Two years of sweet Sunshine

By Ron Daniel

I would be doing my conscience a disservice if I did not take some time out to recognize the achievements of the Nevis Reformation Party in Government over these past two years.  I still recall with glee the night of July 10 when there was a 2-2 deadlock with all eyes on the Cox Box to see which party would take over the reigns of Government.  As expected, the Cox Box was faithful to Cox’s favourite son and just like that; darkness gave way to light and the thunderstorm of the past gave way to sweet Sunshine.  The Nevis Reformation Party has since then set out with missionary zeal to accomplish the goals as set out in their Manifesto - The People’s Agenda.

This article will seek to very briefly speak to the social, economic and infrastructural transformation that the Nevis Reformation Party in government has achieved in two short mini years.

Social Transformation
Not even the most diehard CCM supporter will say that the government has done nothing or not done enough in Social Transformation.  I am convinced that even those who mark time every single Wednesday night, look on in deep blue envy when they see how much Hensley Daniel and the NRP has done in this regard.

There have been homework help programs in every parish of the country. Over 200 people have been trained in various fields.  Almost 100 people have received assistance from government for studies overseas.  Just recently some 20 plus men from Nevis have been sent to Trinidad to get training in auto-mechanics, carpentry, construction and the like.

There are free books for students in high school.  Women have been trained in politics and leadership.  The elderly in our community have been publicly recognized and rewarded for their contribution towards the development of the country.  There is now a youth representative on every statutory corporation.  Young people are now offered land at $3.50 per square foot which represents a 40 – 60% discount on the actual market value of said lands. Again, time and space will not allow me to document in detail all of the accomplishments of the Government when it comes to social development.  Hensley Daniel has taken the task of social transformation and made it his own.  He lives, breathes and sleeps social transformation.  His hours of hard work has paid off and he is a big reason why the Sun continues to shine so sweetly over Nevis.

Economic Transformation
It is hard to imagine that on the back of the infrastructural and social transformation that the NRP Government would have little time to properly manage the economy and create ways of injecting money into same.  No so with the Sunshine Government!  They have agreed in principle to a 120 room Marina Hotel and now will be welcoming the Amman group for a luxurious tourism development in Gingerland.  There is also an agreement with the W Hotel Brand.  In essence in TWO Sunshine years, we have agreements for three hotels while in FOURTEEN years of Darkness we could not get an agreement for ONE HOTEL.

Additionally one would have thought that with so much development happening in the country that the economy is in shambles.  In fact when the NRP Government presented its first budget in December of 2006, they themselves presented a deficit budget reasoning that they would have to incur a deficit to create the social transformation needed in Nevis.  Lo and behold by the end of the budget year, the NIA had recorded a surplus.  Furthermore, the Honourable Premier also reported that for the first quarter of 2008 the NIA has again made a surplus.  This is commendable because it means that the government has done at excellent job at collecting outstanding monies while exemplifying to us how they have spent it. 

Bear in mind that these surpluses have been made after allowing a number of small businesses duty free concessions to expand and create even more business therefore expanding the economy.  I remember well when the NRP announced this policy that one multi-millionaire lawyer in the opposition said that the NRP was going wrong and that they must stop the “freeness” as he called it because it would hurt the economy.  He could not have been more wrong as it has proven to grow the economy.  Kudos to Premier Parry as the Minister of Finance!

While Agriculture was struggling on life support under the CCM, under Robelto Hector and the NRP Agriculture is off life support and living life like its golden.  For the first time in more than a decade Nevis was able to put a ban on tomatoes, meat, pork etc because there was more than enough production locally to feed everyone.  Additionally the Nevis Reformation Party was able to reform the Cotton Ginery at New River and once again be able to gin cotton for export on the international market.  This did not happen simply because the NRP Government is in power.  It happened because men like Robelto Hector were prepared to roll up their sleeves and work hard in the interest of the people of Nevis. 

If that were not enough, the government has now moved into the area of geothermal energy to provide cheaper and cleaner electricity to the people of Nevis.  This could mean up to a 40% reduction on everyone’s electricity bill.  However the discovery of geothermal energy on Nevis means we have the capacity to sell electricity to St Kitts and our fellow Caribbean islands.  The Government of St Kitts, Anguilla, USVI inter alia have all expressed their desire in purchasing this electricity from us.  The economic spinoffs from geothermal energy alone is expected to provide tens of millions of dollars in revenues per year to the Nevis economy and is expected to outstrip tourism as the main income earner for our economy.  Our debt to GDP ratio would be significantly reduced and we will be bathing in Sunshine. Again no praise can be too high for our sagacious leader, the Honourable Joseph Walcott Parry. 

Infrastructural Transformation
I am convinced that not even the devil in hell can say that the NRP has done nothing or has not done enough in improving the infrastructure in Nevis.  Not only have the Sunshine government spent considerable time repairing Phase II of the Island Main Road that the CCM Government overpaid by more than 10 MILLION dollars for, but it has set out on virgin projects of its own.  The people of Jessups (the place which produced the best woman ever to be born in Nevis) now have roads complete with drains, instead of roads replete with potholes.  The people of Cotton Ground and Barnes Ghuat also bask in the Sunshine that is the NRP Government, when they realise that their narrow-ways have been replaced with broadways.  Stoney Grove and Ramsbury have given up their dirt roads for asphalted roads.

Hamilton, Chicken Stone, Cox, Clay Ghuat and Montpelier Estate will soon be singing “good bye old road...we will stay no longer with you” and the people of West Bury are so glad that their old roads have been buried with the memories of neglect that they experienced under the previous administration.  The third phase of the Island Main Road complete with cat eyes in the middle of the road are so impressive, that dogs want to know why they couldn’t be called dog eyes.  If that is not enough, we now understand that the loan for the expansion of the airport runway has now been approved. 

Additionally there is to be another 1 million gallons of water pumped into the system in a matter of weeks. Time and space will not allow me to document in detail all of the accomplishments of the Government when it comes to infrastructure.  However Kudos must go the Honourable Carlisle Powell and Premier Parry along with the team for the work they have done in this regard.

I can go on and on about the great team that the NRP has assembled to work in the best interests of the people of Nevis.  This article does not begin to capture the full extent of the work of the Sunshine and yet still anyone who reads it will still be amazed by what they have accomplished. While the NRP represents the apogee of governance in Nevis, the CCM represents its nadir. 

Although the people of Nevis, have different political persuasions, none can doubt the veracity of the contents of this article.  The sweet sunshine provided by the NRP Government has been sweeter than any sugar or honey or grenadine syrup around these parts.  The Sunshine has been so sweet, I think I may have to leave now to go to the hospital to check for diabetes.