BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - THE St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Party has welcomed the decision to include it in consultations on the way forward in dealing with responses to the COVID-19 pandemic in the Federation.
Since the onset of the Coronavirus, the political party has been vocal in the handling of the pandemic by both health officials and the Government, as well as the way in which the latter had implemented the state of emergency.
The party had also been calling on the Government to institute a process of national consultation in response to the global pandemic.
Chairperson of the SKNLP, medical practitioner, Dr. Terrance Drew has been criticised for several test kits he had donated, which were described by one minister as unusable.
In a media statement, the SKNLP noted that after 18 months of asking countless times for inclusion, it has finally been invited to join the COVID-19 Task Force in consultations on the national response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the rollout of the ongoing vaccination programme.
The SKNLP maintained that “since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic that all political parties, organisations, and key institutions should be included in the consultative, planning and response process for managing the pandemic”.
The party reminded that the social and economic ramifications of the pandemic have affected all of society, regardless of political association or affiliation.
The party noted that it is against that backdrop that “the SKNLP has always expressed interest in supporting the government’s management of the pandemic”.
“Therefore, we will take this long-awaited opportunity to contribute to the management of COVID-19,” the party added.
To this end, the party questioned:
• Why so late?
• Why now?
• Is this a remedial approach for the failed consultative process?
The Federation’s healthcare system has not been heavily impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, as the numbers have been relatively low; however, with the lockdown and slowdown in global travel, the economic status has been affected.
