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BHS PROJECT LABOUR CONCERNS: PLP DEPUTY LEADER QUESTIONS LOCAL BENEFIT FROM $270M DEVELOPMENT

BASSETERRE, ST. KITTS — Questions are being raised about how much of the reported $270 million Basseterre High School construction project is flowing directly into the pockets of local workers and contractors, as major construction activity continues at the site.

Recent photographs show a massive crane operating at the development, alongside construction crews and heavy equipment. Concerns have now emerged over reports that crane operators and several workers involved in aspects of the project are from Barbados.

Dameon Lawrence, Deputy Political Leader of the People’s Labour Party and PLP candidate for Central Basseterre, has strongly criticised the situation, describing it as a major disappointment for local construction professionals.

Lawrence argues that a project promoted as creating employment opportunities for hundreds of local workers should be delivering a much broader economic benefit to Kittitians.

According to Lawrence, local contractors and tradespeople have repeatedly demonstrated their ability to execute major developments across St. Kitts and Nevis.

He pointed to projects including the Federation’s cruise infrastructure, Eastern Caribbean Central Bank facilities, major hotel developments such as Park Hyatt, and significant road and coastal works as evidence of the depth of local construction experience.

“This is about more than one crane or one group of workers,” Lawrence’s position suggests. “It is about whether major taxpayer-funded projects are being structured to keep more wages, skills development and economic opportunity inside St. Kitts and Nevis.”

Concerns have also been raised about the original expectation that the BHS project would generate employment for approximately 300 local workers. Times Caribbean has not independently verified the current nationality breakdown or total number of workers presently employed on the site.

The broader issue now facing policymakers is simple: when hundreds of millions of dollars are invested in national infrastructure, how much of that investment remains in the local economy?

For contractors, tradespeople and unemployed construction workers across St. Kitts, that is a question deserving a clear answer.