BASSETERRE St. Kitts, June 11th 2013 - On Sunday, June 9th 2013, recently elected Labour party candidate for constituency number 7, Dr. Vance Gilbert, accompanied the federation's Prime Minister, the Right Honourable Dr. Denzil L. Douglas at a town hall style meeting with citizens in the New York area.
Some 200 citizens filled the hall of the Church of The Holy Nativity in the Bronx, New York to hear the voice of the leader of the independent federation of St. Kitts and Nevis. Chaired by prominent Cayon resident and esteemed Ambassador Mrs. Astona Brown, the meeting commenced shortly after 6:30 pm.
Dr. Vance Gilbert gave a detailed account of himself as a public steward eager to render his service to his constituents and the country. He offered his vision for his constituency and the federation and expressed his confidence in the Labour Party with which he now stands.
Dr. Gilbert spoke eloquently as to his decision to support the current Labour party government and took the time to explain what he intends to contribute should the people of his constituency elect him to office whenever the next general elections are called.
Once his presentation was done, the young doctor took his seat to make way for the speaker of the hour, Dr. Denzil Douglas, who declared to the audience, "Labour is on the move with confidence."
Prime Minister Douglas sought to explain the policies adopted by his government during his eighteen-year tenure and he also addressed the economic challenges the federation has faced under his watch.
Douglas stated, "When the world appeared to be collapsing in 2008/2009, it is the grace of God that kept the federation of St. Kitts and Nevis safe." According to the four-term Prime Minister, the world changed for people everywhere. In the federation, public expenditure that was used to generate economic activity had to be curtailed and as the debt situation worsened, his government took a pre-emptive decision not to allow the country to collapse economically as the twin isles had never defaulted on its debt. "While other countries had been paying public servants late," the Prime Minister commented, "such was never the case in St. Kitts and Nevis."
He suggested that the $400 million debt in which the sugar industry found itself could not easily be paid down. The sugar industry had collapsed by 2005 and after the World Trade Organization (WTO) declared that preferential treatment would no longer be granted, it became impractical to keep the sugar industry open. Closure was inevitable!
He continued, "The diversification away from sugar did not just mean the pursuit of spoils in tourism but it also meant the pursuit of agriculture through more modern day farming techniques."
Of the many aspects of the economic health of the nation that government had to examine was the federation's tax structure.
According to the Prime Minister, a taxation system review was one of the key initiatives taken by the Labour government. VAT replaced several taxes and corrected the shortage of the previous taxation system.
Electricity was revamped through a private management team and in keeping in stride with the initiative taken by Premier Parry in Nevis, the Denzil Douglas lead government chose to undertake the same initiative through SKELEC.
Another aspect of government's public sector reform strategy included retiring civil servants at 55 years and retaining selected civil servants past the retirement age based on their highly valuable skills. Modernizing the public service has also meant moving more closely to an E-Government system allowing government related transactions to be handled via the Internet.
Of the many challenges the government faced, according to the Prime Minster, is the federation's high debt. In tackling the national debt, the government had to pay attention to the various sectors of the economy and based on the work of the government, one can see where the country is today compared to where it was 18 years ago. "It is clear that Labour is on the move with full confidence," he remarked.
He insisted however that even large countries of the world are highly indebted countries but debt must be sustainable and not stifle the economic activity of a country and that is what he and his team has managed to do.
He proclaimed he is leading St. Kitts and Nevis and other nations are following. He doesn't go back and say forgive me or give apologies for the decisions he makes. He stands by his decisions!
"We are on our way to build a new society and a new government that has experience and vision”, bellowed Douglas.
He proudly declared that his government is "not looking back, we can only look forward". We can only leave our country better than we met it. Despite the challenges, despite the economic crisis, confidence has returned," he declared.
Denzil Douglas affirmed, "We are the only country who can start up a project in the middle of an economic crisis and the Park Hyatt is a testimony to that." He confirmed that all projects would continue under his watch because investors have confidence in the government and the people of St. Kitts and Nevis. He continued, "We are a template for debt restructuring."
In speaking to the fall out between former Labour government MPs Dr. Harris and Sam Condor, the Prime Minister remarked, "In life what goes around comes around. He who cannot wait his turn will lose his turn."
The animated Prime Minister ended his fiery presentation by giving three cheers for Vance Gilbert to a rousing, Hip Hip, Hooray.
The highly anticipated question and answer segment followed Dr. Douglas’s presentation. There were various questions and comments on the healthcare system, the no confidence motion, government's new policy on passports, education, the economy and the way forward.
“Why hasn't the motion of no confidence been brought to the parliament?” one individual asked.
In responding, the Prime Minister stated that the filing did not adhere to the principles of the dictates to parliamentary rules. It was incorrectly addressed to the speaker instead of the government. The Prime Minister expressed his view that the motion should have been "no confidence in the government and not the Prime Minister. He is not in charge of parliament and cannot be looked to bring the MONC to parliament. It's private and will not take precedence over the government's business. Government business will be heard first. Further, the constitution is silent as to when the MONC must be heard."
One gentleman stated, "Most people in St. Kitts think you are a pathological liar and a crook. How do you sleep at nights? The Prime Minister said the comment and question was nonsense and he offered no response.
Another admirer of the Prime Minister sought to scold the gentleman who posed the question to the Prime Minister about his public image by saying he should not address the Prime Minister in the manner he did, triggering a brief heated exchangebetween the two men.
A gentleman who identified himself as a strong NRP supporter praised the Prime Minister for his leadership and questioned him on his views about Mark Brantley coming to St. Kitts to acquire funding for the NIA. The Prime Minister responded in part that, "He is not Jesus Christ" and further stated it was Deputy Premier Brantley who brought the MONC against him in December and now Mr. Brantley has to work with him in the interest of the federation.
On the question about new passports currently being issued without reference to the passport holder's place of birth, the Prime Minister claimed not to know about it and promised to check into it.
Other interesting questions were asked and comments expressed in admiration of the Prime Minister and his leadership.
The informational session ended close to 11:00 pm with refreshments, much spirited discussions and pockets of citizens socializing and assessing what was deemed as a demonstration of confidence in Prime Minister Denzil Douglas by many of his New York based supporters.
Dr. Denzil Douglas and his team insist that "full confidence" is the message they intend to convey in their build up to the next general elections, constitutionally due by 2015.
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