BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – “Always be ahead of them; not one, not two but many steps. Keep them wondering what you’re up to next and keep the pressure on them.”
Those were the words of St. Kitts and Nevis’ first Prime Minister the Rt. Hon. Dr. Sir Kennedy Simmonds conveyed by Cyndie Demming, Chairperson of the People’s Action Movement (PAM), to a packed auditorium yesterday afternoon (Apr. 28) at the party’s 48th Annual Convention held at its Headquarters in Fortlands, Basseterre.
Demming told the audience, which included Chairman of One Bermuda Alliance Thaddeus Hollis and his wife Precious, that the quote which she shared with them was gotten from Sir Kennedy while in discussion with him on the previous weekend.
“So then, if you agree with that statement the campaign has begun!” she exclaimed, adding, “So I call for the House to be dissolved. Ring the bell Denzil, ring the bell,” to which the party’s supporters loudly cheered and clapped, seemingly as a sign of readiness for the inevitable.
“We ready, we ready, we ready?” she asked with much enthusiasm which fuelled many supporters to shout, ‘Yeah!’ whilst some clapped and cheered to signal the affirmative.
The Chairperson encouraged the party’s supporters to garner the support of others in order to bring about the realisation of a Unity Government.
“Let’s march like a mighty army as we knock on doors all around the pavement, touch the flesh, kiss babies…work the List. Look at the List with eagle eyes and ask every person we come into contact with to support us in our quest for a government of national unity.
“The time is now for us to value, appreciate and buy into differences. Consider the third alternative where two plus two plus two equals not just six but the majority. And because we are in the majority we should be the government.
And that will be after the imminent elections in…?” she asked the party’s supporters who unanimously shouted “July,” to which Demming replied, “You said it!”
“I can see, smell, hear, touch and taste the synergy that would create the dynamic dispensation …the construct called the Unity,” she claimed.
The Convention was held under the theme ‘PAM…Moving forward in Unity’.
Also speaking at the Convention was the party’s recently announced candidate for St. Christopher Two Jonel Powell, who also expressed his support for the unity government concept.
“We're not abandoning our colour of gold or our symbolic hat by standing in unity; we are strengthening our National colours of yellow, green, red, black and white, we're strengthening our country. Let us as PAMites welcome, embrace our brothers and sisters, our fellow Kittitians and Nevisians of like mind and like love for our country and our people,” he told the appreciative gathering which responded with loud applause.
And Valerine McIntosh who did a self-penned song called ‘Unity is Coming’, was well received by the party’s supporters.
Lyrics of the chorus included “Unity is coming, unity is coming…thank you men for looking out for us” and a verse in the song says “Unity is now in progress, we must put things in place…”
The PAM Leader, Shawn Richards, during his presentation asked the audience to sing lines of the popular gospel song ‘Soon and very soon we are going to see the King’. And after his supporters would have sung the lines at least twice, he improvised lyrics “soon and very soon we are going to have a unity government” which brought much laughter to the audience as they sang along with him.
Other highlights of the event included an interactive drum presentation by Royd Phipps and company, which saw Grant and Hamilton being invited to display their skills on the drums.
The agenda also saw In-house business matters of Resolutions by Dr. Charles Warner, Announcements by Valentine Lindsay and Passing of the Hat.
