PM Douglas highlights ‘hypocritical statements by former minister Harris’

BASSETERRE, ST. KITTS, JUNE 27TH 2013 (CUOPM) – Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis, the Rt. Hon. Dr. Denzil L. Douglas has responded to calls for him to comment on what nationals term “hypocritical statements” now being made by former senior minister Dr. the Hon. Timothy Harris.

Callers have been pointing out that now that Mr. Harris is no longer in the Government he is now critical of decisions he has made as a minister and as a member of the cabinet over the past 17 years.

“Here is a man (Dr. Harris), who was in government for 17 years, was part and parcel of the policies of the government. Also for 16 to 17 years, executed these policies and then 17 years after, because he has a problem with the government that he is unable to dismantle, he now says that it is their fault and not my fault,” said Dr. Douglas, in response to questions during his weekly radio programme “Ask the Prime Minister.”

Even before his dismissal, Dr. Harris, who was Senior Minister and Minister of Agriculture, International Trade, Industry and Commerce, Constituency Empowerment has been lyingly distancing himself from his own directives, policies and decisions as a Minister and implemented on his directives in his capacity as the minister and as a member of the Cabinet.

“The prices of goods, the prices of food items; well whose duty was it for the last few years as a Minister of Government to see to it that the ordinary people and consumers were not being gouged by the private sector people who want to rob them. Whose duty was it?,” Dr. Douglas asked.

The Prime Minister suggested that the time is now for nationals to understand why in that department in particular, there could have been serious failures because the Minister who was charged with the responsibilities, “is now telling you, that for the last 16 -17 years, that he has never really believed in the policies of that government; I never really believed that it was my duty to help to control prices.”

Dr. Douglas said that the Cabinet gave certain instructions on several occasions to Minister Harris “to carry out the necessary exercises that are supposed to be pursued by those in the Department of Consumer Affairs. Go into the supermarket go into the stores, and make sure that you have reports.”

“It is almost as if you are pulling teeth from a fowl; nothing, no response, no reporting and then he goes on a political platform and he is saying that it is Douglas fault. He has been collecting the tax payer’s money as Minister of Government for 17 years, so what he was doing for those 17 years?

All of a sudden it’s Douglas fault. He has been a total failure. He has no credibility. It is almost as if he is a mad man. That is how he is behaving. People are getting sick, people are getting cancer, people are getting high blood pressure and it Douglas fault.

“He has no credibility, totally hypocritical in everything that he is (now) saying and doing, simply because Douglas failed to hand over a government to him as Prime Minister when he demanded it on the 10th of December last year,” Dr. Douglas responded.

ATTACHED are several Statutory Rules & Orders ‘s signed by Dr. Harris in his capacity as Minister of Consumer Affairs, increasing the prices of white flour, whole wheat flour, brown sugar, evaporated milk and bread.