(Basseterre, St. Kitts, July 2, 2013) The room was packed, the anticipation, palpable.
And the people kept coming, causing Labour Party organizers to have to, first, find extra chairs from somewhere, and then try to find spaces large enough to squeeze said chairs into.
The venue was the Anglican Church Hall, better known as the Old Girls’ School, on Victoria Road, Basseterre, and the occasion was the most recent in a series of Labour Administration “Face-to-Face” sessions, established years ago to enable members of the public to interact, as the name suggests, “face-to-face” – and publicly – with the Members of the Federal Cabinet.
Present and engaging with the audience throughout the evening were the Right Honorable Dr. Denzil. L. Douglas, Prime Minister; the Honorable Dr. Earl Asim Martin, Deputy Prime Minister; and the Honorable Marcella A. Liburd, Glenn Phillip, Patrice Nisbett, Nigel A. Carty, and Richard “Ricky” Skerrit.
A pre-existing responsibility required Attorney General Jason Hamilton to be overseas.
From the listing of available lands for residential and agricultural purposes, to the imminent provision of free, comprehensive health care for all; from Public Works projects both planned and underway, to the Government’s progress at promoting agricultural co-operatives; from the establishment of Innovation Centers throughout the nation to provide internet access to one and all, to innovative social programs to strengthen families; from Government’s commitment to investigate charges of long-term workers being unfairly dismissed, to the Education Ministry’s sharpened focus on technical and vocational capabilities; from dramatically expanded visitor arrivals at R L B International Airport necessitating the re-design of that facility, to so many other topics, the conversation kept moving forward.
The procedural requirements regarding Motions of No Confidence – as outlined in the PAM-established 1983 Constitution – were spelled out.
The wide-ranging beneficiaries of SIDF funding, specified. And the support for the St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Party, throughout the night, made abundantly clear.
An imminent increase in the minimum wage, the upcoming sitting of the National Assembly, and the belief that that Messrs. Condor and Harris should – as a matter of principle – resign their Labour-won seats and face a true St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Party candidate in a by-election all featured prominently during the evening.
Carried live on radio and television, and accessible via St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Party streaming, last evening’s “Face-to-Face” took place on the opening night of a week of activities being held to commemorate – and thank the public – for the initial July 1995 election of the St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Party.