BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – WITH just a few weeks away when St. Kitts and Nevis will be celebrating 34 years as an independent nation, the Planning Committee has launch the Calendar of Activities and a number of fringe events have been included.
However, noticeably absent from the Calendar are activities in relation to the Opposition. But according to Minister of Gender Affairs Hon. Wendy Phipps, who sits on the Committee, the St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Party had not formally made any request to be included.
Phipps was asked about the absence while addressing reporters at a recently held press conference at the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to launch the activities.
She indicated: “As a rule, the Independence Committee does not go out and ask people to give us activities to put on it. Every single activity that you see here is an activity that the NGOs of their own volition would have written to the Independence Committee and asked our permission if they can be accorded a space on the Calendar.”
With that said, the Minister stressed that “we have not received to date any type of communication from the Opposition in any form to have any of their independence activities be included on the Calendar”.
According to the Minister, it has been a general notion that private persons would send in their notice and the Committee would make a determination.
Included on the 2017 Independence Calendar of Activities are East Basseterre Fisheries Festival Five -a-Side Football/Basketball/Netball Competitions, St. Kitts Music Lovers’ Song Competition and a Local Food Fair by the Moravian Church.
In addition, there are expected to be two Drill Competitions - one geared towards youths and the other for adults – while the East Basseterre Fishnet Festival will an International Night and there is also an event on the Calendar called “A Taste of Africa Mini Festival”.
This year, the government will be renaming the Mental Health Day Treatment Center, but the honouree’s name is yet to be determined.
The 2017 Independence celebrations will kick off on Friday (Sept. 1) with an Independence Fiesta from 7:00 p.m.
The Planning Committee has however declared that the activities released were from the Preliminary Calendar and the public would soon be hearing of many more.
