By Spokesman Newsroom
BASSETERRE, St. Kitts (Thursday 8th August 2024)- Premier of Nevis, Mark Brantley, who is the Concerned Citizens Movement (CCM), has publicly criticized the opposition for allegedly politicizing the recently concluded Culturama 50 festivities.
During his weekly radio show, ‘On The Mark’, aired live on VON Radio on Wednesday, 7th August 2024, he made the disclosure. “Not even on Culturama, it seems, can they just get together and celebrate as Nevisians. Sometimes I wonder whether we’re Nevisians first, or we’re a political party first…,” Brantley said.
He spoke about the peaceful and orderly nature of the festivities, saying: “The best news, the best, the very best news that I got this morning as I woke was a report from the police to say that Culturama 50 was incident and accident free. Those words were like music to my ears.” The Premier went on to praise the behavior of all participants, attributing the incident-free celebrations to the collective efforts of the community, security forces, and visitors alike.
“It is a marvelous thing for us in today’s age to say that our cultural festivities with the thousands and thousands of people who attended the shows and were on the streets and out and about partying, that it was incident free and it was accident free,” he remarked. He added: “If that language doesn’t appeal to some, let me just tell you, there was no criminality.
There were no major incidents or accidents, and it means therefore that our people responded to our prayers to conduct themselves responsibly and I am exceedingly proud of everyone.” Additionally, Brantley took the opportunity to extend his gratitude to the Nevisian diaspora and international visitors who returned to the island in large numbers for the event. “Our people came from the four corners of the globe.
They came all the way to Nevis to enjoy each other, enjoy family, enjoy friends.” He mentioned the success of the Nevis Homecoming initiative, which was designed to encourage Nevisians living abroad to return home and participate in family reunions and cultural activities. “I went to so many different functions of families having reunions on the island, the Jeffers family, the Huggins family, the Wards, the Prentices.
There were so many different families having reunions. Villages, Church Ground and others, I’m told, had reunions,” Brantley recounted. He also thanked residents of St. Kitts who crossed the water in record numbers to join in the festivities.
“Let me thank the people of St. Kitts, our brothers and sisters across the water, because they responded in record numbers to Nevis for Culturama 50, and so I say thank you to all who made that possible.” Despite the widespread acclaim for Culturama 50, Brantley could not ignore what he described as the opposition’s attempts to cast a shadow over the event.
He expressed his disappointment that instead of joining in the celebration, the opposition seemed more focused on undermining the festival’s success. “Now, there are some out there who wanted perfection, but we didn’t expect perfection.
We wanted a cultural extravaganza, a cultural showcase that we could all be proud of,” Brantley said. “And I think based on all of the feedback that I’ve had, Culturama 50 was a successful Culturama. That we catered to our patrons in a way that they enjoyed themselves immensely.” However, he expressed concern that the opposition appeared to be more intent on finding fault than celebrating the achievements of the event.
“And of course, the naysayers will do what they do best. That is their nature and that is what they have to do. But I find it remarkable that virtually all of the negatives I’ve heard have come from the opposition in Nevis.
Not even on Culturama, it seems, can they just get together and celebrate as Nevisians. “Sometimes I wonder whether we’re Nevisians first, or we’re a political party first – LOCAL NEWS – because even as people were gathered here commixing and commingling; people were getting together people going to church together people were going to events cocktail events and various types events, the opposition here was putting up billboards trying to persuade people that what they’re seeing wasn’t real and that is the irony what they’re seeing wasn’t real.
People have seen the improvements… people are not blind…,” he added. Brantley mentioned areas of improvements on the island such as the new roads, the MGR Park, the water taxi facility, and the new police station in Newcastle, and the new treasury building in Charlestown are tangible proof of the progress made by his administration. 3
