That is why they are pushing for a unity government
BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - MARCELLA LIBURD, Minister of Health, Culture and Gender Affairs has voiced that the opposing political party, the People's Action Movement (PAM), is only lobbying for a unity government because it cannot form the government on its own.
Appearing on Freedom FM's daily talk show 'Issues' on Tuesday (Feb. 12), Liburd said that if an election were to be called, the PAM would not win enough seats to win and form a new government and it is for that reason the candidates want a unity government.
Following a clip that was played in which the Hon. Dr. Timothy Harris endorsed the push for a unity government, when asked if she thought that PAM, Harris, Hon. Sam Condor and CCM could form such government, Liburd said that while the idea may seem pleasant, in her view, it simply means that the PAM is incapable of winning an election on its own.
“Anything is possible! All I am saying is that unity sounds very, very nice, but it seems to me that what they are saying is that PAM really is dead, so PAM cannot form a government...and so they have to have unity.
“As a matter of fact, when you hear some of the PAM representatives, you would think that they already know who is in it, so I don't know why the others are running. Because they already have this unity government, they know already who is in this unity government. It sounds very nice.”
Referring to the push for a unity government as purely semantics, Liburd said she does not believe the people of St. Kitts and Nevis would “fall for it”, simply because the persons who are lobbying for such a government have different agendas.
“The only thing that unifies them is hatred for Douglas; that is the unifying force. And you cannot have any government that is based on that sort of spite. Government must be based on positive things...they all have their several agendas,” she said.
The Health Minister went on to give an example of what transpired in the late 80s and early 90s when there was a unity government, while stressing that the only unification among those who want such a government is their hatred for the Prime Minister.
“You only have to recall that in 1980 when we had a unity government and Nevis got the Ministry of Finance in the person of Sim [Simeon] Daniel, God rest his soul. PAM, who is now talking about a unity government, were very anxious to get rid of the unity and that is why they changed the boundaries and changed the electoral system in 94, because they thought at that time they had an opportunity to win the government by themselves. And the minute they did that, they got rid of the unity.
“They got rid of Sim Daniel...they made him Minister of the Environment. And bear in mind, at that time, we had no department of environment. So what was he the minister of? That is how unity works. It is just a bunch of persons who have their own agendas. Some want to be the historic first Nevisian Prime Minister. Kittitians muse beware.”
Responding to a caller who spoke about taking the portfolios of Dr. Harris and Condor and giving a portion of both to a Nevisian Minister, Liburd stated that that is what one would call true unity.
“Anytime PAM and the likes cannot form the government...that is when they look to unity. In 1980 they won three seats, they looked to unity. Now they figure they cannot win enough seats or any seats in St. Kitts, they are looking to unity. That is not the same thing with Labour.
“In 2010 we won six seats. We could have formed the government on our own; so that is true unity. Yes, we have a Nevisian, but we could have formed the government on our own. We weren't scrambling to find somebody to form the government as PAM did in 1980 and as they are trying to do now.
“Same thing in the former Labour Administration! Bradshaw could have formed the government but he had Eugene Walwyn...at one point being the Attorney-General, a Nevisian. That is true unity, not where you are scrambling to put numbers together without which you cannot form the government. So what we have is true unity.”
Liburd emphasised that the Labour Administration has been focussing on unity in its true sense rather than the PAM's way of just seeking unity to make up numbers to form the government.
