BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – PEOPLE’S ACTION MOVEMENT (PAM) candidate for St. Christopher One Ian ‘Patches’ Liburd has pledged that should he be victorious in the upcoming General Elections he would donate half of his salary to assist underprivileged students of the schools in his constituency.
Liburd made the announcement on Tuesday evening (June 20) while speaking at PAM’s political meeting at Taylor’s Village.
“I pledge here and now to serve you and I also pledge here and now – just like Michael Oliver Powell – I, Ian Patches Glasford Liburd, once elected I will give instructions to the treasury to deduct 50 percent of my salary to be lodged into a scholarship fund for every single school in this constituency, and I think there are about five of them. Fifty percent of my salary would go into a scholarship fund effective from the first month of my election…That is service.”
The schools located in Liburd’s constituency are Tucker Clarke Primary, Seventh Day Adventist, Immaculate Conception Catholic School, Beach Allen Primary, Basseterre High School, Washington Archibald High School and the Advance Vocational Education Centre.
Speaking with SKNVibes following the announcement, Liburd explained the impetus behind the decision.
“The fund will deal with scholastics and equipment and so on to help underprivileged children, irrespective of which school one goes to.
“I am familiar with the plight of persons in east Basseterre where people are living below the poverty line. I spoke to a lady who works for minimum wage at a government institution. She is a diabetic and her medication - she told me - costs 89 dollars per week and she pays 160-plus dollar a week for her house on wage deduction. She told me that that is very hard and there are many, many other persons who have that situation in a household with three and four children. And these children have to go to school and they need books and so on. There is a Social Assistance programme which would provide uniforms but books are very expensive.”
The Constituency One PAM representative told this publication that is the sacrifice he is prepared and willing to make for the community in which he was born, raised and still lives.
He however did not stipulate a time span on his pledge but told SKNVibes that it would continue “until the situation improves”.
