by Kevon Browne
St. Kitts and Nevis (WINN)—The proposed Destiny zone, over the life of the project, would bring in 7,000-10,000 people onto the island of Nevis.
Premier of Nevis, Hon. Mark Brantley, a staunch advocate for the program, continues to emphasise that the concept of Special Sustainability Zones is not new and that a similar project, Four Seasons Nevis, already exists on the island and is expanding.
One of the Premier’s main arguments in favour of Destiny is the increase in human capital, which is necessary for Nevis’s development.
He continues to call on those in the diaspora to return, but understands that their human capital may come in a different capacity.
“I think we need more than that. I mean, that’s my honest opinion. You know, people here become alarmed because people are concerned about change. We cannot develop Nevis with 13,000 people. It’s impossible. So we can debate where those people are going to come from. But if, for example, our people in the diaspora were to come home, we can double our population overnight. The issue for me is that when I look at prosperous islands like Bermuda, and I use this example all the time, Bermuda is 21 square miles. Bermuda has 65,000 people living on Bermuda. Nevis is 36 square miles with 13,500 people. St. Kitts is 68 square miles with 38,000 people. St. Kitts and Nevis together has less than 52,000 people. At 104 square miles. Bermuda with 21 square miles. So, Bermuda, let me put it the other way. St. Kitts and Nevis is five times the size of Bermuda. And we have less population than Bermuda. You cannot develop a country without people. And a lot of times we talk about sustainability, but we’re not paying attention to the human factor.”
The Premier noted that development will remain stunted without the necessary skilled workforce to pay taxes, shop at grocery stores, and effectively drive the economy.
“So people start off with sustainability, they start to talk about clean energy, water, better buildings, building stronger. But what about the people? How do you sustain an economy if you don’t have people who are going to shop at the supermarkets? Nevis is still at a place where we joke all the time and say you cannot have two parties in Nevis on the same night. One of them is going to fail because you don’t have enough people, right? So the reality is that you need people to develop. When you look at a population of 13,500 people for an island that is trying to develop itself, you take out the elderly. You take out the differently abled who may not be able to work. You take out the youth. You’re left in a population of 13,500 people, as according to our social security numbers, with a working population of less than 7,000. Those are the people who have to pay taxes, be the productive sector in the country, in order to drive a country forward. 7,000 people is a village in most places in the world. In fact, a very small village.”
The reaction towards the project has been mixed, according to Premier Brantley.
“The reaction has been mixed. And I think, unfortunately, a lot of the reaction has fallen along political lines. So the opposition here said they’re against the project. And so a lot of that has come from them. Those who support the government have said, “Let’s get on with it.” And I think we’ve also had good support from the business community. People who are saying, particularly young businessmen, we had a meeting with our truckers, heavy equipment operators, contractors. They were incredibly enthusiastic.”
However, the Nevis Premier is aware of the project’s potential downsides.
“Every development has negatives. The negatives that I see are, of course, if not managed properly, the potential for a large number of people in influx to kind of permeate our population. We’re trying to put some controls in place to prevent that. So, for example, we’ve said they would have no voting rights on the island.”
There is also a distinction in the people who are residents of the zone, the most apparent being voting rights.
“So voting is connected to your citizenship, yes, but it’s also connected to your residency. So we have proposed, which I feel is the position that has been accepted, that if you choose to be resident in a zone, but this is just one that’s proposed. There could be others that are proposed elsewhere for different reasons. But that residency will not qualify as residency for purposes of voting. So we’re making a distinction in terms of residency. Why? Because an individual who’s living in that zone doesn’t have the same rules applying to them. They’re exempt from tax, for example. So we’re saying you can’t have your cake and eat it. You can’t be inside a zone, have no taxes, have special rules, and still have the same rights to vote, etc., as somebody outside the zone.”
Ongoing discussions are underway regarding the proposed Destiny development under the Special Sustainability Zone Legislation.
