The Cabinet of Ministers met on Monday, August 29, 2022, under the chairmanship of Prime Minister the Honourable Dr Terrance Drew. During their meeting, Cabinet discussed several matters of national importance to the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis. Below are the outcomes of their discussions.
- The Cabinet agreed in principle to facilitate the payment of the St. Kitts Electricity Company’s fuel costs in order to enable lower energy costs for the residents on St. Kitts.
- The Cabinet has decided to take the following steps with respect to marijuana:
- to review the laws decriminalizing possession and cultivation of certain quantities of marijuana in the Federation.
- to initiate the long-anticipated Medical Marijuana Industry to create entrepreneurs, economic activity and to diversify the Federation’s tourism product.
- to table legislation to permit the Court to expunge the criminal records of persons convicted in the past of minor marijuana-related offences.
- to instruct the Royal Saint Christopher and Nevis Police Force to respect the current cannabis-related laws and the constitutional rights declared in the May 2019 decision of the High Court in Ras Sankofa Maccabee v the Commissioner of Police and the Attorney-General.
- The Cabinet agreed to initiate the restoration and transformation project for converting the home of the nation’s first National Hero, the Right Excellent Sir Robert Llewellyn Bradshaw, into a museum.
- The Cabinet discussed important measures to further strengthen and enhance the world’s longest-standing citizenship-by-investment programme
- The Cabinet received updates from the Independence 39 Organising Committee. Of note was the report that 413 submissions were received from the 3-day Independence Theme competition. The winning theme will be announced on Wednesday, August 31, 2022.
- The Honourable Prime Minister, Dr Terrance Drew, will attend the inaugural Africa-Caribbean Trade and Investment Forum (ACTIF), September 1-3, 2022 in Bridgetown, Barbados. The Forum will be held under the theme “One People, One Destiny. Uniting and Reimagining Our Future”.
- As Minister of Health, Prime Minister Drew will also attend the preliminary meeting for the 30th Pan American Sanitary Conference on September 2, 2022, in Bridgetown, Barbados.
According to a spokesperson from PLP, Some 808 persons in St. Kitts and Nevis have had their criminal records for possession of small amounts of marijuana expunged, thanks to the passing of the Criminal Records (Rehabilitation of Offenders) (Amendment) Bill, 2020 in the Federal Parliament on 12 Februarym 2022.
Through this piece of legislation, the Team Unity Government expunged criminal records for those who were convicted under section 6B of the Drugs (Prevention & Abatement of the Misuse and Abuse of Drugs) Act, Cap. 9.08; or convicted of an offence or offences involving less than 56 grammes of cannabis or cannabis resin in a quantity of 15 grammes or less.
