PM Douglas Takes Nomination Oath
Photo By Erasmus Williams
Basseterre, St. Kitts – Nevis
January 16, 2010 (CUOPM)
Friday’s nomination of the eight St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Party candidates for the January 25th general election attracted hundreds of party supporters and well wishers.
Prime Minister Hon. Dr. Denzil L. Douglas joined scores of supporters in Saddlers for the journey to the St. Paul�s Police Station. As the motorcade passed through the constituency, scores of school children lined the streets outside their schools in Saddlers, St. Paul’s and Newton Ground, waving and greeting the St. Kitts and Nevis leader as they passed by.
Prime Minister Douglas, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, National Security, Immigration, Sustainable Development, Tourism, Sports and Culture, is seeking re-election as the Parliamentary Representative for St. Christopher 6 and was officially nominated at 11:00 A.M.
Joined by new comers, Dr. Norgen Wilson and Mr. Glenn “Ghost” Phillip and their supporters, the large motorcade travelled via Newton Ground to the Sandy Point Police, where Wilson, a Cuban-trained physician, seeking to represent St. Christopher 5 in the St. Kitts and Nevis National Assembly was nominated at 11:23 A.M.
From there the motorcade became larger as it passed through the villages of Half Way Tree, Conyers, Middle Island, Verchilds and Green Tree and into Old Road, where where Mr. Phillip, who replaces the retiring Hon. Rupert Herbert, was nominated at 12:09 P.M.
Similar activities took place in the other five constituencies.
Incumbent Minister of Public Works, Utilities, Transport and Posts, Dr. the Hon. Earl Asim Martin was nominated for re-election in St. Christopher 1 (East Basseterre); Incumbent Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education, Youth Affairs, Labour, Social Security, Information and Technology, Hon. Sam Condor was nominated for re-election in St. Christopher # 3 (West Basseterre); Minister of Finance, International Trade, Industry, Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Dr. the Hon. Timothy Harris is seeking re-election in St. Christopher 7 (Belle Vue to Ottley,s) and was nominated.
So too was incumbent Minister of Housing, Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Cedric Liburd, who is seeking re-election in St. Christopher 8 (Ottley’s, Cayon-Conaree and St. Peters).
Nominated was the election’s only female candidate, former Speaker, Ms. Marcella Liburd, who is the new candidate in St. Christopher 2 (Central Basseterre).
As the large motorcade with Prime Minister Douglas and candidates Phillip and Wilson reached the Five Ways area, they were joined by Deputy Prime Minister Condor and Ms. Marcella Liburd and the cavalcade of cars and supporters passed through Irish Town before stopping at The Circus for a mini-meeting.
Prime Minister Douglas and the candidates made brief remarks.
The St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Party held 7 0f the 8 seats on St. Kitts in the outgoing National Assembly. The position People’s Action Movement (PAM), the other St. Kitts seat. Of the three seats in Nevis, the Concerned Citizens Movement (CCM) held two and the other was held by the Nevis Reformation Party (NRP).
The PAM is expected to contest the 8 seats on St. Kitts and the CCM and NRP the three seats on Nevis.
I think the infrastructure of a country ought to be the responsibility of the people, and bringing in labour from abroad ought to be to supplement the labour force present within the country. Hence updating the skills that are already there as part of the general population is fundamental to positive progress.
What is the present labour government doing to ensure that the future development of the federation is not over dependant on labour being brought in from abroad and, are we to expect the present policy of outsider resource to dominate the new industries, while citizens are not trained up to compete for jobs in the international market, as indicators of the much commented progress in the federation?