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MUSEUM MAYHEM!

BASSETERRE, ST. KITTS (April 7, 2025) – After over a year of deafening silence, the St. Christopher National Trust has finally stepped out of the shadows, staging a high-stakes press conference to address the controversial and prolonged closure of the iconic National Museum. But in a bombshell revelation, the Trust also declared it has nothing to do with the long-stalled and politically tinged RLB Museum construction project.

The press event was chaired by former museum head Toni Frederick-Armstrong and featured candid statements from Trust Board President Kevin Taylor and Executive Director Etsu Bradshaw-Keynes, who pulled back the curtain on months of public confusion, financial gridlock, and near-abandonment of one of the Federation’s most treasured heritage sites.

SHUT DOWN AND SHUT OUT

Kevin Taylor confirmed what many feared: the old Treasury Building, home to the National Museum, has been shuttered due to dangerous structural issues—including a collapsing roof and crumbling limestone walls. Despite a signed contract with Trinidad-based Parbonnier Restoration worth EC $1.835 million, work ground to a halt in January 2024 when the government allegedly failed to pay up.

“The roof was leaking and threatening priceless artifacts,” Taylor said gravely. “Work finally began in September 2023… only to stop dead when funding dried up.”

The Trust says the government only cleared outstanding payments months later in July 2024, followed by further contractor compensation in February 2025, leaving the project severely delayed. Now, with a new schedule on the table, Parbonnier is expected to return to St. Kitts this April. Barring further hiccups, completion is now tentatively set for the end of 2025.

RLB PROJECT? “NOT OUR BABY,” SAYS TRUST

In what some are calling a strategic distancing, the Trust made it abundantly clear it has no connection whatsoever to the embattled RLB Museum project that was announced years ago but remains mired in political fog and planning purgatory.

“We are not involved in the RLB project,” declared Bradshaw-Keynes. “We are focused entirely on restoring the original National Museum. Any suggestion otherwise is misinformation.”

Sources close to the situation claim the Trust has grown increasingly frustrated by public confusion and government silence that has unfairly linked them to the stalled multimillion-dollar RLB plan.

A HISTORY OF NEGLECT

Veteran heritage advocate and founding member Larry Armony delivered a stinging historical indictment, revealing that the government has never formally vested ownership of the Treasury Building in the Trust. He described the entire arrangement as a shaky MOU between the Heritage Society and the State—a handshake deal gone cold.

“The government’s maintenance responsibilities have been consistently neglected,” Armony said. “Even the Trust’s subvention was sporadic for years.”

Bradshaw-Caines revealed the Trust scrapes by with a paltry EC $17,500 monthly subvention, while also relying on membership dues, a now-closed museum, and a gift shop that’s been temporarily exiled to Heroes Park near the airport.

“WE’RE BROKE BUT DETERMINED”

With the building off-limits and the museum gift shop operating from a makeshift location, the Trust admits it is operating on fumes.

“We don’t have any other sources of funding,” Bradshaw-Keynes said. “This project depends entirely on government commitment.”

With cultural preservation now hanging by a thread, the Trust is calling on citizens, donors, and government officials to treat the crisis with urgency.

“This isn’t just about bricks and mortar,” said Taylor. “This is about safeguarding our national memory.”

PUBLIC OUTRAGE BREWING?

The revelation of state delays, vague funding promises, and a year-long shutdown of a key cultural institution has already sparked rumblings of public outcry. Critics say the lack of urgency reflects a troubling disregard for heritage and tourism.

With general elections on the horizon, some observers believe the issue could become political dynamite.

As the nation watches and waits, one thing is certain: the battle to save the National Museum is no longer just a restoration project—it’s a fight for St. Kitts’ historical soul.