By:St. Clair Sazam Hull
Nevispages.com
(CHARLESTOWN NEVIS)-On the afternoon of Sunday, September 13, 2015 all roads led to the Charlestown Methodist Church for the Independence State Service, in commemoration of the 32nd anniversary of Independence.
Prime Minister, Hon. Dr. Timothy Harris spoke to Nevispages. He indicated that the Unity Government, had agreed that the first major event of the Independence celebrations should be held in Nevis and they were proud of the fact that it happened. Dr. Harris noted, that the Unity Government wanted to demonstrate that Nevis is an equal partner to St. Kitts in the Federation, because that is how it ought to be. He said the occasion was quite symbolic and they wanted to ensure that all of the functions of the Independence celebrations went well.
The Prime Minister also spoke about monies, that are to be paid to the sugar workers. He said, “This was something that was promised during the campaign and persons expected it, therefore we had to live up to what we told them. When they voted on February 16th that was one of the things they voted for”. He also indicated that not everyone has been joyous about the workers been paid. He continued, “Some have been very negative about the sugar workers receiving their monies but it doesn’t matter what anybody has to say, the money is theirs and they are going to get it”.
In conclusion, the Prime Minister said it is his wish that the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis will keep moving forward together as one.
Former Prime Minister, and current leader of the Opposition in the Federal Parliament, Hon. Dr. Denzil Douglas noted that the 32nd Anniversary of Independence, came at a critical juncture. He stated that it was a time for us to stop and reflect on where we are and what the future holds. Dr. Douglas pointed out, that after twenty years of progress in our country; it was rather scary to think now that the country has come to a standstill. He continued, “Our young people have begun to cry out because this government seems not to care about their interest and the well being of the country”.
He also indicated, that the government has displayed nothing but incompetence, since elected to govern the Federation’s Affairs. He stated, “This government appears to be incompetent and paralyzed when it comes to governing the affairs of our country especially in making simple decisions in regards to the continuation of projects”. The former PM also spoke about the crime situation in St. Kitts and Nevis. Douglas said that the government and the current Prime Minister were very deceptive with the way they chastised the former administration about crime. He continued, “They blamed the former administration saying we did nothing to help with the crime but as we can all see, murders and robberies have increased under this government”.
Dr. Douglas noted that the government has proven that they have no answer to the crime situation, because they had no plan to begin with. He indicated, that in order to eradicate crime, one must have a plan. Dr. Douglas was of the view that planning was not something the current government had exercised thus far.
Hon Marcela Liburd, also spoke to Nevispages. She stated that almost every decision the government has made thus far, has been based on politics rather than commonsense. She made mention of the Basseterre High School situation and the consequences of making everything political. Hon Liburd stated, “The experts told them that nothing was wrong with the school. When Labour was in government, they told them the exact same thing. She was of the view that since Unity has been in government, and since they used the situation in order to gain political mileage, they cannot now reverse on their word and say that they were wrong”.
Hon. Liburd pointed out, that almost everything the Unity government said they were going to do, they have done the complete opposite. She said that they spoke about transparency, but have not been transparent since entering government. Liburd also stated that a number of persons have been victimized thus far under Unity, when they said during their campaign that there would have been no victimization.