Basseterre, St. Kitts, May 1, 2020 — Leon Natta-Nelson, a customs officer who went to the high court to declare that he has a constitutional right as a civil servant to be a candidate in a general election, said Thursday night that the federation was already infected with various ills before the arrival of COVID-19.
Natta-Nelson, who will be challenging Prime Minister Dr. the Hon. Timothy Harris for the St. Christopher 7 seat in the next general elections, said the coronavirus has compromised social space, increased financial difficulties with job losses and created health issues, “but there are many other things that the people of St. Kitts and Nevis need to recover from not caused by COVID-19.”
“The people of St. Kitts and Nevis were continuously suffering from bad governance by Timothy Harris and his colleagues. The selfishness they displayed in the last five years, the rampant nepotism and the corruption, COVID-19 cannot be blamed for that. Blame Harris and his administration for what has happened in the last five years,” said Natta-Nelson.
He pointed to issues including the absence of a new Basseterre High School after five years, schools and government offices infected with mold, the stopping of the REACH programme which provided financial assistance to students at CFBC and other institutions, the one-to-one laptop programme which was also discontinued, and what he described as rampant nepotism in government appointments.
“After COVID-19, there must be a new normal. Our students must return to schools and universities, the people must return to their jobs and churches, and good governance, accountability and transparency will be restored under a new NextGen SKN Labour Government,” said Natta-Nelson.