BASSETERRE, St Kitts (CMC) – St Kitts-Nevis Prime Minister Dr Terrance Drew says the country was “on the brink” of losing its visa-free visa-free access to the United Kingdom and the European Union, as he announced plans to reform the Citizenship by Investment (CBI) programme as part of an overall new initiative to spur economic growth and development.

Under the programme, foreign investors are provided with citizenship of the twin island federation in return for making a significant contribution to the socio-economic development of the country.

In a nationwide radio and television broadcast, Prime Minister Drew said that two years ago, when he assumed office, the CBI programme directly contributed between 60-70 per cent of the country’s revenue.

“We were overly dependent on CBI, our proverbial economic eggs were all in one basket. Unlike nations that rely on natural resources like oil and gas, which have stable and consistent demand, CBI has never been a guaranteed industry.”

Prime Minister Drew sad that no nation can truly say that citizenships will always be in demand, adding “the reality is simple: the CBI is vulnerable to international politics and scrutiny”.

He recalled that on entering into office, his administration released that “our international partners had their eyes squarely on our CBI programme” and that the last administration had approved an ill-conceived prison project, resulting “in tens of thousands of citizenships being issued from a single venture”.

Prime Minister Dew said that this “put our visa-free access to the UK and the EU in grave jeopardy,” adding “I want to make this clear today: St Kitts and Nevis was on the brink of losing that precious visa-free access.

“If we had not taken bold, immediate action, we would have lost that privilege. The evidence was overwhelming. This was confirmed, both publicly and privately, by our international partners.”

He said that in August 2022, his government faced a stark choice of either continuing down the path of reckless exploitation of CBI, or make tough decisions to secure the country’s long-term future.

“We chose the latter, because we were determined to preserve the good name of Saint Kitts and Nevis. We initiated a full investigation into our CBI programme and received our first report in October, 2022. Shortly thereafter, we commenced a comprehensive legislative review of our CBI regulations.”

Prime Minister Drew said he travelled to Dubai in December 2022, to announce major reforms to the CBI programme under the banner of Sustainability and Good Governance.

“We also made it clear to the world that St. Kitts and Nevis would lead by example in raising CBI standards. We acted swiftly, because we knew what was at stake,” he said noting that since then the country has joined Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada and St Lucia in collectively adopting new measures to safe guard the programme.

“Today, I stand before you to say that our efforts have borne fruit. The St Kitts and Nevis CBI programme has been saved. Not only have we re-established it as a leading CBI programme in the world, but we have also set a new standard of regional cooperation with our OECS colleagues,” he added.

Prime Minister Drew said that in 2019, CBI generated EC$443 million (One EC dollar=US$0.37 cents) for the the country, declining to EC$271 million a year later.

It increased to EC$543 million in 2021, EC$669 million the following year, declining slightly to EC$620 million last year.

Prime Minister Drew, who is also the finance minister, said that, up to September those year, CBI has generated EC$218 million.

“This decline was expected as a result of the necessary reforms and market adjustments to save the programme over the long term. Believe me, without these changes, all would have been lost. This now signals that the era of gross mismanagement is over.

“Instead, CBI will now fuel real, tangible, sustainable projects that will create permanent jobs and opportunities for the people of Saint Kitts and Nevis.”

He said over the next two to three years, the government anticipates an economic boom in construction, tourism, agriculture, and sustainability projects.

He said this will be driven by a pivot from the dependency on CBI to the Sustainable Economic Expansion and Diversification (SEED), the “pillars of our Sustainable Island State Agenda.

“This is a fundamental part of Saint Kitts and Nevis’ National Development Planning Framework, a comprehensive guide to the evolution of our economy for the next 15 years,” Prime Minister Drew said, adding “we’ve laid the groundwork for the Sustainable Island State Agenda and the National Development Planning Framework” listing some of what he described as “these transformative projects”.

“These projects and the many others that I will speak about in further detail during my budget presentation in a few weeks represent this government’s resolute commitment to improving the lives of every Kittitian and Nevisian. The opportunities are vast, and they represent a brighter, more sustainable future for all of us.

“We have a plan. A boom is coming to St Kitts and Nevis. For the past two years, we have been planting the SEED for our Sustainable Island State Agenda. Now, it is time to water that SEED, so the plant of prosperity and sustainability can flourish.

“We must aim higher. We must envision a future where every citizen has the chance not only to survive but to thrive—where they aspire to become their best selves and, ultimately, to be self-sustaining,” Drew said in his broadcast.

Bit he warned that the government alone cannot drive this transformation and to fully capitalise on SEED “ we need you.

“We need you to commit to diligent work and productivity, to embrace innovation and entrepreneurship. We need our diaspora to come home to bring their skills, experience, and passion back to the land of your ancestors.

“We need all hands on deck to seize the opportunities coming our way in construction, tourism, agriculture, and sustainability,” he said, adding “I invite every citizen who is committed to seeing St Kitts and Nevis rise to join us in nurturing the SEED of our future.

“We have worked tirelessly over the past two years to lay the groundwork for this era of foreign direct investment. Now we must keep that wealth here, reinvesting in our people and our future.

“We relied on sugar, but international market forces pushed us out of that industry. We turned to CBI, but gross mismanagement by the previous administration has reshaped that landscape as well. Now, it is time for St. Kitts and Nevis to unlock its full potential by diversifying, no longer bound by a single market or external forces,” Prime Minister Drew added.