BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – LINDSAY GRANT, leader of opposition party the People’s Action Movement (PAM), said that its success in preventing changes to the Federation’s electoral boundaries has been the party’s greatest triumph in 2009.
In October, Justice Errol Thomas ruled that a report by the Constituency Boundaries Commission outlining changes to the existing electoral limits was “null and void”. The ruling came after a contentious three-month trial between government and PAM lawyers, during which Attorney-General Hon. Dennis Merchant was held in contempt of court.
Speaking to SKNVibes, Grant clarified why his party had fought “long and hard” to prevent any boundary changes, and why he deemed its victory as the year’s highlight.
“After fighting for several months to ensure that the boundaries in St. Kitts and Nevis would not be changed to the detriment of the citizens and that justice and democracy would reign, we were able to have the court determine the matter in our favour,” he explained.
“In fact, we ensured that the classic case of gerrymandering which was being perpetuated by the Denzil Douglas regime did not occur, so the people of the country were not disadvantaged in the 13th hour by any new changes.”
Although Grant was notably upbeat about that victory, his exuberance was tempered by what he considered the year’s lowest point – the Federation’s record 27 homicides.
“Countless of our young men and young women have been murdered. To make matters worse, the majority of these murders have gone unsolved. The lives of many families have been touched by grief in 2009, and I would hope that for 2010 we see a great reduction in the number of homicides.”
He added that his party was still committed to its January pledge of decreasing homicides by 50 percent after its first year in office. According to Grant, this confidence is due to the strength of the measures that would be implemented.
In the short-term, this includes enhanced equipping of the Police Force, a greater police presence on the streets and cooperation with regional security agencies. The medium-term focuses on the improvement of the nation’s police stations and the construction of a new prison.
Despite his faith in these initiatives, Grant said that the long-term measure of “institutionalised discipline” was by far the most important.
“Every child between the ages of five to 17 will have to be enrolled in some sort of community programme like the Boys Brigade or the Girl Guides. Our youth plan will ensure that discipline is fostered in our youth. That way, young people can grow into responsible, productive adults,” he stated.
The PAM leader noted that after 14 years of “struggling” in opposition, it was clear that the majority of persons wanted a change in government, and in 2010 that wish would be delivered to them. He divulged that his party would transform the decision-making process to one that included extensive youth input.
“There are young people all around the island who have a tremendous amount of skill which they can bring to bear on a new PAM government. We will be sure to engage young professionals to bring better governance to the Federation,” Grant said.
He continued, “That is what I want to see, a tremendous amount of young people using their skills to ensure we progress significantly and retain our status as one of the key players in the region.”
