BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – FOLLOWING the shooting-death of entrepreneur Gregory Mills, two young politicians want the “youths to put down the guns and get their acts together” as the violence is hurting the country and the development of its people.
St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Party’s Member of Parliament, Hon Konris Maynard and People’s Action Movement’s caretaker for Constituency Number Two, Ambassador Jonel Powell have both weighed-in on the issue and believe that the incident has further raised an important issue surrounding young entrepreneurs in the Federation and their safety.
MP Maynard described the incident as a “tragic killing” and a sad and unfortunate occasion for St. Kitts and Nevis.
“The unfortunate thing is that people who are trying to do well and have businesses have to be concerned about their safety because others want to, in fact, have quick gains; perhaps for a number of reasons.”
The outspoken SKNLP member said he felt the loss for the grieving family while noting that the despicable act is something people in the Federation should not be afraid to condemn.
He wants everyone to look beyond “someone taking the life of a young businessman” and “try to fathom what could have propelled someone to do something like that”.
The Parliamentary Representative for Constituency Three raised several questions that if answered could help stem the gun violence in the Federation, while at the same time offering a few solutions.
“Are there others who are going to continue to do these things? What can we do to stop these types of acts instead of looking just at the end result? We need to evaluate how our young people who are engaged in crime are getting to the point where they feel that the only option they have is to commit crime. That is where the society as a whole, with the leadership of the government, needs to sit down and really craft plans that are geared towards not only the detection or prevention of crime, but the prevention of the mindset in people that would propel them to commit crimes.”
Ambassador Powell reflected on his fond memories of Mills, whom he described as a friend who was very jovial.
He expressed sadness at many of the persons with whom he would have engaged in his younger days, noting that a large number of them had fallen victims to the current scourge affecting St. Kitts and Nevis.
“I am very concerned! It must be concerning to see people my age, people around my age group, young people, people who I grew up with, went to school with me, who were in my class not just going in that direction but also being victims of going in such a direction.
“I can’t even begin to count the number of class mates I have lost to crime and murder over the years. And to see Greg, someone who I knew very well, somebody who I would sit down and lime with and have drinks with on a regular basis, and somebody who was young and entrepreneurial and really trying to do something positive – to see him meeting his demise in a manner like this is heartbreaking.”
The young Ambassador, who is also an Attorney-at-Law, raised concerns for other entrepreneurs like himself who could be victims of extortion.
“As anybody is, especially any young person now starting off their own business, they are going to be vulnerable,” he said. “They are going to be targets of what now seems to be extortionists in our society and people looking to do wrong. I am concerned in that respect. As a young business person, I worked to try to get in government and political sides. I own several businesses and what if somebody should come to me one day and say, ‘If you don’t pay money we are going to break into your office every day.’”
Meanwhile, Maynard noted that it is alarming that despite the efforts of the police to stem the crime problem, statistics show that it continues to increase.
“It is never good when we have a situation where crime, for instance, in 2015 rose by almost 60% or thereabout. We see gun violence continues despite the efforts by the police to get the guns off the streets, and so it is of great concern that this is the avenue in which young persons in particular are taking to gain something.”
The local sleuths are currently carrying out investigations into this incident and have offered $10,000 for information leading to the arrest of the perpetrator(s) of the crime.
