St. Kitts and Nevis in programmes for alternative agricultural production that could be used by "your people who are now leaving the sugar industry."
"It could be also some incentives to produce the type of agriculture that the tourism industry is demanding, so it will much better for your country and less need to import things. So we're trying to work hard on these issues and this orientation that we think is very good for this country and the region," said Mr. Silva.
