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Fellow citizens and residents,

I feel moved to make this statement out of my concern about the worsening crime situation in our country. I am not alone. Across social media several voices and statements have been made on this matter.

All patriotic citizens and persons of goodwill are deeply concerned about the fear, tension, instability, and unease permeating our beloved nation of St. Kitts and Nevis. The constant barrage of gun violence has elevated brutal murders within our Federation to disturbing levels. This has left our communities stained with the blood of our citizens and residents, turning our independent country again into the murder capital of the subregion, the wider CARICOM region, and the Americas. This is our collective shame.

Beyond the trauma and despair, our families suffer from a lack of safety and security. The hard work and successful implementation of well-targeted strategies by our Team Unity government are now being squandered and undermined by the incompetent administration. Mounting public pressure has forced the Prime Minister to address the Nation regarding the tragic and savage killings taking place in St. Kitts and Nevis, of which the most recent brutal murder is that of a renowned businesswoman, Sandra Roberts. I extend sympathies to all the families, loved ones and indeed to all who now mourn their sad and gruesome demise. I pray that God will comfort the mothers, fathers, siblings and offsprings of the deceased. Their deaths are tough, cruel and life changing experiences for their families. I have in my outreach to the families of the deceased felt their onerous burden, loss and bewilderment as they attempt to understand and deal with their loss. I hope in time they will find peace and have the resilience to cope and recover.

We had hoped that this government would offer a credible message of hope and assurance to fill the alarming void of leadership that has characterized its response to its most sacred duty—to keep our people safe. Alas, citizens and residents were left further dejected by the Prime Minister’s address. It was an empty address. In particular, it was notable for the absence of credible new strategies or approaches to contain and reverse the rising tide of violence and murders.

During my tenure, as the Third Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis, we experienced a downward trend in unlawful deaths especially in gang-related homicides. We created alternative life pathway programmes for at-risk individuals, providing them opportunities and support to pursue their responsibility for a better and safer future. The Peace Programme, though new and imperfect, worked and delivered unprecedented peace and tranquility across all communities. Without peace in any society, there will be no progress.

The Peace Programme focused on adults, while the Explorers Programme focused on adolescents and primary school children. It kept our youths safe, inculcated in them respect and love, and helped them recognize the importance of a safe community and their important role in keeping our communities safe. Committed police officers and our civic minded individuals were prominent in the implementation of these programs, serving as role models and father figures, fostering a solid positive bond between civilians and law enforcement.

The Explorers Club was supported by stakeholders, local and external such as USAID, the British High Commission, and two universities in the United States of America. One of our outstanding community police officers, Rosemary Ilse Williams, received an award from Her Majesty the Queen on account of her hard work with the Explorers Club and wider community. The Explorers Club emerged as an exemplary youth diversion program. The Explorers enrolled 1500 students making it the largest youth group in our country. Hundreds of parents and school teachers were among its most ardent advocates. It was an example of outstanding community partnership and policing. Sadly, the current vengeful administration destabilized these well-organized programs without sensible replacements, casting aside the Explorers Club and abandoning the Peace Programme.

As a consequence of these ill-advised policies, we have returned to a frightening era. Crime rates are up. We are the number one murder capital in the world. Our people are being murdered in their homes, on school compounds, and in our streets. The government has proven itself incompetent and impotent, unable to stem the slaughter of our residents. The Minister responsible for crime has presented no effective plan. Our Minister responsible for crime engendered no goodwill. His speech was not coherent and was laced with malicious untruths and lack of transparency.

1. He cannot in one breathe say untruthfully that the participants in the Peace Programme use money to arm themselves and while his administration continues to pay them and has no organized programme for the participants. Had he evidence of the purchase of arms, he should have passed this to the police for appropriate action. He disrespected participants on the PEACE programme yet they are the key players in any resolution of the dangerous crime situation in our country. When will he learn that you cannot reprobate and approbate at the same time?

• The so-called strategies outlined are largely reactive and have failed in the past to bring efficacious results. Only last year the Commissioner of Police launched Operation Reassurance. One year later we are in a worse situation than we were before this launch? The same elements are being repeated, notwithstanding their failure. We cannot be reassured that things will get better when the same failed plans are being recycled as exercises in futility.

• There needs to be targeted well thought out crime responses rather than ill advised actions that create widespread inconvenience for the general public, and breaches in our Constitutional rights.

The fundamental challenge for the Prime Minister and all his policies is that they are built on a foundation of lies. Hence they are destined to fail. As a medical doctor he should know you cannot deliberately misdiagnose the cause of a problem and expect to prescribe the correct medication. The prime minister has put party politics over good policy. And it is we the citizens and residents of this country who suffer the consequences of his dishonesty with the death of our children, siblings, relatives and friends. It is we the people who suffer when businesses close because they fear for their lives and those of their customers, and employees. Life is made miserable when our leaders bury their heads in the sand.

Fundamentally the policy intervention must be aimed at creating an environment where our young men and women do not have the urge ,desire nor instruments to destroy each other. Most importantly we should foster the environment that creates hope, opportunity and peaceful coexistence thus eliminating the desire to destroy one another.

That is what our policies for seven and a half years provided. Our young people were able to roam all over the country anytime of the day or night without fear. And this wasn’t because no guns were out there. Yes some still possessed weapons but there was no reason to move with them nor to use them. Hence we introduced a successful gun amnesty programme, and shared the results of these programmes with the public in a timely manner.

The success of the peace program created this environment. The government needs to consider more creative non-traditional methods in the effort to resolve the chaos it has unleashed.

The Minister’s claims of increased security budgets and allegations against the PEACE program participants were unsupported and baseless. The Minister responsible for crime failed to update the people about why the Explorers Club which had been a shining success has been sidelined for other programmes whose success and efficacy are at best elusive and in reality non-existent. Why waste a successful Explorers Programme? The sidelining of the successful Explorers Club for other unproven programs is inexplicable.

The criminal justice system has been overly politicized. I am advised that the criminal session has been abruptly suspended and many jurors feel intimidated. Yet not a word from the deceptive administration on this serious development. Passage of legislation is one thing, efficacy of outcome is another. The backlog of cases, and the inadequacy of the magistrate pool as magistrates resigned or are being reassigned, all require corrective action. There must be a review of the number and workload of magistrates with a view to ensure that we offer swift justice in a transparent, fair and impartial manner. The independence of the judicial officers must be protected from political overreach and the corruptive influence of the parasitical oligarchy.

The Drew administration has shown an unwillingness to share information to support its policies. The rising murder rates underscore the failure of his strategies and policies. There has been no transparency in the procurement of advisory services, many of whom are glaringly incompetent and a waste of hundreds thousands of dollars to maintain them with no value for money being realized. In his deceptive and misleading remarks on budget allocation, the minister responsible for crime missed an even more fundamental point – it is not necessarily how much you spend but whether you are being judicious in spending. We can spend less and achieve more. It is a matter of getting more value for every dollar spent.

If we are to move forward we must implement tried, tested and other innovative programmes that will lead to a better and safer St. Kitts and Nevis. PLP therefore proposes the immediate resumption of the Explorers programme and the PEACE programme.

Given the abject failure in the Police high command and the incompetence in the team of advisors, there is a need for a review of the Police High Command and the status of lame duck advisors should be determined. It is well known that morale is very low in the police force. There is an urgent need for a human resource audit of our Police Force and a review of the salaries and conditions of work of our Police Officers – our first responders in matters of law and order.

The Minister of National Security is a failure and should offer that portfolio to another Minister with a better understanding of our dire situation and a willingness to take hard decisions to bring efficacious results.

We are at the crossroads. I appeal to all our citizens and residents to be vigilant regarding their safety and security. This failed, vindictive and divided administration is unfit and unable to deliver a stronger and safer future. The PLP has what it takes to make our country safe again.  We remain committed to work with patriotic citizens and well meaning residents to deliver the peace and security that people are demanding and which they deserve.

Let us pray and do what we can for peace and safety of St. Kitts and Nevis. May God have mercy on our Nation.

I Thank You.

https://youtu.be/UwEL9UbpD8U