BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – SPEAKING on Tuesday’s (Feb. 12) edition of ‘Ask the Prime Minister’, Prime Minister and Leader of the St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Party, the Rt. Hon. Dr. Denzil L. Douglas asserted that his Party would continue with its mandate despite challenges.
Dr. Douglas made this disclosure following statements by an ardent party supporter who encouraged him to keep focus and pay no mind to the ingrates.
“The government…this Labour government will not be distracted from the work that it has to do. The government has been given a mandate to improve the quality of life of our people in St. Kitts and Nevis. The government has been placed in positions; each of us has been assigned a task,” Dr. Douglas said.
He went on to say: “We have become Ministers of government and each of us has been given a specific portfolio to help build our own wall of Jerusalem. And we want to make it clear that despite the challenges, despite those who may fall out of their positions that they have been given, we believe that God is great enough to rise up others to put in their positions so that the work can continue. And no one is saying that no one cannot advance to positions beyond what has been given, but there is a process to be followed in advancing towards changing your positions.”
Dr. Douglas cited a message about continuity despite disunity that he took from a church service held on Sunday (Feb. 10).
“Even when there are threats of disunity the work must continue to go on, and that is the message I want to bring. Despite the challenges that we face, despite those who were part of the work and who had been assigned to specific tasks, despite they falling away from their task or those who had been placed in specific positions and want to change their positions before their work was completed, the work must continue until it is finished. The work must be done!”
On January 25, Dr. Douglas had fired Senior Government Minister Dr. Timothy Harris.
As revealed then by Dr. Douglas, “Based on my interaction with Senior Minister Harris in recent months, I have formed the view that the Senior Minister will not participate meaningfully in the government unless he is appointed Prime Minister.”
Six days later, Deputy Prime Minister Sam Condor had resigned from the Cabinet of the Federal Government with immediate effect.
Stating the reason for tendering his resignation, Condor said that “recent developments pertaining to issues of good governance and constitutional integrity have brought me to the point where I feel constrained to tender my resignation as a member of Cabinet with immediate effect”.
Following the firing of Dr. Harris and Condor’s resignation, the St. Kitts and Nevis Cabinet of Ministers held a press conference in the Parliamentary Lounge at Government Headquarters on January 31 and in attendance were Dr. Asim Martin, Marcella Liburd, Glenn Phillip, Patrice Nesbitt, Jason Hamilton and Nigel Carty.
A press release from the Communication Unit of the Prime Minister had indicated that “members of the St. Kitts and Nevis Federal Cabinet, representing the majority of members in that body, today broke months of silence after months of speculation regarding relations within the Cabinet”.
In a joint statement read by Dr. Martin, it revealed that “firstly, as Members of Cabinet, we have been tasked with the responsibility of managing the nation’s business”.
The statement was centered on the Ministers’ intension of seeing betterment for the Federation.
“We, as members of Cabinet, each have our distinct portfolios. At the same time, however, we are keenly aware that we are members of one Government. one Cabinet with one over-riding purpose to constantly strive to make St. Kitts and Nevis ever more secure, ever more prosperous. In a nutshell, to expand opportunities for the people of this country,” Dr. Martin said.
Dr. Asim Martin was appointed the new Deputy Prime Minister on February 5.
