BASSETERRE, ST. KITTS, March 26, 2017 (PLP PR Media Inc.) — In what was a historic moment, Tabernacle Village in rural St. Kitts came alive on Saturday March 25 when hundreds of persons from all walks of life converged at the village’s Recreation Grounds to attend the Peoples Labour Party’s (PLP) inaugural National Convention.

“Our coming here for our Convention is a history making event,” said PLP’s National Political Leader Dr the Hon Timothy Harris, who is also the Federation’s Prime Minister. “Never before was a Convention held here. Indeed, not in recent memory has a political party held a Convention in rural St. Kitts.”

The Party Leader who was given support by all his Cabinet colleagues in the Team Unity Administration, and past National Leaders led by Federation’s only living National Hero and First Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis the Right Excellent Sir Kennedy Simmonds said that his party had become synonymous with history making, innovation and success.

“We could have gone to the comfort of one of our hotels, but people vote, not hotels,” said Dr Harris to a thunderous applause by a supercharged audience of party members, and well-wishers. “Hotels do not vote. We choose to come to the people. We choose to meet our people in their communities. We choose to put our people first.”

According to the Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis, his political party’s decision to host the National Convention in rural St. Kitts was also aimed at giving the rural areas a new lease of life when top notch infrastructure is installed to give an enabling environment for such a meeting. The entire public session of the Convention was streamed live on the internet as the latest technology had been brought to the village.

“Our pitching of our tent here, signals to you the people of St. Kitts and Nevis that we will never lose ground with you the people,” assured Dr Harris. “We are anchored. Like Walter Rodney’s groundings with his brothers, the PLP aims to be the most effective grassroots Party in the region.”

He added: “We have no interest but the people’s business. We are not just Peoples Labour Party; we are an important part of Team Unity. We are happy to have been part of the solution to the many problems created by the by-gone regime.”

The youngest party in the tri-party coalition of Team Unity Administration, the Peoples Labour Party’s inaugural National Convention was well received by delegates who trouped in from their various constituencies and who cheered their respective parliamentary representatives, majority from the Peoples’ Action Movement (PAM), when they were introduced.

The first dignitary to arrive at the venue of the Convention was Federation’s only living National Hero and First Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis the Right Excellent Sir Kennedy Simmonds who was accompanied by a former PAM official and Government Minister, Hon Richard Caines.

Other former PAM officials in attendance included the first woman member of parliament and Cabinet Minister Ambassador Constance Mitchum, Ambassador Michael Powell, Ambassador Sydney Osborne, and Mr Oliver Spencer.

The current crop of Political Leaders that gave the PLP Convention support were led by Deputy Prime Minister, and Political Leader of the Peoples’ Action Movement (PAM) Hon Shawn Richards, and Senior Minister, Premier of Nevis and Political Leader of the Concerned Citizens’ Movement (CCM) the Hon Vance Amory.

Team Unity Administration Cabinet Ministers in attendance were the Hon Eugene Hamilton, the Hon Lindsay Grant, the Hon Ian Patches Liburd, the Hon Mark Brantley, the Hon Vincent Byron, and the Hon Wendy Phipps.

Support and fraternal greetings from overseas were brought by Dr George Walker of the New Democratic Party (NDP) of the St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and by Mr Alva Pemberton who represented the Kittitian and Nevisian Diaspora in North America.

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