No team has delivered like the St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Party, says PM Douglas
Basseterre, St. Kitts (CUOPM) — Stating that the moment is fast approaching when the people of St. Kitts and Nevis go to the polls, St. Kitts and Nevis’ Prime Minister the Rt. Hon. Denzil L. Douglas says the one simple act have huge consequences.
“In less than two weeks, in the privacy of polling booths all across the Federation, each of us will freely and joyously exercise that most precious of rights which Bradshaw, Southwell, France and all the other fearless leaders of the St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Party fought so hard and won so decisively for us – the right to vote,” Prime Minister Douglas said during his weekly radio programme “Ask the Prime Minister.”
“With that one simple act, we will determine whether St. Kitts and Nevis continues on the positive, upward trajectory onto which my Government has so securely placed us, or whether we will end up in a different and unknowable direction. And let there be no doubt: what happens to our economy, what happens to our ranking compared to our Caribbean nations and the rest of the world, all of this will be determined by our vote,” said Prime Minister Douglas.
He said the outstanding performance of St. Kitts and Nevis and the advancements the people have seen in terms of home ownership, the funding that has been made for university training, for apprenticeship programmes, for new skills acquisition, even the extent to which the public and the media are able to regularly and publicly question the Government about any matter they wish, will all be determined by their vote.
“It is human nature to assume that whatever we have gotten used to has always been that way, that is not so where our blessed country is concerned. Not so at all. It is human nature to assume that because we have something today, we will have it tomorrow and forever. Not so. where our beautiful St. Kitts & Nevis is concerned at all,” continued Prime Minister Douglas, who added:
“Everything that we have in St. Kitts and Nevis today, every positive that we see around us, everything outstanding accomplishment that sets us apart from our Caribbean neighbours and the rest of the world is a result of special vision, special focus, special skill, special expertise, special capabilities. And let us think clearly – if it were that easy, if it were that simple, if it were something that any well-educated person could accomplish, every other Caribbean nation would have achieved what we have, every other country beyond the Caribbean would have accomplished what we have.”
Dr. Douglas further told listeners: “But, in all humility and with sincere respect, we know that they have not been able to. And there is a reason why. It is quite similar to when we were in school, or when we watch a cricket match or a basketball game – everybody wants to do well, everybody wants to win……….but it is not every student or every sports team that has the same natural gifts and abilities; not every student or team has the same capacity for hard, unrelenting work; and – most importantly – not every student or sports team has the mental and strategic quickness and flexibility to change and adapt as circumstances change in order to avoid disaster.”
Prime Minister Douglas noted that everyone can promise, but few can actually deliver and no team has ever delivered like his St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Government.
“Indeed, I assert that it is because this Labour Government has worked so hard and so well, it is because this Labour Government has produced so much that will – for generations – redound to the benefit of the people of this country, it is because the positive consequences of this Government’s work are pouring in and will continue to pour in for years to come that there are now those who are so eager to pounce and lay claim to all that we have accomplished: Sort of like you labouring in the hot sun to grow essential, life-sustaining crops in a time of merciless drought, and others plotting to hijack the truck, laden with life-sustaining produce, as it zooms merrily on its way to market,” said Dr. Douglas, pointing out:
“Let there be no doubt, however – even if the truck does end up being hijacked, that is not the end of the matter. That does not guarantee success moving forward. Because there is still the matter of marketing, pricing, distribution, inventory control, processing, packaging……. and without the skill, capacity, discipline and focus that created the bountiful harvest in the first place, even that high-jacked harvest, in the wrong hands, can still amount to naught – to the detriment of us all,” Dr. Douglas said.
Adding: “Let us jus focus, for a moment, on the hearty and boastful proclamations by those now in charge in Nevis, that investors were waiting by the boatloads to inject millions into the Nevis island economy, as soon as the government was changed. Well, the government was changed in 2013. And Nevis has, ever since, just gone down, down, down……
St. Kitts & Nevis is now, as a result of extraordinarily hard work, Number One. Let us rejoice in this. Let us hold on to this. Let us build on this. Let us, Listeners, keep moving forward – resisting all distractions…….with wisdom and focus.”