BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - LEADER of the People's Action Movement and Deputy Leader in the newly-launched Unity Construct, Hon. Shawn Richards told citizens that the Prime Minister and Leader of the St. Kitts Nevis Labour Party, the Rt. Hon. Dr. Denzil Douglas, preaches the same sermon when every election is nigh.
He made that statement at a Unity meeting last evening (Oct. 9) in George Street, Newtown; the second to be held since the official launch of Team Unity on September 26 this year.
Richards told the large gathering that the Prime Minister does not care about the people, and if he genuinely did he would not be promising them a change for the better after being in government for so long.
"Imagine you have a government for the last 18 years saying to you that they want to promise you change. How can the same people who have been in government for the last 18 years promise you a change at this point in time?
"You and I have always heard that a leopard cannot change its spots. And the Denzil Douglas Labour Party, they cannot change their spots. They cannot come to you and offer you meaningful change because when they come and talk about change, it is the very same old empty promises that they are bringing to you that they made to you in 1995, in 2000, in 2004, in 2009 and in 2010; same old promises, same old gimmicks and tricks."
He warned those in attendance not to be fooled by the present government because their promises are empty.
"You can't be fooled by them, don't be fooled. Denzil Douglas has been certified by a judge in this country as a stranger to the truth, as a liar. So don't let him fool you. Everything that you're seeing right now, you have seen before in this country."
He made reference to a song that was played some weeks ago when he was on a radio programme – ‘Same Script, Different Cast’ - noting that Dr. Douglas does the same thing to the people of the Federation.
He continued: "In 2009 he came to you the civil servants of this country and he said to you that you are going to get an early Christmas gift, he's going to give you a double salary. In 2010 we had a general election. It is the very same thing that he's saying to you again this time around; 2013 civil servants get a double salary because an election is once more approaching us.
"I want to say to you that Denzil Douglas does not care about you...it is not genuine. Somebody who is genuine is going to look after you all year round, not look after you just before a general election. Someone who genuinely cares about you is not going to stand up on a political platform in this country and say to you that when he sees his electricity bills he wants to cry.
"The same man is the Minister of Finance, and then he says to you, 'Come and march with me to reduce the cost of electricity in this country.' And guess what? He did not reduce the cost, but in 2009 it was the very same old story from Denzil Douglas."
Richards told the gathering that PM Douglas promised to permanently remove fuel surcharge in 2009 but added it back to the electricity bills just a few months later with a rise in the electricity.
He then said that the Prime Minister's focus is only on convincing the people of the Federation to vote for him, which is the reason for them being treated near an election.
Richards emphasised to the crowd that the Douglas-led Administration is only using the people to get what they want, adding that "after he would have gotten your vote, he discards you".
