BASSETERRE, ST. KITTS, JANUARY 23RD 2011 (CUOPM) – As the Government of St. Kitts and Nevis celebrates the first year of its fourth consecutive term of office, Prime Minister Hon. Dr. Denzil L. Douglas said his Administration remains committed to being a Government of inclusion.
He told the congregation during a church service at the 150-year-old St. Thomas’ Anglican Church Sunday morning, that he was speaking not as the leader of a political party, but as the Prime Minister of all the people of the twin island Federation.
“We are, and must forever commit ourselves to being, between elections, one people, and one nation, with one destiny,” said Dr. Douglas, whose St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Party won the January 25th 2010 General Elections.
He pointed out that since taking office as Prime Minister in July 1995, “persons of all political persuasions have been invited into, and become respected participants in the workings of our Government, and this shall always be the case in any Government that I may ever have the honour and privilege of leading - because I am keenly aware that it is only by incorporating the best minds; and the best skills; and the best intellectual, practical, and moral strengths that any government, anywhere, can ever hope to bring the nation it was entrusted to serve, to its full potential.”
“Here we stand – about to begin the second year of this new term that God and the people have given to us. And, with the discord and hatreds that we see bursting forth in countries far, far away, and with very strange developments beginning to emerge in one of the countries in our region, we must give thanks not only for having won the election last year, but for living in a country in which the tradition of democracy is so firmly rooted,” said Prime Minister Douglas to the congregation which included Cabinet ministers, executive members and the rank and file of the governing St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Party .
He said that the Nation must give thanks that they live in a country in which the sanctity of the ballot is recognised and revered because it is the only path to social and political stability.
“We are among the tiniest of nations, but we are also among the wisest of nations. We can hold our own with the most mature and stable nations of the industrialized world because, like them, we understand that politics by its very nature has to involve opposing views, it has to involve different perspectives and interpretations, it has to involve recommendations as to alternate paths and ways,” said the Prime Minister.
He noted that like the most stable and powerful nations of the industrialized world, St. Kitts and Nevis refuse to be painted with the brush of instability, mayhem, and “ungovernableness” with which so many paint small nations all around the world.
“We, in St. Kitts and Nevis, do not fit that mould. We are a people with a proud history. It is here that the people of the wider Caribbean first began to have a sense of the wonderful possibilities that awaited them as fully functioning members of truly democratic societies. It is to this place that the West Indies Federation looked when they needed someone to fill the all-important post of Minister of Finance of the West Indies Federation in those glorious and shining days. It was here that universal, mandatory and free educations for all children first became a reality in the Caribbean region. It was here that the historic Treaty of Basseterre was signed.”
“It was here in St. Kitts and Nevis that so much that is good, and constructive, and positive, and uplifting in this region first emerged and this makes Kittitians and Nevisians, today, a people of accomplishment and pride. We are a people with a social and political heritage to protect. We are a wise and self-respecting people who understand the meaning of democracy, the importance of democracy and the power of democracy. And we understand that democracy means stability. It means honour. It means being a member of the world community of mature, respected, and respectable nations – and that we in St. Kitts and Nevis, most certainly are,” said Prime Minister Douglas.
He said as the second year begins, his Government looks forward with a renewed spirit of commitment.
“I, of course, have my responsibilities as Prime Minister. My Cabinet Ministers have their respective responsibilities. You, in the congregation have your responsibilities as teachers, sanitation workers, farmers, home-makers, doctors, nurses, writers and athletes. However, those words only address the issues of what we do in our lines of work. But there is also the all-important matter of how we do what we do, and how we live: The degree of diligence, or carelessness, that we bring to the tasks that are before us. The extent to which we try to be instruments of peace as opposed to sowers of confusion. Whether we attempt to be a source of encouragement and affirmation for those with whom we have contact – at home, at work, or as we go about our daily lives. The question, as we said, is how we live our lives,” said Prime Minister Douglas.
“And so as we face each new day of this term, let the feel, and thrust, and direction of our efforts serve the interest of this land that we love. Let them serve the best interests of each other. And most of all, let us remember, and be inspired by, the seriousness and the dedication with which our Founding Fathers approached the task of delivering to us the rights, and privileges, and opportunities that they knew that we all so richly deserved,” said Dr. Douglas..
“And let us remember the unity, and the sense of focus, and the optimism, and determination with which we, as a people, responded to their efforts on our behalf. Our Founding Fathers established quite a standard. And my Government has striven diligently to build upon and advance all that they so valiantly began. You, the people of St. Kitts and Nevis have distinguished yourselves as a responsible, mature, hard-working and positive people, with whom, and for whom, and through whom, a great deal of our achievements has been made possible. And for this, I thank you. With so much that is going wrong in the wider world, we must bring to the fore the best that is within us. And let us even as we strive, and sacrifice, and debate – yes, debate,” said Prime Minister Douglas.
He promised that in the years ahead, his Government will continue to expand and build upon the many policies and programmes that have been outlined in numerous fora, but which it would be inappropriate to list in this House of Worship.
“Let me simply re-iterate to you the keen awareness of my Government of what a sacred responsibility you have bestowed upon us, and the unshakeable commitment of my Government to apply all its strength, all its vision, and all its power to protect the people of St. Kitts and Nevis, and to ensure that this country forever remains a stable, progressive, and viable member of the world community of democratic nations,” said Prime Minister Douglas.
