Drew makes case for sovereign wealth fund, but gives no figure for what it holds
The Prime Minister says saving windfall revenue would cushion future lean years, but the fund's law arrived a year behind the government's own schedule.
BASSETERRE, St Kitts. Prime Minister Dr Terrance Drew has set out the case for the country's new Sovereign Wealth and Resilience Fund, arguing that money saved in good years would pay for relief when costs rise. The government's account of his remarks gave no figure for how much, if anything, the fund now holds.
Speaking at his Roundtable on 5 November, Dr Drew, who is also Minister of Finance, said the Federation would be better placed to handle today's cost of living pressures had earlier windfalls from the Citizenship by Investment (CBI) programme and the Sugar Industry Diversification Foundation been saved and invested.
"I'm talking about surplus after surplus," he said, according to SKNIS. He drew on the biblical story of seven fat and seven lean years, describing the current period of high prices as the "skinny years".
A year behind schedule
The fund was first announced in February 2025, when the Prime Minister's Office said the legislation would be debated and approved in the first quarter of that year. The bill was not presented to the National Assembly until 31 March 2026, the date the government says it was passed.
Under the law, the fund is to receive defined shares of CBI revenue, Sustainable Island State contributions and any future geothermal profits, invested mainly in foreign assets. Withdrawals are limited to set conditions such as natural disasters, economic shocks and assessed development priorities.
The government says the fund will be run by an independent board under strict fiduciary duties, with regular public reports and independent audits. Neither the March announcement nor the latest briefing disclosed the size of the fund, what share of CBI receipts will be paid in, or who sits on its board.
Dr Drew pointed to electricity subsidies and back-to-school assistance as measures already taken to help families through the current squeeze.
