Tweet

by J.N Francis

In September 1994 Dr Kennedy Simmonds lost my family.  Up until that point most of us had been voting for PAM throughout the 1980s and early 1990s.  Up to that point in time I had been brought up on a steady diet of “Labour not ready to rule the country” and “PAM has brought stability and progress”.  Such sentiment began to wane after the hostilities of late 1993 when it was obvious that the masses of Kittitians & Nevisians were beginning to tire of the deluge of political scandals that began to dog the PAM/NRP government. It all changed in September 1994 when Dr Simmonds seemed to succumb to mounting political pressure and forced the resignation of his deputy Sidney Morris, whose children had just been arrested for being in possession of drugs and illegal weapons.  Much to the dismay of my mother who was sitting next to me during his speech, Dr Simmonds accepted Mr Morris’ resignation and then promptly hired him as an advisor.  In one fell swoop of hubris, the like of which can only be conjured by a leader who has lost touch with reality, Dr Simmonds managed to alienate some of his most ardent supporters.  Less than a year later he was rightfully swept from office as the people of St Kitts and Nevis sought a new form of leadership which was represented by the youthful and impressive Dr Denzil Douglas.

Twenty years later Dr Douglas has not only repeated the mistakes of his predecessor but has stooped to a level none of us who supported him could have ever imagined.  While it will be inaccurate and reckless to say that there has not been progress in St Kitts and Nevis over the last 20 years, it has come at a cost that is too much to bear.

As in the days of the PAM/NRP government many of Dr Douglas’ supporters were willing to look beyond the blatant nepotism that has been endemic throughout.  We shrugged and said “so it go…those are his loyal friends who looked out for him”.  But while some shrugged, some became fed up. Many looked past the flagrant corruption. We saw the Lex consulting cheques and again shrugged and said “boy he nuh easy…but that’s not affecting us”.  Again, while some turned a blind eye many more became disillusioned.  We observed the misuse of SIDF funds and, again, while some were indifferent because they got piece of the pie, others became disenchanted that the funds were not put to better use such as servicing the national debt.

Many more shrugged when the Motion of No Confidence failed to reach the floor of the Parliament. “PAM did it in the 80s so wah they bawling for!!!”  Many more said “it is acts like this that led to PAM losing power”. We then saw the black market sale of our passports lead to restrictions and loss of visa free access to Canada and embarrassment of our nation in the international media because of it.  Some shrugged and said “no one goes to Canada anyway…they grudge us”.  Again, many more became fed up and said enough is enough.

Then came the straw that broke the camel’s back, the dictatorial actions of 16th January 2015, more akin to the actions of a Robert Mugabe, Kim Jung-un or Dr Douglas’ comrade, the late Muammar Gaddafi. Now even ardent and faithful Labour supporters are saying “boy…he really bad since he bawn. That aint right tho.” Now we stand at a crossroad.  Those who are indifferent are outnumbered by those of us who are let down by a party and a government that is rooted in the idealism of Manchester, Challenger and Bradshaw.  We have seen the final act of a desperate man clinging to power at all costs (with the support of those singing for their supper).  For too long we have lurched from crisis to crisis, scandal to scandal. We have tolerated lie after lie, trick after trick. We may be passive people, but we are not stupid.  The more Dr Douglas has lost touch with reality, the more he has lost us.  The more he tries to make us feel that we are nothing without his leadership, the more we look forward to the day when our leaders fear us rather than the opposite.  Dr Douglas you have lost us once and for all; let us hope that Dr Harris and his team take heed lest they lose us too.