Photo – Rt. Hon. Dr. Denzil L. Douglas
680/2018
By: Erasmus Williams
Basseterre, St. Kitts, July 25, 2018 – St. Kitts and Nevis’ Leader of the Opposition, the Rt. Hon. Dr. Denzil L. Douglas said Wednesday that with the economy slowing down and crime rampant, the people of the twin-island Federation are “crying out for leadership and crying out for change.”
“On the issues that matter most, the Team Unity administration, led by Dr. Timothy Harris is showing itself to be unable or incapable of properly managing the affairs of this country. The barometer of public sentiment is showing that the current government is growing increasingly unpopular since on every indicator, whether it is crime, the economy or any other issue, this government is failing badly,” Dr. Douglas said at a press conference of his opposition St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Party on Wednesday.
The former prime minister said the economy of St. Kitts and Nevis is grinding to a screeching halt with economic growth slowing down to a mere 1.7% in 2017 down from highs of 6.22% and 6% in 2013 and 2014.
“The National debt has increased, prices are going up, the economy in Nevis has grown increasingly dependent, all this is happening while the corrupt fat cats in government are getting fatter and richer,” said Dr. Douglas.
He told journalist and the nation that crime continues to spiral out of control, with criminals getting bolder by the day, as many offences are now being committed in broad daylight for all to see without any fear of arrest.
“There is an obvious disregard for the law enforcement authorities, and this, I contend, is the result of the apparent incompetence and lack of leadership demonstrated by Dr. Timothy Harris, who is the Minister responsible for National Security as well as the corruption and malfeasance in the current administration. Timothy Harris and his Team Unity Government remain noticeably silent as to how the government plans to stop the burgeoning crime and violence. As the saying goes, they either don’t know, they don’t show or they don’t care about crime in this country,” Dr. Douglas said.
“This is an outrage! We in the Labour Party insist that there needs to be a national consultation on crime and criminality. The crime problem requires all of us to solve it. The Parliamentary Opposition is committed to working with the current administration with devising plans and strategies to detect and deter crime but to date our overtures have been ignored. We have no intention to politicize crime however. We are simply expressing the widespread frustration being felt by the people at the apparent indifference of this government towards seriously addressing crime in a way that would effect a marked decline in criminal activity across the Federation,” said the seven-term parliamentarian.
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