Prime Minister Douglas and Premier Amory Jointly Face Reality of Burnt Nevis Treasury Building And Pledge Constructive Action

Basseterre, St. Kitts, January 28, 2014 (SKNIS): Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis the Right Honourable Dr. Denzil Douglas and Premier of Nevis Honourable Vance Amory have turned the tragedy of the burning of the Nevis Treasury Building into an opportunity to solidify the working relationship between the sister islands.

Following the January 17, 2014 fire which burnt the building that housed the Nevis Island Administration’s (NIA) Treasury, Inland Revenue and Value Added Tax (VAT) departments, Prime Minister Douglas noted that he had positively responded to Premier Amory’s request for assistance, on his “Ask the PM” ZIZ Radio Programme.

“Premier Amory and the people of Nevis can rest assured that the Federal Government will do all in its power to expedite a return to normalcy where the functioning of the Nevis Treasury is concerned,” Prime Minister Douglas stated. “And I know that the people of Nevis will continue to be the calm and focused people that they always have been.”

As such, Prime Minister Douglas journeyed to Nevis and met with Premier Amory on Friday, January 24.

“I was able to again, reaffirm the commitment I made when we spoke last week Friday morning, after we learnt of what had happened here in Nevis,” Prime Minister Douglas stated. I believe that the relationship merits that we continue to collaborate and cooperate especially in the area where services for the people of Nevis and St. Kitts obviously had been interrupted. We need to get those services back as quickly as possible and again emphasizing our commitment to help.”

The Federal Prime Minister noted that all had not been lost due to the fact that Inland Revenue collects data on a Federal scale in St. Kitts, which he noted was an excellent means of collaboration. PM Douglas revealed that one immediate action would be the earmarking of furniture to be sent to Nevis from the Government’s Central Purchasing Unit based in St. Kitts.

Similarly, Premier Amory noted his pleasure with the outcome of the meeting and thanked Prime Minister Douglas for his efforts. He informed that so far the Inland Revenue cashiers had been temporarily installed in the Post Office.

Following the meeting, Prime Minister Douglas, who had been accompanied by Financial Secretary Hilary Hazel and Comptroller of Inland Revenue Edward Gift, along with Premier Amory toured the burnt out building that formerly housed the three government departments.

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