This is voice of change.....
The weekly broadcast presented by the people's action movement, the first and the next government of our nation.....
The wind of change shook St. Kitts and Nevis when PAM Leader, Lindsay Grant, delivered the keynote at the people's action movement's 45th annual convention.
In response to wide public demand, PAM presents the second part of Lindsay Grant's rousing and wide ranging address to a packed convention hall and a worldwide radio and internet audience....
The leader of the People's Action Movement...
Lindsay grant:
By scale and proportion, St.Kitts and Nevis now suffer close to the highest rate for serious crimes, including murder, among all the countries of the world.
The Labour Party government has failed the country, and the people.
Meanwhile, though his political fortunes are on the decline, Prime Minister Douglas' personal wealth continues to show signs of significant expansion.
He can now show, as many properties in his real estate portfolio as he has years in office.
His most recent and most controversial property is the residence of the Ambassador for Taiwan.
Prime Minister Douglas says that the construction of an embassy standard property and its rental to the Taiwanese government is a private matter.
His Minister of National Security says that there is nothing wrong with the arrangement.
I am confident that the newly-elected President of Taiwan will have a problem with that property deal.
Taiwan's new President campaigned on an anti-corruption platform.
He is very likely to take a dim view of the Taiwanese government's rental of Prime Minister Douglas's property.
We shall move immediately to bring it to his attention.
Friends and Colleagues;
Ladies and Gentlemen:
I take this opportunity to extend warm congratulations to His Excellency, the new President of Taiwan, on his election.
We applaud President Ma Ying-Jeou on his intention to stamp out official corruption.
I also take the opportunity to extend highest esteem and assurances that a People's Action Government will give full support to his commitment to the principle of one China.
PAM endorses any effort that will unite all China's territories in a functioning democracy.
PAM invites President Ma Ying-Jeou intervention to terminate the controversial relocate the Taiwanese Ambassador in new premises in order to close the book on the sorry chapter of Prime Minister Douglas' use of his office to secure Taiwan's patronage in the existing landlord/tenant arrangement.
These are the issues to be resolved.
The preparation of the voter lists is a farce orchestrated by the Prime Minister to rig the election.
PAM will not permit Denzil Douglas to get away with this.
By taking direct control of the registration process, the Prime Minister is violating the intention of the Constitution, the letter of the law and the spirit of our democratic parliamentary system.
It took almost a decade for Denzil Douglas to take action that international elections observer teams recommended as imperatives to make the electoral system clean and fair.
Friends and Colleagues;
Brothers and Sisters:
We all know, however that our Prime Minister has no interest in the will of the electorate now that the change is the dominant issue for the coming elections.
Indeed, we can expect that facing defeat, the Leader of the Labour Party is bent on frustrating the will of the voters.
We must not permit the Prime Minister to continue to behave as though he is the law in this country.
I call on all colleague members of the People's Action Movement, I call on all patriotic Kittitians and Nevisians to speak out against and come out in full force against a planned voter registration process that has no residency requirements.
This system makes St. Kitts and Nevis the laughing stock of our Caribbean neighbours.
Eligibility to be registered to vote in any constituency, must be based on established residency for a specified period in the particular constituency.
Persons living abroad and wishing to vote in the coming elections must also meet specified criteria for eligibility to be re-confirmed as properly qualified voters.
In addition to these essential considerations, we must guard against the Electoral commission being used as part of the Labour Party's election machinery.
Many are the means by which the outgoing government will try to stop the wind of change in order to cling to power.
We must be vigilant.
All who care about the future of our country must become involved in the mission to rescue our nation from the grip of Denzil Douglas and his regime..
The Prime Minister must be made to respect the power of the people.
I am fortunate in having a talented team, with the commitment to serving the people instead of being their masters.
We are ready to work with all who want change to get our country on the right track and to get our country moving in the right direction.
If St. Kitts and Nevis is to provide all citizens with the opportunity to fulfill their true potential and enjoy full and productive lives, we have to replace the current culture of corruption in government with tough anti-corruption laws.
To this end, a PAM government will, within 180 days of its formation, introduce tough integrity legislation to govern the conduct of all who serve in high government office.
Within the same period, a PAM government will also introduce meaningful electoral reform that will ensure best practices in our electoral process and severely punish all found guilty of election offences.
Ladies and Gentlemen;
Colleagues and Friends:
I understand the plight and pain of displaced SSMC workers who have not yet received their entitlement from the government.
I am committed to social justice; and this is a good place to start.
I would commission a prompt audit of the disbursement of funds that should already have gone to relieving the hardship of former SSMC workers.
Should the People's Action Movement form the next government, we would move immediately to reverse the trend of rising prices that are hurting so many in our society.
I think of our more vulnerable citizens whose incomes cannot possibly cope with the rising prices of living essentials.
I think of single mothers struggling to raise young children while prices are rising at so rapid a rate that they cannot possibly catch up.
A PAM Government will immediately tackle the rising cost of living, by reviewing import duties and Consumption tax on all food items.
We have to ease the squeeze on poor people as well on our middle class.
A Pam government will drastically reduce, and ultimately re3move the consumption tax and any other surcharge on the price of utility services.
We will bring down the price of land for starter homes and for low and middle income families.
A Pam government will closely with the social partners to stabilise prices.
We will broaden the base of business ownership, to create wealth and generate jobs.
A PAM government will encourage a Small Business Association with which we will work to level the playing field for micro, small and medium sized businesses.
A Pam government will move swiftly to protect citizens against unlawful entry and searches.
We will place high priority on ensuring Individual entitlements; and we put an end to political victimization in the delivery of services and in employment in government jobs.
A PAM government will be a compassionate government and we will invest formulate and implement prompt solutions to nagging health public Health issues such as the acquisition and operation of two Dialysis machines so that persons needing it will get dialysis transfusions here in St Kitts; we all remember Ellie Matt's experience.
We must give our icons the recognition they deserve.
A PAM government will, at its very commencement, rename the Bird Rock Athletic Stadium, 'The Kim Collins Athletic Stadium'.
A PAM government will be confronted with a number of urgent challenges.
We will have to eradicate the culture of corruption and introduce new and resolute standards of governance.
We will have to renegotiate the crippling debt burden that will be the legacy of the Labour Party.
We will have to give our nation's young people real opportunities and real reasons to hope and to all become fully involved in getting our country on track and headed in the right direction.
We will have to make our country safe again, for all who live here, and all who come to visit us.
In our previous terms in government, the People's Action Movement created a rich legacy.
We virtually eliminated literacy, achieving a literacy rate of 98 percent.
We invested significantly in our young people.
We nurtured then with nutritious meals, free textbooks, examination fees, and funding at the tertiary level.
PAM's policies greatly expanded the number of young people achieving a university education.
All of this has borne rich fruit for our nation.
We transformed our society, and we are ready and able to do it again.
It is the destiny of the People's Action Movement to be agents of change.
The PAM team is reporting for duty.
The change is imminent and it is inevitable.
Ecclesiastes tells that there is a time and a season for every purpose under the heavens.
It tells us that we should be ready for change.
Together, we can bring about change for a better nation and for a better future for all Kittitians and Nevisians.
With God's guidance, and with his generous blessings, we will soon be transforming this vision to rich reality.
May God bless you and your loved ones.
