PM Drew cites $54M for STEP workers as Government plans path to permanent jobs – WIC News

During a special media roundtable held on November 5, 2026, St. Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister Dr. Terrance Drew laid out a sweeping multi-pronged government strategy designed to shield residents from global economic headwinds, expand livelihood opportunities for vulnerable workers, revamp national healthcare infrastructure, and reduce longstanding overreliance on the volatile Citizenship by Investment (CBI) program. At the core of the new policy package is a $54 million 2026 allocation for the Skills Training and Empowerment Programme (STEP), a flagship workforce development initiative that will not only deliver recent wage increases for existing participants but also roll out a structured pathway to permanent formal employment for enrollees, with no plans to discontinue the program entirely. PM Drew confirmed he has directed the nation’s Financial Secretary to resolve a longstanding barrier that currently prevents STEP participants from accessing mortgage financing, a key step to help program graduates achieve long-term homeownership and financial stability. The prime minister emphasized that these targeted investments come as ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East continue to drive global fuel price spikes and widespread inflationary pressure across small island developing states. To offset these cost-of-living strains, the administration has rolled out a suite of relief measures putting more disposable income directly into household pockets: an 8% civil servant salary increase with scheduled incremental raises in subsequent years, a raised national minimum wage, $36.6 million in direct cash transfers via the Budget Boost digital wallet in the first half of 2025, a VAT cut from 17% to 13% with dedicated VAT-free events costing the treasury no less than $2 million each, $80 million in cumulative electricity subsidies through June 2026, a $1.2 million reduction in gasoline excise taxes, a 50% cut to customs service charges, and heavily subsidized liquefied petroleum gas that has pushed the price of a 100-pound LPG cylinder to the lowest level across the entire Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States. Turning to long-term economic resilience, PM Drew noted that the CBI program, long the backbone of the national economy, remains a fragile and perpetually at-risk industry that the previous administration left as the sole pillar of national revenue. His government’s Sustainable Island State Agenda (SISA) is deliberately restructuring the economy to diversify revenue streams and eliminate overreliance on the vulnerable CBI sector, with the prime minister stating his team has rejected a culture of excuses to proactively pursue sustainable, independent growth. In the healthcare space, the administration has delivered a series of landmark upgrades to expand access to critical care: 5 new ambulances valued at $1.7 million, full roof repairs for the national hospital, 26 new medical specialists, a new CT scanner, a digitized accident and emergency department, and near-completion of a new MRI facility with a specialized technician already on site to commission the equipment. The government has also invested $1.5 million in new surgical equipment and a dedicated clinic to launch previously unavailable eye surgeries at JNF General Hospital, and its newly established Children’s Medical Fund has provided life-saving care for over 152 vulnerable young patients. PM Drew noted that the last recorded maternal death at JNF Hospital occurred nearly two years prior, as clinical teams work tirelessly to prioritize every patient’s survival. Calling for cross-party collaboration to advance public health outcomes, PM Drew invited opposition leaders to join formal bipartisan discussions on healthcare policy, noting that partisan politicization of hospital outcomes undermines shared public good. He highlighted that no equivalent children’s medical fund existed under the prior Team Unity administration, and that his government has consistently avoided weaponizing personal health events of opposition leaders for political gain, even when his own public illness was met with partisan criticism. Closing his address, PM Drew emphasized that the office of the prime minister is a public trust, not a personal entitlement, and that his administration will continue navigating ongoing national challenges to build a more prosperous, equitable future for all residents of St. Kitts and Nevis.