Speech delivered at party's special convention on Sunday September 30th 2012
BASSETERRE St. Kitts, October 2nd, 2012 -- Members and friends are you ready for battle? My colleagues, we now must prepare ourselves for the battle ahead, because a battle, it will be, and as always before a battle, it is good and fitting that we take stock of where we are now. Our situation is sobering, there is no denying that.
But together, we can fix it. It is our duty and our mission. Our party was founded with its special purpose to free St. Christopher and Nevis from tyranny and to promote democratic principles, social justice and economic
prosperity.
In the 1980s we transformed St. Kitts & Nevis from a state divided against itself, with over 90% of Nevisians in support of secession to a strong united federation with a constitution that guaranteed equality amongst the
parties; from an underdeveloped society to the number one developing country in Latin America and the Caribbean; and from a state of thrall to the UK to Independence. In this generation, we will once again deliver St. Kitts Nevis, drawing inspiration from our rich legacy of service and accomplishment.
Today, we gather at this conference with our nation mired in its greatest crisis ever. We believe and I know that in the not too distant future this party, restored to government, will be called upon once again to do extraordinary things on behalf of the people of St. Kitts and Nevis.
Therefore, I have come here to offer to you my friends and colleagues in PAM, and, by extension, the people of St. Kitts & Nevis, a message of hope and realism. I say to you that it is time for us to create a new day, A New
PAM and a new St. Kitts and Nevis.
In the same way that our first Prime Minister The Rt. Hon Sir Dr. Kennedy Simmonds and his pioneers laid the foundations for the emergence of a modern democracy and a strong, just, and prosperous society in SK, this generation, on this new day, this new PAM is called to reclaim this country from the depths of economic morass. We can do it.
It is no secret that this has been a particularly testing time for the People's Action Movement. I know that we have travelled in the political wilderness for many years but my fellow Kittitians and Nevisians I am here to say that today is new day. It's a new day for those of us suffering without a job. It's a new day for those of us suffering from the deplorable healthcare at the hospital. It's a new day for those of us crippled by high electricity bills. It's a new day for those of us who are out of work. It's a new day for PAM and a new day for St. Kitts and Nevis.
Many years ago, it was said of the Roman invasion of Britain:
"And when they had created a wilderness, they called it civilization."
This could have been written about St. Kitts and Nevis, for there is now chaos and decline in every sphere of our nation's affairs; yet we are fed a diet of assurances that we are on the road to recovery.
The crisis in our economy is grim and getting worse. In the race for development, we have fallen behind, are in danger of being left behind, and face the catastrophic prospect of our economy going under completely.
Sadly, this state of decline and decay is not restricted to just the economy. A culture of failure and blithe acceptance of mediocrity is so pervasive in all areas of social, political and economic activity in SKN. It has deeply embedded itself in the inability of those who govern to make things happen for the good of our country. It has come to reflect itself in an unprecedented and dangerous undermining of the integrity of institutions whose work is vital to maintaining stability on the country.
Critically, the debilitating leadership style of Dr. Denzil Douglas has now established itself at the centre of our public affairs, this style of masking critical deficiencies with flamboyant pronouncements and monomania generate these doldrums that sadly now characterise the state of this country. It is time for a new day, new St. Kitts and Nevis.
Here is a simple fact, the social and economic development of a society is based on its ability to produce more goods and services to meet it's domestic demands on a sustained basis. Thus we may start by dismissing this
idea that we are on some road to recovery and take a good hard look at our
real situation.
One thing that we can be assured of is that the global economy is in meltdown. This is a situation facing almost every economy in the world and there is no quick fix, or cure-all; the pressures which have been building up over the years will require creative strategic planning and non-traditional macro-economic policies.
Small economies such as St. Kitts Nevis will always be vulnerable to world events, however as vulnerability is our traditional historic position anyway, we should be always ready to develop innovate tactics.
It is manifest that structural problems cannot be easily resolved by recourse to short term expedients and cheerful promises of IMF approved restructured debt repayments, which have proven to be ineffective mechanisms in the past; but will require virtually the rehabilitation of every facet of the economy. Therefore, it is incumbent on us in SKN to explore every opportunity. We cannot simply fail to act and assume that our only option is to batten down the hatches and grind our citizens into the ground to pay debt in the innocent belief that when the larger markets slough off their economic problems that it will somehow also transform ours.
Granted, the deterioration of our fiscal position has been in small part due to a decline in revenue caused by recessionary forces but a significant part of this crisis has been the result of failure to contain expenditure. Since
years ago Denzil Douglas was warned that if we do not curtail expenditure that we will face serious economic consequences. He was warned about ballooning the civil service, he was warned about investing further monies
in already dying and unprofitable sugar industry, investing over 270 millions dollars in a Lavallee project that is yet to generate a penny in revenue.
To date, the political energies of the government have been directed toward firefighting actions, just simply outing fires, and toward the constructionof a fiscal discipline system which will have no direct application in the
problem we face.
While the situation in the absence of these firefighting actions could conceivably have been more difficult, the fact remains that, even though some of these actions have been dramatic, like the debt haircut of last year, none of them has had the effect of securing a lasting stabilisation.
This crisis is now so devastating that if we continue to ignore it, nothing else that our nation has attempted to achieve will be possible, and we will continue to see reverses in our standard of life as the massive government
debt leave little or no revenue to pay for the services that government provides.
This has serious implications for those special groups of our nationals who are facing special circumstances, like the physically incapacitated and those who are indigent. They must continue to benefit from government
services. This harsh across-the-board VAT and other duties that were introduced or raised last year have been especially hard on this group of people and the government seems determined to make them bear the brunt of
the punishment for our uncontrolled fiscal extravagance.
We continue to incur debt not to develop or infrastructure or build assets, but to pay current bills, this fiscal indiscipline is disconcerting as it continues to be pursued despite the virtuous declarations that the government has tried to curb discretionary spending.
With our recent default on the 18th interest payment on our 10 year government bond, it is entirely likely that the financial system will be extremely reluctant to invest in government securities to help finance the deficit, and this will lead us into further difficulties.Social Security is reaching the limits of prudence in its financing of government's operation. The latest fiasco at Beacon Hill's follows a long line of reckless investments and spurious waste.
On the revenue side is even more dismal. Our domestic economy contracted by 2.7% this year, has done so for the last five years, and is still plagued by declines in the construction sector and distributive trades. This
underperformance is in very real danger of becoming a permanent feature of Kittitian reality. With regard to Tourism, (which is projected to grow by 5.9% but is highly unlikely to do so well) we need to resist this temptation
to constantly put a gilded finish on our failures.
Less and less tourists are coming to SKN at this time when more is expected of Tourism, when there has been a decline in all other sectors. The great excitement about our cruise passenger visitors' numbers seeks to camouflage the stark reality that revenue from that sector has not been commensurate.
The 'double digit' increase in cruise ship visitors did not give a corresponding rise in output from that sector. The government is in danger of confusing arrivals with results; if visitors are spending less then there is a problem. And they are spending less. Less on accommodation, less on transportation and less on meals and drinks. In fact most of them are not even getting off the ship.
To simply mention that we must 'find ways to increase greater visitor spending so that all sectors of the economy can benefit' is not a policy, not is it is plan. A serious budget cannot be founded on wishful thinking and asides. What plans were proposed to deal with this most vital sector?None!
Not only then must be move rapidly to rein in our fiscal crisis, but we must find a way to position ourselves for the end of the world recession so that we will emerge out of the current difficulties with an economy that is capable of producing real growth. We must deploy new policy instruments and programmes to make such growth sustainable.
Dealing with problems of this magnitude will require careful but imaginative planning and execution. Strong disciple must not only be preached to the hapless citizen, but must be exercised by the government, and they must simultaneously ensure that the country is not further destabilized while these are being implemented.
The Government's deficit is much too large. The problem has its roots in Government's excessive spending for political purposes, but the reaction of Government has been to increase taxation which has slowed down the economy and virtually pauperised our people.
Government has virtually run out of options to finance its deficit. The financial system is highly reluctant to invest in Government Securities, either short-term or long-term. The financial resources of the Social Security have been abused. As a last desperate measure
In all of this, there is one major strategic issue that must be of great concern for all Kittitians. The things that this Government has done with the public finances have not only led to the crisis today, but, unchecked will squander the possibility of a successful future for our society.
A person who goes to the bank to borrow to start or expand a business, pay for acquiring new skills and technology or to acquire an asset which can generate income in the future, is making a sound investment in his or her future development.
To go every month to borrow to buy food or to pay current bills is another matter. It is a means of running up debt without generating a capacity to repay in the future.
This current government is borrowing hundreds of millions of dollars every year not to invest in the country's development but to meet its current expenses. It is burning up capital. And it is doing it for politically cynical and selfish reasons.The crisis our country faces with the public finances has not been caused by international recession.
It is largely the result of cynical decisions by a cynical government to make the people pay for its partisan political programme. It is the result of deliberate decisions to make our financial resources available to pay for
the activities of political operatives.
It is the consequence of allowing ministers to pad statutory enterprises such as NHC, SCASPA, FBDC, SKELEC, La Vallee and White Gate for their political purposes and to make artificial work for supporters. It is a
consequence of the funding of the partisan activities with public monies.
It is the result of deliberate decisions to fund the creation of the largest ever cabinet, where every government member had a ministry and they couldn't even appoint a deputy speaker, a cabinet which is unwilling to set any
example of financial discipline as it continues to romp unchecked through
our resources during a financial crisis.
As we reflect on this, we may wish to reflect on the sentiments of Derek Walcott:
"A morning could come in which Governments might ask what happened not merely to the forests and the bays but to a whole people?"
Our task is to rescue SKN from such a daunting spectre.
It is clear that the economy is in transition, and that prudence and a spirit of innovation have to be brought to bear in how we make social investments and the manner in which the critical parts of our social system
are managed.
It cannot be denied that SKN is now operating within an international environment from which it is difficult to extract growth and development.
But things do not have to be this hard.
Indeed it is good always to remember that the meteor which destroyed the dinosaurs did not and could not wipe out the small mammals. Small countries, which do not present themselves as threats to global stability, can always, with the appropriate responses find niches for survival and progress in the global economy no matter how difficult things may be.
This Government has been too willing to use the sluggishness of the global economy to explain its failure to record progress in SKN and has held up the example of Greece and other failing States as justification for our
underperformance.
It would be far better to indicate that Singapore and other small, middle income developing states have not only weathered the storms of global recession, but have regained their vibrancy and are reaching for new heights
of economic and social development.
In our region, the much maligned Guyanese economy has grown in each of the past three years and now is expanding at a rate (5%) which apparently SKN can only now dream about.
Why not us?
The great historian Arnold Tonybee has carefully documented that the success of civilization and societies is very much a function of relationships between challenges and response.
As a small economy, we have always and will always have to cope with imposing challenges.
Like all the rest of the world have had to cope with new WTO rules of trade which have stripped away the protectionist devices behind which our manufacturing and agricultural industries historically functional.
We have had to function in a global society in which continuous technological innovations and revolutions, especially in the information and communication spheres, have radically reordered the production possibilities
of countries everywhere.
We have had to deal with the emergence of China and India as competitors for capital and industries in areas of special interest to us.
Challenges such as these, would require wide range of responses to enable us to achieve sustained growth, reduce unemployment, and to boost our foreign exchange reserves to a sustainable level.
We have to constantly come up with new things - diversification of the economy, telecommunication reforms, tax reform legislation to promote the development of special areas, new legislation to develop and drive small
business, a new legislative framework for tourism development.
Our country is like a vase that has been broken. But it can be fixed. It has to be fixed with imaginative and painstaking attention to the restoration of its very best attributes.
And there is hope. For the marvelous thing about managing the affairs of a small society is that only a few strategic options have to be confronted and managed well on a sustained basis to create the conditions for successful development.
The task therefore before us is to settle upon the few strategic matters whose resolution will make all the difference between success and failure, and to deal with them in a decisive and imaginative way.
SOLVING THE FISCAL CRISIS
Solving this crisis will demand courage and sacrifice.
I propose, first off, that we will understand that every Kittitian has a responsibility to find and do what is required for the good of SKN, therefore, in the future, we will rise above rhetoric, ideology and partisan interest to embrace and co-operate with whoever has the interest of this country at heart.
There is no other way forward. In this crisis, we simply have to learn to work together as Kittitians first, and members of PAM second. The first such strategic matter is to correct the Crisis in the country's public finances.This crisis is now so overwhelming, that if it is not resolved nothing else that our Nation is trying to achieve will be accomplished, and it is likely that all of the post-independence gains in our standard of living will be wiped out.
The crisis has many dimensions.
The size of Government's debt now exceeds the value of what the country produces, and it is growing at such a rate that a day could come soon when the servicing of the debt could become so large as to leave little or no
revenue to pay for the vital services Government provides to the people.
The financial system, although still very liquid, is not prepared to invest anymore in Government Securities to help finance the deficit. Since the cruel and unethical debt haircut, it has lost confidence.
Some options in dealing with fiscal crises have already been exhausted with disastrous consequences. The first recourse of the Government was to sharply raise tax rates and fees, rather than relying upon the growth of the economy to increase its revenue. In so doing it merely worsened and deepened the recession and has created extraordinary hardship for firms and people all across the land.
Creative accounting, crude and ill conceived policies and programmes will not get the job done. The time is ripe for innovative and creative approaches to be applied in addressing the challenges at hand.
Our growth and development must be driven by the sustained, coherent and concerted development of our tourism and international business sectors.
These are however the areas where the greatest mistakes are being made.
SKN growth and development cannot just be based on the growth of tourist arrivals per se, but tourism development of a certain kind Granted, we must focus on the development of its core business, in the lucrative markets that have been of great value, rather than placing emphasis on penetrating new markets like Dubai which hold little promise of yielding major financial returns, except to the personal fortunes of selected individuals.
In addition, any realistic growth and development strategy must be based on a clear appreciation of the forces and factors which will facilitate such growth in today's global economic climate.
We are left with no other choice than to establish an environment within which business can be undertaken that is more business friendly, cost effective and technologically superior than that which our immediate competitors can offer.
In addition, as the size of Government shrinks to correct the fiscal crisis, our economy can only grow if the private economy grows by more than a corresponding rate than the fall in Government's activity to compensate.
In the climate in which we will have to operate, we must move rapidly to diversify the private economy, especially in areas where clear policy and programme frameworks have been clearly set out.
In pursuit of a strategy for greater private sector driven growth and developments, a new PAM administration will treat the households of SKN as partners in development
SKN has always enjoyed the reputation of being a tranquil place, where Kittitians and visitors alike are able to go about their daily activity without fear of molestation. This great Party has played a pivotal role in ensuring that that reputation is not lost by ensuring that our law enforcement agencies were provided with the tools that they needed. We brought to this country, cutting edge developments in policing technology; improved their terms and their conditions of work; and also modernized the Coast Guard so that they too can function effectively in the fight against crime. We have been able to hold our head high in the region and in the developing world.
When we say that Kittitians are feeling under siege, it is not to gloat at the failures and mis-steps of this administration, or to gloat at the continued turmoil. As a mature political party, we understand only too well our solemn duty to stand in the breach for all Kittitians; our duty to speak up when our country is approaching a pitfall.
We speak up to put the Government on notice that Kittitians are not prepared to endure an existence where gunshots are ringing out daily in our communities. We will not endure an existence where we are not safe in our
homes; where houses are broken into every 4 hours; an existence where the criminal element is emboldened to the point where the most heinous murders are being committed on the innocent, the young and the vulnerable.
The kind of instability that we are witnessing every day will undermine our economic recovery and put our already threatened social development in greater peril.
ACTION
We chose tax changes that enhance economic growth rather than fill the coffers of Government. We will lower and even abolish some. We also chose to ensure the quality of the deficit. This means that in 2012 Government will borrow only to finance its investments - that is to create wealth in the future
That is I would work to ensure that the public sector debt to GDP is reduced to manageable levels. The experience of Greece, Spain, Ireland, Italy and other countries holds valuable lessons for us. We are seeing how a debt debacle can undermine economic stability.
I have thought a lot about this and it strikes me that what we face together as Kittitians are not so much problems but rather conditions, life's inherent difficulties. A problem can be solved or forgotten but a condition always remains. It remains to elicit the best from each of us and show us how we depend on one another and how we have to work together. Many of these issues have confronted SKN one way or another for decades.
SKN requires yet again another extraordinary effort from the PAM for our Nation to succeed.
We are the party of the future. Our young people are our future and I am going to look Involve the Next Generation at all Levels of the Party. We are the party of the future. Our young people are our future, and I am going to look to involve young people by ensuring a Young PAMITES chapter in every constituency and also getting young people involved at the constituency level. all the way up to candidates. we are looking to build a BRIGHT, NEXT GENERATION NEW PAM with young people.
We have to take back this Country and I will challenge Denzil Douglas at every opportunity. I will challenge him on the floor of Parliament. I will challenge him on the radio. I will open up ZIZ and challenge him on TV. Denzil Douglas is looking after his FRIENDS - not the PEOPLE. and we will challenge him on that EVERY SINGLE DAY OF THE WEEK!
The NEW PAM is not a party for just business or for just certain communities on this island. the NEW PAM that we are going to build together is a party for ALL of our people. If you're in St. Paul's or Basseterre. Cayon or
Challengers. we will develop new policies that speak to YOU and YOUR NEEDS.
It is time to put an end to victimisation and discrimination. I extend the hand of friendship to all Kittitians and Nevisians regardless of political affiliation to join me in building a bigger and better ST. Kitts and Nevis. This is the new PAM that we will build together. the NEW PAM that will be ready, willing and able to win the next general election and restore honour and dignity to the office of the Prime Ministership!
My good people. after we build a new PAM. and we win the next general elections. we will, together, BUILD A NEW ST. KITTS & NEVIS! My three point plan to bring a NEW DAY to this Federation is simple:
#1 We will be a Sunshine Government. We will introduce a series of good government laws to ensure that the corruption and thievery that has been the hallmark of the Denzil Douglas Administration comes to an end. This will include protection for whistleblowers. make the contract tendering process public to put an end to politicians lining their pockets and that of their friends.
#2 We will end the Crime & Murder Crisis in this Country. We have THE WORST crime rate in the entire Caribbean! It doesn't have to be that way. We must implement Operation Ceasefire, which is a crime fighting strategy that helped cut violence in several American cities in half. It directly addressed the gun problem and the gang problem. We must do a comprehensive overhaul of our police force, because, my friends, IT'S NOT WORKING. We must make sure our police are not corrupt and properly trained. We will do this. And together, we will take back our streets!
# 3: Jobs, Jobs, Jobs. We will create a jobs corps programme in this country that includes 1) training, 2) job placement and 3) job creation through investments in infrastructure. We will look to develop an international
business sector by strengthening our financial regulatory environment. This will bring investment and capital to our country and with that investment, there will be more construction, hospitality and service jobs of our time!
My fellow Kittitians and Nevisians. there will be great challenges in the future. but, I know that together, we can face them and build the NEW PAM. and the NEW ST. KITTS AND NEVIS that we are all so hungry for.
Come with me, and together, we can introduce a sunshine government. tackle the crime and murder crisis and create jobs for our people.
A NEW DAY is dawning!
Thank you and God Bless
*************************
DISCLAIMER
This article was posted in its entirety as received by SKNVibes.com. This media house does not correct any spelling or grammatical error within press releases and commentaries. The views expressed therein are not necessarily those of SKNVibes.com, its sponsors or advertisers
