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Leader of the St.Kitts Opposition Dr. Denzil Douglas is once again under fire for what most have described as his divided loyalty or disloyalty to St.Kitts-Nevis the country he once led for 20 years before being ousted 3 years ago.

Since his ouster as Prime Minister in 2015 Dr. Douglas has been one of the biggest critics of the SKN CBI Programme. The programme which he oversaw and which reached it’s lowest ebb under his watch when in 2014 the government of both Canada and the United States severely condemned Dr. Douglas’ management of the programme. Both countries took drastic actions  with Canada removing it’s visa waiver for SKN Citizens and the US Issuing an International Fincen Advisory. Both governments cited the mismanagement of the programme as the main reason for their decisions.

Prime Minister Dr. Hon. Timothy Harris took over the oversight of the programme in 2015 after Dr. Douglas was booted out of office. PM Harris has been praised for the significant strides the programme has made in recent years. The programme is now the best of it’s kind in the Caribbean region and it is ranked once again among the world’s best. Despite the significant improvement in the programme over the last few years Opposition Leader Douglas has growingly become the programmes biggest critic. While the world lauds the renewed platinum brand status of the St.Kitts-Nevis programme Dr. Douglas stands almost alone as the programme’s most fierce critic. This position is not sitting well with citizens of St.Kitts-Nevis. The situation was made even worst when it was revealed that Dr. Douglas holds a passport of Dominica and is an active player in the promotion of the CBI Programme of that country. Dr. Douglas’ unpatriotism has come in for widespread condemnation.

In a recent Press Conference Prime Minister Harris alluded to the situation. The Prime Minister  strongly defended the reputation of the country’s Citizenship by Investment (CBI) Programme against unfounded reports being purported by the Dr. Denzil Douglas led Opposition.

 

St. Kitts and Nevis’ CBI programme is widely regarded as the platinum brand in the economic citizenship industry and the most trusted programme globally. A long way from the reputation the programme had under Dr. Douglas’ leadership in 2014 that resulted in the actions referenced earlier, by the US and Canadian governments.

 

 “I don’t know if there have been any accurate predictions coming from the Opposition Labour Party over the last 10 years as to the way in which the CBI would develop, so I would discount anything that comes from there,” Prime Minister Harris said while responding to a question posed by the media during Wednesday’s (November 14) monthly Press Conference.

Furthermore, Dr. the Honourable Timothy Harris reminded the nation of the reputational damage done to the country’s CBI programme under the Dr. Denzil Douglas-led administration.

 

“Under our watch, there was no FinCEN Advisory in relation to illicit actors participating in the programme; under our watch no government has withdrawn their visa [free access], and yet the CBI is near dead if you listen to the bitter pill that Dr. Douglas wants you to believe.”

Dr. Denzil Douglas applied for and was given a Dominica diplomatic passport in July of 2015. According to reports the passport was facilitated to assist Dr. Douglas’ efforts as an alleged  consultant to the Dominica CBI Programme and an active player in the promotion of the Dominica CBI.