Basseterre, St.Kitts, July 16th 2010 (PAM Secretariat) - St.Kitts-Nevis main opposition party People’s Action Movement Leader Mr. Lindsay Grant is expressing grave concern over the continued negative international press that the country has been receiving , particularly in recent times.
“I must express my deep concern for our country’s waning image internationally as world renowned news organizations like the associated press and the UK’s Sunday News times are featuring stories which highlight the corruption of our government, our crippling national debt and of course our crime epidemic,” said the charismatic People’s Action Movement leader Lindsay Grant.
“These are not stories from local newspapers who may have political agendas. These are stories from credible international news organizations and they are all now highlighting what we in this country have known for the last 15 years and that is our country is being mismanaged by a corrupt government which is either un-willing or unable to handle our serious crime problem and national debt,” the Opposition party leader continued.
The federation is currently featured in the world renowned Economist magazine as having the planets 3rd highest murder rate. In an article titled “Caribbean Crime-fighting- HELP Wanted!” the widely read business news magazine states “ALONG with league tables for sun and sand, English-speaking Caribbean countries dominate the world’s violence rankings. Jamaica suffers the planet’s second-highest murder rate, and St Kitts and Nevis ranks third”.
The news item highlighted the crime epidemic that plagues St. Kitts-Nevis and mentioned that other Caribbean countries including Trinidad and Tobago, Antigua and Barbuda and Guyana whose murder rates are much lower have turned to outside help including the importation of foreign managers or police chiefs.
The Economist reported “Facing growing demands for law and order, the islands’ leaders are now looking abroad for help. This month Trinidad and Tobago tapped Dwayne Gibbs, who hails from Edmonton in frigid north-western Canada, as its new police chief. Antigua and Barbuda has also turned to Canada, hiring a team from the country to head its police. The Jamaican force has three British assistant commissioners.”
Despite recording 27 murders for 2009 and 17 murders so far this year and having the 3rd highest murder rate on the planet the St.Kitts-Nevis government has still yet to implement any significant or major crime fighting programmes or initiatives or even indulge meaningful and significant foreign assistance in combating the crime situation.
“There is good reason to import foreign managers. Caribbean police forces were set up in colonial times to catch mango thieves and quell native unrest. They are being overwhelmed by well-armed gangs, international drug traffickers and systemic corruption,” the Economist magazine reported.
In April the Associated Press reported that US Defense Secretary Robert Gates labeled the country as having one of the most corrupt governments in the Caribbean. This was followed in June by a report in the UK’s Sunday Times news which stated that government officials were involved in accepting bribes of cash and prostitutes in exchange for their support of Japan’s pro-whaling stance at the International Whaling Commission.
The Economist is one of the most widely read news magazines in the world and is regarded as one of the most prestigious.
