Basseterre, St. Kitts - St. Kitts and Nevis is so far the last Caribbean nation to attain political independence yet as the then People’s Action Movement government led this young nation to that important milestone they had the vision to not only keep up with our regional peers but also to take the lead in many important ways.
St. Kitts and Nevis took an immediate leadership role even prior to independence in the formation of the OECS and the establishment of the ECCB and for many years led in Latin America and the Caribbean in economic development.
Our nation under the father of our independence Dr. the Rt. Hon. Sir Kennedy Simmonds was able to avoid the scourge of rampant crime that afflicted our Caribbean brothers and sisters in countries like Jamaica as well as political upheaval like experienced by our brothers and sisters in Grenada. Without burdening our people with excessive taxation, like an income tax, our government was able to provide effective, well run social services including school meals, day care, extensive maternity leave ad free health care for civil servants among other benefits and entitlements.
When we look at our beloved nation today it is impossible not to weep at how far we have fallen. St. Kitts and Nevis still takes the lead in Latin America and the Caribbean but today we lead in murders and the National Debt. Our nation is among the most heavily taxed yet the government is consistently unable to provide basic services like reliable electricity.
Yet, as if the crime and near economic collapse are not enough our government tries ever harder to trample on our constitutional rights and the rule of law.
My wish for this Independence Day is for our people to regain the zeal for betterment that characterized those halcyon early years of nationhood. We need to take proactive steps and demand from this Labour government the accountability and respect for law and order that we one took for granted.
I wish my constituents in Cayon, Keys, Conaree and St. Peters and my fellow citizens a Happy 27th Anniversary of Independence.
