BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – DEPUTY LEADER of the People’s Action Movement (PAM) Eugene Hamilton has pledged his support for and indicated his willingness to be part of a Unity Government; a governance style which he said is best for the Federation in this time of crisis.
“At this point, I am fully supporting a government of national unity. I have no doubt whatsoever that a Unity Government will create the kind of governance structure that will satisfy the needs of our people. It will remove – at least for the period of Unity Government association that will be put in place – the divide and rule partisanship that has gotten us in this position in the first place.
“…when the chips are down, when a nation is in crisis, unity is what is needed to bring it back on track. Unity is what is needed to build that air of confidence, hope and opportunity in a people when crisis is there”, Hamilton expressed while speaking with SKNVibes on Tuesday (Feb. 19).
Asked by this publication why he is not advocating for the election of a PAM government, Hamilton explicated that while his party “has the wherewithal to govern country”, a Unity Government would serve to remove the culture of partisanship which exists within the Federation.
“I believe in promoting the concept of a unity government at this time for several reasons. It is not only PAM people who could develop this country. It is not only Labour people who could develop this country. It is not good for us to be saying that ‘it is Labour time’ and 'it’s PAM’s time'. Labour caters for the Labour people and leave part of the country behind…
“We have to remove this Labour time and this PAM time and give everyone an opportunity to develop the country and to create opportunities for others and for themselves. And while under a PAM government I can say we will not do that, we always know there are the people who will be guilty of creating that kind of division, that kind of strife, under a Unity Government, it gives an opportunity for each to be more balanced-minded in their approach to development rather than to be partisan.”
Had the Federation of St. Christopher and Nevis not been in a crisis – Hamilton indicated – his line of advocacy would have been different.
“Because as great as the Kennedy Simmonds government was, people still think that – for some reason – and some of them may be right, I don’t know. But if you have a Unity Government it is an opportunity for us to put away that partisan approach to development while we are in this crisis state.
"If we were not in a crisis, I would not argue the same way. But since we are in a crisis – highest national debt, people not getting paid, people losing confidence in the government, electricity bills going out of control, - and unity of purpose is what we should hold on to take us out of the crisis.”
