BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – IN response to a question raised about slander, former Minister of the Labour Administration Hon. Dr. Timothy Harris said the people of the twin-island Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis should not allow Prime Minister the Rt. Hon. Dr. Denzil Douglas to turn their focus away from the issues troubling the nation.
The question was raised at a press conference held at the Ocean Terrace Inn on Tuesday (Apr. 9) by the Elected Majority, which comprises the Opposition, Harris and the Hon. Sam Condor, and the people’s Action Movement’s Senator Vincent Byron Jr.
Harris was asked if there were any surprises to expect from Dr. Douglas and his Administration with regards to assassinating his character and, if so, if there were any plans to pre-empt or mitigate the situation.
Harris said that rather directing the attention to the slander that PM Douglas and his Administration is putting out in the public, the media should focus on the issues that are affecting the people of the Nation.
"The press has to be careful that it doesn't get too carried away with the nonsense and the hog wash that are being spoken by the Prime Minister and his outgoing Administration. I use the word hogwash calculatedly because the Prime Minister told us that the people of the Federation are hogs so I suspect that is what he is feeding on the political platform.
"We expect responsible journalism, to get beyond the sensationalism and the hogwash that the Prime Minister is putting on the platform. Because, let's face it, we are in a period of crisis and the conversation we want in the country are serious conversations about how we are going to get the country out of the fiscal quagmire in which Dr. Douglas lead it.
"The discussion we want in the country is how we are going to ensure that the political governance crisis which we are now experiencing in our country will never again be part of the political market place in years to come and how we, as an alternative government, can answer that."
Harris said that it is issues such as those that the Unity Government would be focusing on.
He stated that no amount of abuse, insinuations, innuendos and scare tactics on the Prime Minister's part "should depart the country from the consideration of those fundamentals. When the night is over and the abuse is ended, you still go back home and there is nothing in the cupboards to eat. When the abuse is ended, you still go back home as a supporter of Douglas and you are in arrears with your electricity and you keep hiding, not knowing when they will come to cut you. And if you are an unfortunate one, you get cut even on a Sunday".
Harris said the shame and indignity of those persons would live on even after the cursing and abusing of the politicians that Dr. Douglas perceives as his threat.
He noted that the Prime Minister is unable to answer the issues, challenges and problems that are of his own doing and has therefore resorted to "the nastiness".
Harris asked: "And it is that the country wants?"
"Will the nastiness come up with $228M in the next four years to help us to repay the IMF loan of US$84M? Does the nasty abuse on the platform address that issue? It will be address by higher taxes if we allow him there. It will be addressed by increases in Social Levy again. It will be addressed by increases in contribution of Social Security. That is how he will address it if the people were to allow him to distract them from the reality of their lives and into a ‘busing’ match.
"Well, I will say to Dr. Douglas, 'Listen, if you want the crown for the most nasty politician, take it. I am not competing in that competition with you. I prefer to stay focused, calmly focused and consistently focused on the issues which are important to the ordinary people in our country. I am prepared to be focused on the fact that the electricity rates are oppressive. I prefer to focus on the fact that the ladies at the Industrial Site, they need better conditions of work. I prefer to focus on the fact that after years of conveniently promising them their gratuity...that you can't resolve that particular problem. I'm prepared to focus on the people's issues,’" he explained.
Dr. Harris said he is fully prepared and is already thinking about how he could help young people across the Federation in acquiring jobs, because the economy has been contracting.
He noted that the financial statements of the big businesses have been proof of that, which means fewer opportunities for persons to be employed.
He also said that that means more hardship for the people because bills are on the rise while the salaries remain stagnant.
"So the country must decide and the journalists must decide what it is we want the people to focus on...the drama of Dr. Douglas who is a politician who is on his way out; the drama of a man having his last dance. And the music for Dr. Douglas has long stopped and yet he is over extending his time on his stage."
He further said that the Prime Minister needs to exit the stage and allow a new performer to come and elevate that Office.
The former Minister stated that serious discussions, ideas about democracy and development should be the concern, noting that if the country allows PM Douglas "to slip through again" the Federation would be far worse than it currently is.
"We the people of this country have to be united and stand up...stand up for our liberty and our right, stand up and hold our leaders accountable. We castigate them when they engage in the kind of mudslinging and abuse and leave the fundamental issues that are impacting us, leave them unattended.
"I pray that the country would move quickly beyond Dr. Douglas. Let him be the man trying to stop the bus long after the bus has passed...," Harris said.
