BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – UNITY candidate for Constituency Number Six Vernon Connor is of the view that Prime Minister the Rt. Hon. Dr. Denzil L. Douglas is lax in his representation of and care for the people of his constituency, Number Six. He however lays the blame at the feet of the People’s Action Movement (PAM) and has pledged to ensure that the status quo is discontinued.
More than a week ago, Connor was officially introduced to the nation and specifically the electorate of Constituency Number Six, and he unveiled some of the plans he would implement in that constituency should he be elected during the upcoming General Elections.
SKNVibes spoke with Connor following the launch, in what he said was his first interview with the media, and he criticised the Prime Minister for “neglecting” his constituents.
“One of the burning issues that caused me to take an active role or participation in these Elections for this year 2015 is that we have a Constituency Number Six that has two prominent members of the current administration and yet this Constituency has been thoroughly and heartlessly neglected by both of these representatives.
“We have the outgone Prime Minister who leaves the country and we have the outgone Minister of Education Nigel Carty, and these are men who seem to hold great influence in the Government and the Labour Party and they could have done much more to elevate the people of Number Six; elevate their social conditions, social status, elevate their economic status, even the educational status of the constituents has been neglected as well.”
Connor suggested that the PAM has been negligent in allowing the Prime Minister to feel secured in his possession of the seat.
“I think what has been used to his advantage is the fact that…and I think the People’s Action Movement which has been the only organised party for the past 50 years, it is remiss of them to have made this error in giving Dr. Douglas the grave advantage of feeling that he is secured in his position in Number Six.
“What PAM has done is that usually they provide a candidate to run for the elections and when the elections are over, PAM, not having won, will have that candidate just recede into oblivion. If PAM has a consistent voice in the Constituency, a voice to call out Dr. Douglas when he makes his mistakes, and a voice to call out Dr. Douglas when he keeps neglecting the people of his Constituency, and a voice to call him out when he passes through the Constituency with the windows of his vehicle up and his head down…if there was a voice giving a clarion call to these errors of the Prime Minister, then he would have been held responsible, more responsible for his Constituency…”
The candidate said this “injustice” is the reason for his decision to contest the Elections as a PAM candidate and a member of the Team Unity alliance.
He said it is “not just for this election…I am a constituent who was born and raised in Constituency Number Six. I live in the heart of Number Six, the town of Dieppe Bay, which is the central village, and my voice will be consistently and constantly heard throughout the years. As a matter of fact, when we win this upcoming Election my voice would be heard even more.”
Connor said he is “proud and happy to assume the role as representative for this constituency” and has outlined a number of plans and strategies that he would implement and employ if elected to office.
