Yearbook 2009
Saint Christopher and Nevis. At the beginning of the year, according to countryaah, Saint Christopher and Nevis enacted new laws aimed at getting the Economic Cooperation Organization (OECD) to remove the country from its so-called gray list of countries that did not take sufficient steps to remove the stamp as a tax haven. Previously, Saint Christopher and Nevis had been classified by the OECD as a non-cooperative tax haven. See ABBREVIATIONFINDER for abbreviation KN which stands for the nation of St. Kitts and Nevis.
In domestic politics, as usual, the rulers struggled to overcome the very high crime rate. At the beginning of the year, Prime Minister Denzil Douglas convened a meeting of party borders on how to reduce the high homicide rate. It was agreed to give the police extended powers and resources. In addition, a reward would be paid to anyone who could give the police tips in pursuit of suspected killers.
During the year, the country’s revenues from important tourism decreased – as a result of the global economic crisis that blossomed in the fall of 2008. Also, the significant financial contributions from citizens living abroad to relatives in the home country decreased. To mitigate the effects of the crisis on poor people, the government raised the minimum wage and sold government land cheaply to small farmers. In May, the country was granted a loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on the grounds that the consequences of the crisis became particularly noticeable to Saint Christopher and Nevis because the islands were already hit hard by Hurricane Omar in the fall of 2008.