Herbert bids farewell to Constituency 4
By VonDez Phipps
Reporter-SKNVibes.com
 |
| (L-R) Glen "Ghost" Phillip and Hon. Rupert Herbert |
BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – IT was a bitter-sweet moment for Minister of Health and Gender Affairs, Hon. Rupert Herbert this past Saturday (Oct. 11) when he made his exit from the political arena and welcomed his successor for the candidacy of Constituency 4, Glen ‘Ghost’ Phillip.
Herbert spoke exclusively to SKNVibes following the opening of the Old Road Labour constituency office, saying he felt elated because he could see that the Labour party was again on the move. The former educator referred to Phillip, a newcomer to the political arena, as “the young ambitious man who will be replacing me”.
“I think the first thing a candidate needs is the desire to serve, a capacity to mix with all levels in society, a capacity to feel what the poor people feel, the capacity to listen, the capacity to take criticisms as well, and of course, the capacity to be loyal to the party. These are some of the things that I think he is bringing to this candidacy.
“I think the constituency is prepared because there was a lull in activities, but people were just waiting to show their colours. If Mr. Phillip does his work, I am confident that he will win. In fact, I will never say if he wins, I am confident that he will win, because the people here have gone through many things... and in this constituency the Labour party has more often than not been the choice.”
Minister Herbert reflected on his stint of service and described his greatest accomplishment in the area as being able to bring people
 |
|
Constituency member presents a plaque to Hon. Rupert Herbert
|
together.
He acknowledged that politics tends to encourage division which ultimately retards progress, and made it clear to his candidacy that he brought “the capacity and ability to talk to people on both sides of the political divide and bring them together and show them love, kindness and a caring attitude”.
In outlining some of his major accomplishments in terms of infrastructural changes, Herbert mentioned that his primary focus in Old Road was education.
He said he concentrated on building within the community a subculture “in which people understand the value of education and where the young people can move up and grasp the available opportunities”.
“I built first and foremost, the Verchild’s Primary School, now called the Tyrell Williams Primary School.
I made sure again that the day-care centre was improved to take quite a lot of children, so that the young ladies can go out to work and know that their children are being looked after.
~~Adz:Left~~ Of course, in terms of the community togetherness, I fought hard to get a community centre which I feel could be the focus of community action and unity.
There’s a library there, the post office is housed there, there’s a gym, there’s a computer room, and these are some of the things that I’ve done in Old Road. Of course I cannot forget the Fisherman’s Complex which has been on the cards for so very long and I was waiting until we got the right thing for the fishermen in Old Road.”
Herbert also highlighted his achievements in providing proper sporting facilities and adequate housing for the residents in his constituency “in an effort to meet the needs of the people, their thirst for land and their desire to acquire their own homes”.
In bidding farewell to his constituents Herbert urged them to stand firm and make wise decisions. He also advised that “We still have much to do.” ~~Adz:Right~~
