BASSETERRE, ST. KITTS – Parliamentary Representative for West Basseterre, Hon. Konris Maynard painted “a sorry state of affairs” in St. Kitts and Nevis in 16 months of the Timothy Harris-led PLP/CCM/PAM coalition government.
Maynard reminded listeners to Freedom FM’s “Issues” programme on Wednesday that in February 2015, a new government was elected by the people of St. Kitts and Nevis based on the information that had been available to them from the incumbent St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Party and the PAM, CCM, PLP – Team Unity.
“The Labour Party presented an agenda for the continued development of St. Kitts and Nevis and maintaining its number 1 status in the region, while a coalition of parties went about on a singular narrow-minded focus of removal of Dr. Douglas by any means necessary.
They sold a good story knowing that negative and salacious news always sells. They sort to convince the public with much fervor and conviction that the Douglas-led Labour Administration was bad for this country and that they would bring about a Fresh Start to governance, accountability and transparency,” said Maynard.
He said that the forced ousting of the Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Patrick Martin last Thursday and the purported transfer less than 24 hours later of Andrew Skerritt, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health in the aftermath of the Stem Cell Scandal, have increased the number of existing vacant top positions in the public service.
Dr. Martin was hastily sent on vacation and pre-retirement leave after he found out about a Stem Cell Project operating at the Private Ward of the J. N. France General Hospital without his approval and had ordered off the hospital compound, a Brazilian-born physician, who was not licenced to practice in the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis. Both Martin and Skerritt have not been accused of any wrongdoing.
“The Fresh Start has led to the sad state of affairs. In less than a year and a half, we have no Speaker of the National Assembly, no Director of Public Prosecutions, no Chief Medical Officer, no Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health, no President at the our only indigenous tertiary institution, the Clarence Fitzroy Bryant College (CFBC), no qualified Principal of the largest and oldest high school in the Federation – The Basseterre High School, no permanent Commissioner of Police, no Director of Audit, no Principal Nursing Officer, no Consul General in Toronto, Canada, no Director of PEP, no Director of Health Institutions, no Operations Manager at the JNF Hospital, no Accounts Officer at the JNF Hospital and no Water Engineer,” said Mr. Maynard.
Vacancies also exist on the Board of Directors of the St. Christopher Air and Sea Ports Authority (SCASPA), with the recent resignations of two newly-appointed directors and the dismissal or resignation of senior managers.
The first-term parliamentarian also lamented the absence of an official Office of the Leader of the Opposition, a Public Accounts Committee of the National Assembly and no voice from civil society.
“This may be, because we have No Real Government. Instead we have a False Start Government, an Inept Government, a Government who believes that they must be judge, jury and executioner with no regards to what anyone has to say. What a sad state of affairs!” he said. MP Maynard said the time to stop talking about this callous, uncaring and completely undemocratic government is drawing nigh.
“The time for an active pursuit to unseat this government is upon us. The veil of deception that was placed over the eyes of well-meaning patriotic citizens is quickly being removed. We can see clearly now that rain is gone,” he said.