BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - SO far, no word has been made public on what decision or decisions were made by the Caucus of the People’s Action Movement (PAM), following disclosures last evening (Apr. 14) that the meeting among the three Leaders of Team Unity made no significant progress.
The Leaders met again yesterday at Government Headquarters to sort out differences that made their way into the public’s domain after all three of them lashed out at each other over broken promises.
In a recorded speech after the meeting, Leader of the PAM and Deputy Prime Minister, Shawn Richards disclosed that he and Leader of the Concerned Citizens Movement (CCM) Premier Mark Brantley presented proposals that they felt would address issues of national importance.
He pointed to addressing issues of good governance, transparency and accountability, “but it turned out to be a bridge too wide for the Prime Minister to cross”.
Yesterday’s meeting was a follow-up to last week’s discussions which left several unfinished business on the table that should have been ironed out.
SKNVibes understand that the issue of a possible Cabinet reshuffle was also on the table, a measure that was not accepted by Prime Minister Dr. Timothy Harris.
“However, while there were some minor progress on a few issues, it was not what the country needed for an urgent resolution. Unfortunately, the gulf between what is required to save the partnership and the preferences of the Prime Minister remain large and troubling,” said Richards.
Concerns were raised by many in the public that the continued criticisms and public disclosure of the internal issues affecting the Government after that initial meeting last week would undermine yesterday's discussions; but some of the Leaders indicated that it would not have been an issue.
Richards noted that unlike the first meeting, “this second time around, we could not see eye-to-eye on the decisive steps that are needed to ensure that repairs are undertaken to address the brokedown trust”.
“The PAM has also been patient and reasonable because it also wanted to be fair to the Leader of PLP and the Prime Minister,” Richards said.
It is now left to be seen where the Leaders of the CCM and the PAM will go from here, as the PLP will be seeking to find ways to alleviate the differences ahead of a potential elections later this year.
Since the PAM held its Convention last month, a number of issues were raised, including the island of Nevis not getting its fair share of proceeds from the Citizenship By Investment programme as agreed upon in the Charlestown Accord; lack of accountability and disclosure of the level of revenue received by the CBI programme; housing distribution not being split across constituencies; and claims that have been denied by PM Harris that he is seeking a third term.
