BASSETERRE, St Kitts – The alleged failure to account for millions of dollars received from the hastily introduced Hurricane Relief Fund (HRF) is said to be one of the major concerns for the blocking of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) report on the economy of St Kitts and Nevis.
One economist thinks it is; while another has privately expressed concern that the review of St Kitts and Nevis’ economy for the second half of 2018 by the Basseterre-based Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB) could also suffer a similar fate.
The first economist, who is very much familiar with the economic affairs of St Kitts and Nevis and the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) noted that when the current Team Unity government took office in mid-February 2015, nearly US$300 million would have been in the account of the Sugar Industry Diversification Foundation (SIDF).
The economist, who will not be identified because permission was not sought to use the name noted that the funds derived from the hurricane relief fund were introduced as a new option under the citizenship by investment programme in September 2017 and could not be placed in the SIDF account, which was…
