By: Spokesman Newsroom
BASSETERRE, St. Kitts (Tuesday 2nd August 2022) — Former Prime Minister and retired politician Dr. Sir Kennedy Simmonds, in a recent address to the nation, said he has chosen to break his silence due to the current affairs of St. Kitts-Nevis, pointing the finger of blame at PM Dr. Timothy Harris. “Since I left office in 1995 after 15 years, first as Premier then as Prime Minister of St. Kitts & Nevis, I have made few political speeches, except for a small sample of platform appearances and a few at the annual convention of the People’s Action Movement, PAM, a party that I co-founded in 1965. Though I have continued to support my party, I have generally stayed in the background, because that is what retired politicians and leaders are expected to do. However, the current state of affairs in my country has forced me to break my tradition and I can no longer remain silent,” he remarked during his statement aired on 31st July 2022.
Sir Kennedy accused PM Harris of destroying the Team Unity coalition: “Timothy Harris destroyed all those plans. The coalition was dissolved because of two reasons and Timothy Harris is to blame for both. The reasons were greed. Greed to become wealthy. The second was his continued system of undermining all his colleagues. As Minister of Finance, he refused to fund many projects and programmes even though they were approved by Cabinet. This caused supporters to feel that it was the PAM ministers who were not acting. But although the PAM ministers were fighting for their people, the Minister of Finance kept refusing or delaying to support their projects. As Shawn Richards once said, He would look them in the eye and say yes, and next day begin the process of undermining them.”
The nation’s only living National Hero said: “St. Kitts and Nevis is now facing a general election that has come three years prematurely. It will be one of the most contentious and divisive polls in our modern history. It is my hope however that it would be exercised in a space of tranquility and that it would be peaceful. This election must be about the people. All the people. This election must be about the poor and struggling families, not just one family. This election must be about hope for a better future, not about a handout for today. It should also be an election that produces new leaders who can be trusted to deliver a genuine programme of hope and prosperity for native Kittitians and Nevisians.”