by Eulana Weekes
St. Kitts and Nevis (WINN): CEO of the Citizenship By Investment Unit (CIU), Mr Michael Martin, said the Unit will be undergoing some policy changes to enhance the effectiveness and transparency of the Citizenship By Investment (CBI) Programme.
During his appearance on the Wednesday, September 27 edition of InFocus with Host Ian Richards, Mr Martin mentioned that public engagement is a priority area that needs to be improved, and just as important is the regular publication of CBI Statistics.
“Well, one of the things that we are looking at also is the regular publication of statistics; that, we believe, is also very important and of great interest to our people and our international partners. So, that’s something that we are looking at as well,” said Martin.
He explained, “Things like the number of applicants, the number of passports and that sort of thing; the revenue brought in by CBI, expenses, all of those kinds of things. It’s all part of being transparent and accountable because it’s very important that something of this nature ought to be transparent. It’s a programme that confers citizenship on virtual strangers, people who were not born here, and so it is very important for us to inform the public of what is going on.”
Citizenship by Investment has been one of the most popular topics on the airwaves in recent years. Citizens of St. Kitts and Nevis are increasingly interested in knowing the programme’s critical details, and according to Martin, a special unit would be established for public engagements.
“To be honest, I don’t think we presently engage with the public as much as we should, and perhaps that is why there are some misgivings [and] misconceptions about the whole question about Citizenship by Investment.
Martin added, “CBI involves money; lots of money and the people always have an interest in what is done with the money, as they should. It’s their money. It’s the taxpayers’ money, and so we believe that we have not done enough to show to the public what CBI is doing in the country. We have not done a good job of that, and we intend to put a Communications Unit in place that is going to address all of those things so there will be visible evidence, things like billboards and so on, pointing out projects that were done by CBI all around the country.”
The monies generated by the CBI Programme go into the consolidated fund, which is the Government’s primary bank account and has been used as one of the primary means of contribution to the development of the country and its people through every sector.
“The monies go into the consolidated fund and are disbursed into projects that the Government develops for the people. So, CBI is all around us. If there was no CBI, we would not be where we are today; that’s a fact.
“The programme has done quite a lot. People might not know that. There have been Small Business Development Programmes that were done through the SIDF (Sugar Industry Diversification Fund), which was a CBI Programme, where Small Business Owners were trained [on] how to set up a business, how to run it, how to keep it running and quite a number of them are still in business. So things like that, and people are not aware that it’s CBI that did that. So when you consider that CBI contributes about 35% of the GDP, then obviously, it is doing a lot to develop the country and develop the people.”
Martin acknowledged that whilst there have been many successful projects that benefitted from CBI contributions, there are projects that have not been completed. The Board of Governors, he said, is addressing that issue because not only do they take away from the aesthetics of the landscape, but if those projects are left unfinished, they serve as lost opportunities for employment and people development.
In December 2022, the Government of St. Kitts and Nevis embarked on a historic venture of introducing a CBI dividend for the people. Citizens and residents received a share of the profits and retained earnings received from the Citizenship by Investment Programme for the first time, facilitated through the St. Christopher and Nevis Social Security Board. The dividend was paid for a second time in June 2023; some received EC $250.00 and others EC $500.00.
The Financial Times currently ranks St.Kitts and Nevis at number one in its CBI index with 86%. St. Kitts and Nevis topped in four pillars: Mandatory Travel Residence, Visa processing, Due Diligence and Certainty of Product. Martin said the St. Kitts and Nevis Citizenship by Investment Programme is in good standing.
“I want to say to the people of St. Kitts and Nevis that your CBI Programme is up and running. It is healthy. It is being run in an efficient and effective manner, and you’re going to see going forward a number of changes that are designed to ensure integrity, transparency and accountability in the programme. So, it is your programme, and I ask you to support your programme and ensure that it continues to contribute to the development of yourselves and the country.
