Hon. Dr. Denzil Douglas

The impending Value Added Tax (VAT) system was one of the key topics discussed at the 78th Annual St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Party Conference held this past Sunday (May 16).

A wide cross-section of more than 400 persons from the public and private sectors joined the Labour administration and executives, along with delegates and dignitaries from the diplomatic and consular corps and non-governmental organizations at the posh Marriott event.

Prime Minister and Labour Party leader Hon. Dr. Denzil Douglas told the gathering that action must be taken immediately to reduce the enormous public debt and get on firmer financial footing in light of the global economic collapse.

"The IMF is on our doorsteps and so we need to take action now to accelerate the reduction of our public debt and strengthen the public finances in order to reduce our own vulnerability to this global crisis that we are engulfed in. The Central Bank and the IMF have agreed to provide technical assistance to us here in St. Kitts and Nevis, but to date we have not had to commit to any IMF program," he said.

Dr. Douglas said VAT must now become the centre of discussion in the communities as well as in all political parties and other forums.

"If we are to keep it this way we must take action now. We must improve our revenue collection processes; we must consolidate our indirect taxes and form a comprehensive value added tax that would replace a dozen such taxes. [VAT discussions] must be put in place so that our people can understand what we are doing and defend the government action in this regard."

PM Douglas also informed that if the public service did not have the capacity to deliver planned programs and policies, the government's agenda for change could be compromised. He said several such initiatives had failed to come to fruition which left a sour taste in many peoples' mouths.

"The Cabinet has made a number of very important decisions that have remained in the pipeline for unduly long periods. For instance we took the position years ago that all public workers in the government, as well in the public corporations and entities, should be entitled to some appropriate retirement benefits; today this is still not completed and our people are angry that this is taking so long."

He acknowledged that failure to deliver on some of these programs and policies and to correct certain administrative deficiencies may have led to the Federation not performing well in the most recent World Bank Doing Business Survey.

The Prime Minister did say that despite all the existing challenges, the Labour Party's victory at the January 25th polls demonstrated the faith the populace had in his administration and its ability to carry out its mandate.

Professor of Political Science at UWI's Mona Campus, Jamaica, Dr. Neville Duncan, delivered the keynote address. Opening remarks were made by Labour Party Chairman, Senior Minister and Minister of International Trade, Industry and Commerce; Agriculture, Marine Resources, Consumer Affairs and Constituency Empowerment, Hon. Dr. Timothy Harris.

The second half of the conference was attended only by delegates, who would have received the Report of the National Executive and the Financial Report from the Treasurer.