Prime Minister Harris Pledges to Continue Key Social Safety Net Programmes
Basseterre, St. Kitts, June 29, 2022 (Press Unit in the Office of the Prime Minister) – Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis, Dr. the Honourable Timothy Harris, has reiterated his commitment to the continuation of two key social safety net initiatives, namely the Poverty Alleviation Programme (PAP) and the highly successful Alternative Lifestyle Pathway Programme, commonly referred to as the ‘Peace Programme’.
“We are saying the Peace Programme, the PAP Programme they are all social safety nets required to give people at least a basic standard of living for them to be able to hold their heads above water; for your grandmother to get her own money to buy her medication, to buy her bread, buy her rice,” Prime Minister Harris said during the opening of the People’s Labour Party’s Constituency Office in Sandy Point on Tuesday, June 28.
The Poverty Alleviation Programme provides a stipend of $500 monthly to households with a gross monthly income of less than $3,000. Thousands of households across the Federation have benefited from this initiative since its inception.
The Alternative Lifestyle Pathway Programme has successfully led to a sharp decline in violent crimes that once plagued the Federation. This has come about by targeting individuals who were once engaged in criminal activity or under the influence of gangs and providing them with the opportunities and tools necessary to become productive members of society.
Dr. Harris said, “The Peace Programme is about people’s empowerment. It’s about giving people a second chance. We are giving people an opportunity to turn from the bad path unto a new path of enlightenment, service and business.”
The Alternative Lifestyle Pathway Programme has allowed for several at-risk individuals within the Federation to develop businesses which in turn have created employment opportunities for other persons. Since the conception of the current version of the programme, St. Kitts and Nevis has seen a dramatic decrease in homicides and gun-related crimes.