BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – THE 2010 manifesto of the ruling St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Party (SKNLP) came under harsh criticism by opposition the People’s Action Movement (PAM) during a press conference at the Ocean Terrace Inn on Thursday (Jan. 14).
“This manifesto is a shameful admission of the failure of the Labour Party and clearly a desperate hope that people will not read it,” declared PAM Leader Lindsay Grant. “It does not reflect the burning issues presently facing our Federation. It is a failure to respond to the critical issues of the day and an insult to the intelligence of the people of St. Kitts-Nevis.”
The opposition politician revealed that his party had received an advance copy of the document and, having analysed it, was not impressed at all with the Labour Party’s “failure to respond to the burning issues of crime, corruption and cost of living”. He then outlined how, in his opinion, the SKNLP’s manifesto had disappointed in those specific areas.
In relation to the cost of living, Grant claimed the manifesto gave no indication as to how the Labour Party would handle that issue. He said that PAM’s programmes were “direct, straightforward”, and designed to ensure that more money was put back into people’s pockets.
While he alleged that the SKNLP manifesto gave no new insight into education policies, Grant reiterated that a PAM government would allow every single qualified person to attend university without incurring massive amounts of debt, and that these same graduates would be able to receive job opportunities once they return home.
The PAM leader saved his severest criticism for the SKNLP’s stance on crime.
“Pages 29 to 31 are the ones that deal with crime. Three pages deal with crime, two of which are pictures, and crime we know is the number one issue facing our country. A poll by the Caribbean Research Development Services in July 2009 showed that more than 50 percent of persons were concerned by the high level of crime.
“What the Labour Party has planned for crime is abysmal. Crime is such a priority; it is cleverly buried in the middle of the manifesto. This is because they have no solutions at all. If they did, they would have been implemented already,” Grant noted.
He stressed that the SKNLP had not outlined one plan or promise, and said that the party and its leader, Dr. Denzil Douglas, had failed the St. Kitts-Nevis people both as a government and he as an individual.
According to a release by Erasmus Williams, Press Secretary to the Office of the Prime Minister, the SKNLP will officially launch its manifesto at a Warner Park Rally tomorrow (Jan. 16). Grant declined to reveal when the PAM manifesto would be released, but said he was not worried about its effectiveness.
“We have already outlined a number of policies that will be embedded in the manifesto, such as our ideas for crime, corruption and the cost of living. There will probably be only one or two items prior to the manifesto launch that have not been articulated. We may be wrong or right, but it’s a judgement call and we have made it,” he explained.
The SKNLP and PAM will contest the eight parliamentary seats in St. Kitts in the January 25 election. In 2004, the SKNLP won seven of those seats, securing their third consecutive victory at the polls.
