BASSETERRE, St Kitts, CMC:
THE ST KITTS-NEVIS Government says it has put in place a mechanism to assist the more vulnerable groups as it announced an increase in the price for fuel and electricity in the twin-island Federation.
Public Utilities Minister Dr. Earl Asim Martin, in a radio and television broadcast on Monday night, said that new prices would become effective from November 1.
FIRST SINCE 2000
He said that despite rising oil prices on the world market over the years, the increases in electricity rates would be the first since 2000, while the last fuel price increase was in February this year.
Dr. Martin said fuel at the pump would increase from EC$8.30 (US$3.07) to $10.50 (US$3.88) while the increase on electricity to consumers would be from EC$0.37 cents (US$0.13 cents) to EC$0.51 cents (US$0.18 cents) per kilowatt-hour.
He said Government has put in place a mechanism to assist the more vulnerable groups of society, including senior citizens and families who are likely to have extreme difficulty in coping with the adjustment in electricity rates.
The Public Utilities Minister said that escalating oil prices now pose the greatest threat to the achievement of fiscal targets for 2005 and in light of the increase in international oil prices, governments in the region have decided to discontinue subsidising fuel cost and to pass on the increase to the consumers.
