Newly Built Homes In Ottelys
Photo By Erasmus Williams
Basseterre, St. Kitts – Nevis
December 02, 2009 (CUOPM)
Minister of Finance, International Trade, Industry and Consumer Affairs, Dr. the Hon Timothy Harris blasted Lindsay Grant’s People’s Action Movement (PAM) for neglecting the people of Phillips’ during his party’s 15 years in government.
Speaking at a public meeting on Sunday night, Harris, the Parliamentary Representative for St. Christopher 7, told hundreds that the people of Phillips’ were victimised and not even one home was constructed in Phillips’ and some other areas of the Constituency.
“Not one block was used by the PAM government and the PAM representative in Phillips to build a house. Not even a little sand from Wash Ghut was used by PAM in Phillips’ in their 15 years in Government,” said Minister Harris in stressing his point.
The record shows that in their 15 years in office, the People’s Action Movement of Dr. the Hon. Sir Kennedy Simmonds, despite having a PAM Minister of Government as the Parliamentary Representative for St. Christopher #7, did not build a single house in several areas of that Constituency including Ottley’s, Upper Bourryeaux, Phillips’, Christ Church and Belle Vue.
“Anybody who the People’s Action Movement put to run and who seriously comes to Phillips’ Village and say “˜vote for me,’ that person has no respect for the people of Phillips’ because in the 15 years that PAM was in Government, they did not one thing for the people of Phillips’ Village,” said Harris, who has been the area’s Parliamentary Representative since 1993.
“Who in Phillips’ with serious thought and serious mind and appreciation for history want to vote for a PAM candidate again,” questioned Harris.
The PAM Government built a total of 251 homes in St. Kitts between February 1980 and June 1995 compared to the Labour Government’s total of 3,891 island wide between July 1995 and June 2009 under several housing programmes including the National Housing Corporation (NHC), Ministry of Housing/Department of Housing, House St. Kitts, CLICO, KOLMA, Imbert Construction Services and home loans approved by the Development of St. Kitts and Nevis.
332 homes have been built in St. Christopher 7 alone since the Denzil L. Douglas Labour Government took office in July 1995. Fourteen were built in Belle Vue, 107 homes in Tabernacle, 44 homes in Mansion, 7 in Christ Church, 59 in Molyneaux, 39 in Phillips’, 1 in Upper Bourryeaux, 5 in Lodge Village, 25 in Lodge Project and 31 in Ottleys.
“It is the performance of the future to which we must look and when you look at the quality of the PAM leadership and the PAM Team, you cannot see a good government there. You cannot see an attorney general; you can’t see a finance minister. You cannot see a minister of tourism and you cannot see a minister of education,” said Dr. Harris.