Prime Minister Douglas says fundamental principles based on freedom, people empowerment, income generation and wealth creation for all
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St. Kitts and Nevis' Prime Minister Hon. Dr. Denzil L. Douglas
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BASSETERRE, ST. KITTS, SEPTEMBER 24TH 2007 (CUOPM) – The people of St. Kitts and Nevis have been told that while the issues that confront them today are very different from those that confronted their forebears, and while the vision is one of a much more advanced and modern society, “the fundamental principles that shape our vision continue to be based on freedom, people empowerment and income generation or rather, wealth creation.”
St. Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister Hon. Dr. Denzil L. Douglas delivering the Independence Address to mark the Federation’s 24th Anniversary of Nationhood said it his Government’s “commitment to freedom and people empowerment that has kept us steadfast in our quest to correct the deficiencies in our electoral laws and regulations which were introduced in 1984.”
“We must work together to overhaul the electoral process with a view towards ensuring the will of our people is honoured and respected in all appointments to our National Assembly, which is the supreme instrument of democracy in our Federation,” said Prime Minister Douglas in the nationwide radio and television address.
He said that it was clear that his St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Government is determined to ensure that all Kittitians and Nevisians are properly consulted, and that they are afforded the right to make a meaningful input in the design of any new electoral system.
~~Adz:Right~~ “Our aim is to ensure that no Kittitian or Nevisian is improperly disenfranchised and that any person who cast a ballot in any of our Elections is duly authorized to do so under our laws and presents to the
authorities an appropriate picture ID as proof of his or her identity,”
said Dr. Douglas, who added:
“But at the same time, we do not wish to introduce unnecessary complications in the system to frighten our people away from polling stations or to engender unnecessary strife and confusion in the electoral process. In this regard, we will examine the experiences of other countries with a view towards adopting international best practice and introducing only practices that have been successfully tried and tested in other democracies in the Caribbean and around the world.”
Prime Minister Douglas told the Nation that the forbears expended much blood and sweat to secure for all Kittitian and Nevisians the freedom of expression and the right to vote.
“We therefore see the electoral reform programme as an important instrument for building on the attainment of universal adult suffrage by our forbears and for honouring their memory. I therefore use this occasion again to urge constructive and meaningful participation in the consultation process by every citizen of this our beloved Federation,” said Dr. Douglas.
Dr. Douglas also reiterated the commitment of his Government to people empowerment and wealth creation which “is clearly manifested in our recently enunciated Special Land Distribution Initiative.”
“When in 1975, our National Hero, The Right Excellent Sir Robert L. Bradshaw and his Labour Government acquired the sugar lands, he made it quite clear that he was acting on behalf of the people of this Federation and that he intended that they would be the beneficiaries of the land acquisition. Of course we were still heavily dependent on sugar so that the lands were committed to sugar cane production for the benefit of our citizens,” said Dr. Douglas.
The Prime Minister said in diversifying the St. Kitts and Nevis economy, the Government is diligently implementing a National Adaptation Strategy to overcome the immense challenges created by the cessation of sugar production as a result of adverse international market conditions.
At the same time, the sugar lands have been released from sugar production, “so we are now in a position to take the initiative of our National Hero a step further and to give people the right to own, in their own name, a piece of ‘this rock’ that we so dearly cherish as proud Kittitians and Nevisians.”
“Indeed our aim is to ensure that within the next few years at least one member of every family in our Federation would be a proud and dignified land owner. For too long, our people have been described as landless. Almost overnight now, my Government will see to it that the percentage of landowners among the population is as high as, or higher than, in any other Caribbean country,” said Prime Minister Douglas.
“That is why we are encouraging maximum participation by making available some 5,000 plots of land from 618 acres in 25 different locations in St.
Kitts at a price well below commercial prices and by granting a massive subsidy through the National Housing Corporation to people with incomes below $1500 per month. We are also giving people adequate time to raise their financing and we have solicited the cooperation of our Financial Institutions, with a view towards having them provide adequate funding to potential landowners in a sensitive and expeditious manner,” said Dr.
Douglas.
“We continue to establish transparent mechanisms for administering the programme with a view to ensuring that in the land allocation process, no person would be discriminated against on the basis on political party affiliation or any other affiliations, beliefs or ideologies,” said the Prime Minister, who noted:
~~Adz:Left~~ “This country belongs to all of us, and I can assure you that, as your Prime Minister, I will be vigilant in ensuring that all our citizens are given fair access to the programme on the basis of the prescribed rules. This initiative is not a political football; it is a serious attempt at bringing about meaningful change in our Federation and giving even greater substance to our Independence as a Nation.”
He urged citizens and the young people in particular, to take advantage of this excellent opportunity.
“Land ownership could be a source of tremendous capital gains over time and could provide the security that you need to get loans for building homes, starting new businesses and empowering existing businesses, pursuing educational opportunities or facilitating the implementation of your personal projects for self advancement and for wealth creation. In other worlds, we believe that if all of our citizens make good use of this opportunity, our economy will be pushed into a new accelerated gear, and would carry our people forward at an even more rapid pace to our cherished goal of peace and prosperity for one and for all.”
Prime Minister Douglas reiterated that his government will be paying particular attention to the participation of young people, in its various initiatives, including the Special Land Distribution Initiative.
“I am persuaded that our young people can play a very important role in nation-building but our society must nurture and support them, and give them adequate opportunity to release their immense creativity and talents for the good of the nation,” he said.
“Our young people are quite often stereotyped and labelled on the basis of the behaviour of a few dozens young social deviants who consistently and frequently get into trouble with the law of the land. The truth is that the vast majority of our young people are law-abiding citizens with the capacity for high performance. Their capabilities have been amply demonstrated in the recent CAPE and CXC Examinations. Indeed the Deputy Prime Minister/Minister of Education recently reported that the national average pass rate for CAPE was in excess of 85% and the average pass rate for schools in St. Kitts and Nevis in the CXC Examinations was over 75%. Even more critical is that a much higher percentage of our students successfully complete their secondary education. It is noteworthy that in 2007 the number of students sitting the CXC examinations increased by 20% to reach 751 and still the national average pass rate did not decline.”
“The CAPE and CXC Examinations are not the easiest of examinations. Indeed, it seems to me that the volume of work that our children are now required to undertake to get through these examination may be even higher than the volume of work that the people of my generation were required to undertake when we were preparing for the Cambridge and London GCE Examinations. In other words our young people are putting in the time, effort and discipline that are necessary required to get through these challenging examinations,” said Prime Minister Douglas, adding: “It means also that our Teachers are doing their part in preparing our children to become responsible members of our society.
