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Douglas Corrects Rumours About Resignation …Suspension Ordered

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Douglas Corrects Rumours About Resignation …Suspension Ordered

By: Spokesman Newsroom

BASSSETERRE, St.Kitts (TUESDAY 23RD JANUARY, 2018)– Today, using the provision of the Personal Explanation item in the House of Assembly, Opposition Leader and immediate former Prime Minister Dr. Denzil L. Douglas, who is the Parliamentary Representative for Constituency Six, dismissed a rumour purportedly from the government bench side that he has resigned.

However, in a turn of events at attempting to clear his name, he was labelled “totally out of order “by Speaker Michael Perkins who ordered a five-day suspension effective today.

“As I approached the Parliament earlier this morning, I was approached by a reporter who asked me –what I thought then was an irrelevant question- and that is whether I had resigned from the National Assembly of St.Kitts and Nevis. Of course I tried to understand what was the basis of his question and only to be told that it would appear that the he has been informed that I was no longer a member of this Parliament,” Douglas said in this opening remarks.

He then went on to say that he responded to the reporter by saying: “Under no circumstance whatsoever have I resigned my elected position as a member of the National Assembly of St. Kitts.”

Douglas continued: “In fact I reminded the reporter that I was first elected to this House of Parliament to serve the interest of the people of St.Kitts and Nevis since all the way back in 1989. I had to explain further that since that first election to the Parliament of our country, I had been reelected in 1993, again in 1995 yet again in 2000, yet again in 2004, yet again Mr. Speaker in 2010 and yet again on February 2015…and since then I have been not only sitting in this Parliament doing the work that the people of Constituency Six sent me here to do but I have also been pursuing the work of the St.Kitts-Nevis Labour Party, and the work and services been given to the citizens of the country at home and abroad as the prime minister from 1995 until the year 2015.”

The Opposition Leader explained why he would not resign saying: I explained to the reporter further that even though I am aware that persons are very much uncomfortable with me in this Parliament, I have not resigned and I shall never resign because there is quite a bit of work still to be done in advancing our country to the state where it was and which sadly…from to satisfy personal whims and fancies of some persons here.”

“The country is undergoing tremendous difficulties. People are scarcely able to make ends meet for their daily needs,” he added

Speaker Perkins interjected in putting it to Douglas that when it comes to the item of Personal Explanations, the proper thing to do is to seek leave of the Speaker but that he would overlook that such was not done.

“Now that you’ve been allowed to make your personal stat, please be reminded that it should not be controversial; it should be speaking to matters that affect you personally outside of what transpires in Parliament. I’m following closely so please avoid getting into the politics…,” he said also.

Additionally he warned Douglas to “avoid the path he seem to be going down.”

He also added: “I agree that it is something you have the right to come here to clear and I believe you have done that by now.”

The Opposition Leader in continuing his presentation expressed that strategy is being used to abuse the National Assembly.

Speaker Perkins soon after interrupted by highlighting standing order 49: 2 which addresses “any member who is grossly disorderly to withdraw immediately from the National Assembly during the remainder of that day’s siting and may direct such steps to be taken as directed as a required to enforce this standing order.”

In talking to Douglas he claimed: “I repeatedly asked you to terminate your personal explanation and then I repeated please do not utter any other word once I’d given that direction which I did twice and you continued to speak beyond that  direction and so I’m ordering you to withdraw from this National Assembly for the rest of the day.”

The Opposition Leader in response told the Speaker that his ruling is “unfair and unjust. I am aware that I am not wanted to be in this Parliament.”

In telling Douglas that he is “totally out of order”, the Speaker received the reply “I am not out of order.”

After leaving the Assembly, Speaker Perkins said Douglas “is hereby named and is suspended from the service of this National Assembly and that suspension is for the next five days subject to correction.  That suspension takes effect today and shall continue for five days.”

Police Looking For Dead Woman’s Boyfriend

Spokesman Editor
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Police Looking For Dead Woman’s Boyfriend

By: Spokesman Newsroom

BASSETERRE, St.Kitts (MONDAY 22ND JANUARY, 2018) – Wayne ‘Spyer’ Chapman, the boyfriend of the woman killed yesterday (Sunday) in Nevis, is currently being looked for by police in connection with the crime.

Dead is 45-year-old Shirley Dawn Morton of Hanleys Road in Gingerland.

At about 5 p.m. on the day in question, police in Gingerland responded to a report at Buck Hill.

There they found the lifeless body of a woman in a house on Hanleys Road.

Reportedly, Morton had visible injuries to the head and was pronounced dead at the scene by Dr. Chandy Jacobs.

A social media tribute to the deceased before local authorities officially identified her

The scene was processed and a number of items of evidential value were taken into police custody.

The owner of the house and boyfriend of the deceased is currently being sought by the police in connection with the incident.

Persons with information regarding this matter are urged to assist by calling the Violent Crime Unit at the Cotton Ground Police Station at 469-5269, the Gingerland Police Station at 469-3448, the nearest Police Station or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-8477 (TIPS).

Morton’s death is the second recorded homicide for 2018 in the Federation with both deadly incidents occurring on Nevis and in the Gingerland community.

The first killing took place on Wednesday 17th January involving 19- year- old Cleon Browne who was shot dead in Rawlins Village in Gingerland, the area he recently relocated to from Newcastle village.

Business Owner Charged With Importing Drugs

Spokesman Editor
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Business Owner Charged With Importing Drugs

By: Spokesman Newsroom

BASSETERRE, St.Kitts (MONDAY 22ND JANUARY, 2018) – A business owner on St.Kitts has been slapped with seven counts of charges in connection to the 18 pounds of marijuana recently found hidden in a water heater shipped to that individual.

Charged is the owner of Prestige Trucking Services, Mr. Remeo Tweede who is currently out on bail.

Reportedly, on Wednesday 17th January, Customs and Police Officers carried out a search on a package marked “Prestige Trucking Services”. The box was being cleared by Tweede.

As a result of the search, twelve (12) packages with a vegetable material suspected to be cannabis were found inside a water heater that was enclosed in the box. The twelve (12) packages have a combined estimated weight of 8,337 grams (about 18 pounds).

After the drugs were discovered, Her Majesty’s Customs and Excise Department and the Royal St. Christopher and Nevis Police Force jointly laid the charges.

Reportedly, two persons were taken into police custody in relation to the find along with Tweed, and the other individual was released.

Tweed, on the other hand, has been charged by the Customs and Excise Department for False Declaration, Importation of Cannabis Sativa Concealed in a Container, Importation of Restricted Goods to wit Cannabis Sativa, and Attempted Fraudulent Evasion.

Additionally, the police have formally charged him for the offences of Possession of Cannabis, Possession of Cannabis with Intent to Supply and Importation of Cannabis.

Tweed has since been released on bail.

Inside Scoop!!!

Spokesman Editor
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Inside Scoop!!!

• Idi Amin still carn ketch heself bout he gala and de Boss gala.  He say dat he gon do whatever he have to do to mek sure dat de hotel not available for when Dougie having he gala.  Even if have to send de teacher and de bishop to say dat mold in de hotel.

• Dey say dat a man invite Idi Amin to lunch and is a whole gang a people from he constituency he bring wid him.  Dey say dat de poor man nearly tekeen because is de most expensive food and drink dat dey was calling for.  Dey say dat de man tell everybody who own a restaurant and is everybody telling him de same ting bout Idi Amin.

• One a de restaurant owner dem say dat when Idi Amin and he gang a people done eat for free, Idi Amin still had de heart to ask de man to wrap a plate for him to go.  How de food did taste so good.

• Idi Amin tell Ole Mother Hubbard dat he not bothering to wait to see how de order wuk in Nevis.  He bringing it een full force right away.  He say dat de singer man gon feel de weight a he hand.  He not mekking no joke.  Nobody gon criticise him and still wuk.  He not Dougie.

• Dey say dat Idi Amin ain sleep since de letter.  Is three emergency meeting he done had trying to decide what dey gon do to de singer man.  He even write de Facebook people to try to get dem to move de letter but dey ain study him.

• A insider say dat is because when Idi Amin dem come to de funeral nobody did expecting dem so dey had was to stand up by de door for a while till dey find some seat up front for dem.  And Idi Amin tell de insider dat none a de pastor dem call dey name and recognise dem and is whole five pastor did dere.

• Everybody still waiting to see what gon happen to de singer man since 11 o’clock Monday morning done gone long time.  Dey say dat Idi Amin spiritual advisor tell him dat he behaving like a little boy and dat he must just put on de traffic lights dem and hope dat people forget bout de scatter flam he trying to cause.

• De PAM people dem so shame when dey hear what Idi Amin doing to de singer man.  Dey say dat dey never see anyting like dat before.  Is now dey see why it tek dem so long to get on de traffic lights dem.

• People want to know how de frilly mout deputy could run on de radio station to call people name when he coulda simply mek a call to get de correct story.  Dey say dat is all a de Team Unity ministers dem alike.  Neaga house and love melee and mischief.

• Dey say dat when de new man  see dat not a soul get up when he reach inside de place, he what’s app he advisor and tell him dat de next time it happen, head gon roll.

• People carn understand how he coulda mek such a big speech when he did want people to stand up and stop what dey doing when he  reach but a whole man dead and he ain have nutten new to say bout fighting crime.

• Idi Amin call een de JA police sloth and tell him dat he not impress wid him at all.  He tell him dat is just as cheap he not here.  Everybody dey lock up dey have to ley go. Idi Amin tell him dat dey police dem not tekking him on and for sure de criminal dem not studying him at all.

• Dey say dat is not only container a banana dey condemning so dat de government could mek present wid dem for dey supporters.  Dey say dat dey condemning container a egg too.

Inside Scoop!!

Spokesman Editor
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55
Inside Scoop!!

• Idi Amin still carn ketch heself bout he gala and de Boss gala.  He say dat he gon do whatever he have to do to mek sure dat de hotel not available for when Dougie having he gala.  Even if have to send de teacher and de bishop to say dat mold in de hotel.

• Dey say dat a man invite Idi Amin to lunch and is a whole gang a people from he constituency he bring wid him.  Dey say dat de poor man nearly tekeen because is de most expensive food and drink dat dey was calling for.  Dey say dat de man tell everybody who own a restaurant and is everybody telling him de same ting bout Idi Amin.

• One a de restaurant owner dem say dat when Idi Amin and he gang a people done eat for free, Idi Amin still had de heart to ask de man to wrap a plate for him to go.  How de food did taste so good.

• Idi Amin tell Ole Mother Hubbard dat he not bothering to wait to see how de order wuk in Nevis.  He bringing it een full force right away.  He say dat de singer man gon feel de weight a he hand.  He not mekking no joke.  Nobody gon criticise him and still wuk.  He not Dougie.

• Dey say dat Idi Amin ain sleep since de letter.  Is three emergency meeting he done had trying to decide what dey gon do to de singer man.  He even write de Facebook people to try to get dem to move de letter but dey ain study him.

• A insider say dat is because when Idi Amin dem come to de funeral nobody did expecting dem so dey had was to stand up by de door for a while till dey find some seat up front for dem.  And Idi Amin tell de insider dat none a de pastor dem call dey name and recognise dem and is whole five pastor did dere.

• Everybody still waiting to see what gon happen to de singer man since 11 o’clock Monday morning done gone long time.  Dey say dat Idi Amin spiritual advisor tell him dat he behaving like a little boy and dat he must just put on de traffic lights dem and hope dat people forget bout de scatter flam he trying to cause.

• De PAM people dem so shame when dey hear what Idi Amin doing to de singer man.  Dey say dat dey never see anyting like dat before.  Is now dey see why it tek dem so long to get on de traffic lights dem.

• People want to know how de frilly mout deputy could run on de radio station to call people name when he coulda simply mek a call to get de correct story.  Dey say dat is all a de Team Unity ministers dem alike.  Neaga house and love melee and mischief.

• Dey say dat when de new man  see dat not a soul get up when he reach inside de place, he what’s app he advisor and tell him dat de next time it happen, head gon roll.

• People carn understand how he coulda mek such a big speech when he did want people to stand up and stop what dey doing when he  reach but a whole man dead and he ain have nutten new to say bout fighting crime.

• Idi Amin call een de JA police sloth and tell him dat he not impress wid him at all.  He tell him dat is just as cheap he not here.  Everybody dey lock up dey have to ley go. Idi Amin tell him dat dey police dem not tekking him on and for sure de criminal dem not studying him at all.

• Dey say dat is not only container a banana dey condemning so dat de government could mek present wid dem for dey supporters.  Dey say dat dey condemning container a egg too.

FISHING. SHOOTING AND FAMALAAYYY!!!

Spokesman Editor
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0

By FAIR SHARE FOR ALL

Finally!!! I see the technicians here and I see the lights being tested. So it is quite possible that by the time this article is published, the traffic lights will have replaced the traffic police and the traffic wardens in downtown Basseterre.

So with our traffic woes cured, the government can now focus its attention on controlling crime.

On Wednesday there was a murder in Nevis. The first one under the new premier’s watch. So it fell to him to say something to his fellow Nevisians.

While he said that government alone couldn’t solve crime, he didn’t say what a Mark Brantley-led Nevis Island Administration would do to try to bring an end, or, at the very least, control this scourge that has menaced the federation for far too long.

It’s funny how he spent so much effort trying to convince his loyal subjects that they must stand when he entered a room as a mark of respect, pun intended, but didn’t seem to me to quite know what to say to convince anybody that he had any answer to these senseless killings.

Because these killings are senseless. And the police do not seem to know what to do to prevent it, to solve it, nor to get a conviction that can stand the test of the Appeals Court.
Everybody knows that in the majority of instances, the persons of interest held by the police are in fact the right people.

So why are they not being convicted?

Have we the most incompetent police officers in the world or the most corrupt?

We cannot go into 2018 with the same uncertainty and fear as we did since we discovered that despite their many boasts, Team Unity really has no clue about fighting nor solving crime.

And that is why Mark Brantley gave a nothing speech in response to the murder of the young man.

It seems to me that the government is waiting for the criminals to get tired of their useless lifestyles and hand in their guns and go in search of productive and gainful employment.
I really thought that this last addition to the numerous crime-fighting efforts of the government would have borne some fruit. I really thought that the man came with a workable, practical plan.

For how he came so highly recommended, I was hoping, no, expecting to see criminals so terrified of the good gentleman that they would be fleeing their gangs and criminal life like cockroaches running from flit.

But I am not feeling the man. It seems as if he is just sitting in an office waiting for a situation like Tivoli Gardens to let off some mortars and some other weapons of mass destruction.

It seems as if his strength, his skill, is in times of riot and unrest. Then is when he shines.
So in reality, he is of little use to us in fighting and solving crime.

But this had to happen to the government.

They knew that crime was indeed trending down under Labour, but they had to say that it was not good enough and that they could do better. And they made all these pronouncements knowing full well that they had no clue, no idea at all as to how they would combat crime. Much less to do better than Labour.

Now they are fishing. Shooting in the dark. Totally and completely unaware of their next move. Hoping and praying for miracles. And giving away bananas, I hear.

And because more and more people are seeing them for the waste of time that they are, they are trying to muzzle, intimidate and threaten any dissenting voice.

But we only need to recall what was said about Sam and Jean Condor, Valentine Lindsay, Big Lice, Douglas Wattley, just to name a few, to recognise that this government is not nice at all.

So we have just got to take on this government and to expect the unexpected from them.
We cannot be afraid nor silent. And when they go low, we can either go low with them or go high but we must take them on.

We have to show them, just as we have to show the criminals, that we out number them.

And when others take them on, we must support them fully.

The clock is ticking. The countdown is on.

ANALYZING AND PARSING THE NEVIS ELECTIONS OF DECEMBER 18TH 2017

Spokesman Editor
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“When one with honeyed words, but evil mind persuades the mob, great woes befall the state.” Euripides, Orestes.

Dear reader, a beautiful lady from Nevis visited my home during the Christmas Season and, when she was departing, she informed me that she is a great reading fan of my articles and listens keenly whenever I am on the radio giving my views. On December 30th, I visited the land of my mother’s birth and was satisfied to learn of the many reading fans I have over there. Then, there was this lady who was travelling to England for medical purposes, who met me in Church Street and told me that she was going to purchase some copies to take up to England for some of her friends and family have requested that she travels with them. I must be performing a gigantic task in the education of my people and I promise to continue in the same vein as an unbiased referee presenting the facts and blowing the whistle whenever there is an infringement. It is my fervent hope and New Year’s wish, that more of us as a people could emulate the Eagle by soaring high on wings of Principles and Integrity, instead of emulating the yard fowl which can only fly as high as the limb on which it will perch for the night, and which can only scratch the surface of the earth, totally content with whatever emerges out of the ground.

I wish to pose the question here and now, “Why is it that the Nevis Politicians, in order to hold sway with the Nevis Electorate, always turn to the topic of “SECESSION” and in doing so, build up this VENOMOUS HATRED for St. Kitts people who are their Blood Brothers and Sisters? Why do they perform this TREACHEROUS ACT? Is it Love of Nevisians or manipulation of them? If there is SECESSION, who wins and who loses? If there is a Timothy Harris who wants to achieve the Prime Ministership at any cost and by any means possible, it would be business as usual; but, if it is a leader who has been elected by the people, if it is a leader who possesses the same National Fervor like his Nevisian counterparts, it definitely would not be business as usual, because we will become two separate entities. It would not be St. Kitts-Nevis anymore. It would be an independent St. Kitts and an independent Nevis, each paddling its own canoe. What if St. Kitts sets up its boundaries and deny Nevisian fishermen from selling their fish in St. Kitts? What if Kittitians rise up and say that all Nevisians must obtain a permit to travel to St. Kitts?
What if Kittitians demand that Nevisians do not come to St. Kitts to work? Kittitians also possess NATIONAL PRIDE as well you know! The disastrous thing about this SECESSION BUSINESS is that those, who are calling for Secession are not truly and honestly educating their people about its cause and effects. We only have to look at the dire consequences of the BREXIT MOVEMENT, where the people were not thoroughly educated. The impression given was that too many Europeans were invading England and taking away jobs, but English people were in other European lands working. English made goods had a market in Europe, but, with its exit, it would not be business as usual; England now has the time of its life negotiating with the European Union. The English pound has even been weakened. Granny used to say, “All that glitter is not gold!” “A bird in the hand is better than forty in the bush!” “Monkey is sure of what is in its belly, not what is in its mouth!” “Beware of false prophets!”

The perpetrators of the Brexit Movement should have journeyed to St. Kitts to be educated about some of granny’s words of wisdom, and they would have been spared the writhing agonies they are now experiencing. Our brothers and sisters in Nevis do not have to travel far to learn, for they are just across the road from St. Kitts. I could well remember when I was the Corporal in charge of New Castle Station 1962-1963, how this particular Lawyer who was a Secessionist used to travel over there encouraging those who lived near to the sea-side to sell their land to white people. He was the Lawyer for the white people and still the Lawyer for the locals. Wasn’t this an indication that, if Nevisians were encouraged to sell their land near to the sea that they and their children would not be able to enjoy this natural resource? There was this Nevis Lawyer whose client worked in Tortola and who got injured down there. She returned home and solicited his services. The US Dollar when she employed him was E.C$1.68. When the case was tried the exchange rate skipped to E.C$2.70, yet, the lady was paid in US Currency but at the rate of $1.68. See how much those who bellow Secession love their people?

Who gains and who loses were Nevis to SECEDE from St. Kitts? What amazes me is that most of the leaders who preach SECESSION are those who worked in St. Kitts unmolested, undiscriminated by Kittitians and were a vital part of the Labour Movement down here, yet, when they returned home and entered politics, they began spouting this venomous hatred for everything St. Kitts. Eugene Walwyn was born in Nevis but lived in St. Kitts at a very tender age where he attended school, attended University and opened his law office here before returning to his borning land. Nobody ever showed him a bad face, but yet, when he returned to Nevis and entered politics, he began spouting SECESSION from St. Kitts. Theodore Hobson lived in St. Kitts. He played cricket in St. Kitts, was viciously against Secession, but afterward acquiesced to the Secessionist Movement even writing a letter in the Nevis Observer of June 02, 2006 condemning the NRP for not supporting the CCM in its bid for SECESSION! Mr. Hobson ran four times in Nevis’ elections-1983, 1984, 1987, and 1992 always losing in the exercise. Simeon Daniel, upon returning from England was in young Labour with me; he worked for the Labour Government but, upon returning home and entering politics, became vehemently hateful of St. Kitts and its people who accepted him without reservations, realizing that we are one people. Yet, he was like a viper with his hatred for St. Kitts people?

The first leader of the CCM travelled to St. Kitts regularly to seek the cooperation of the younger elements in the Labour Party to help him to form his political party. The discussions were held upstairs Mrs. Stanley’s (a born Nevisian and strong Labour supporter) shop at the corner of Central and Mid College Streets, mostly on a Saturday. Articles were even written in the Mouthpiece (The Labour Spokesman) of the Labour Party in assisting the CCM to emerge on the political landscape. Public Address systems (with technicians) were loaned to them to assist in their public meetings, yet this hatred for St. Kitts people is being vented and Secession from St. Kitts is being preached. Mark Brantley’s mother lived near to Trafalgar Village; the Village area (# 3 Constituency – a Labour Stronghold) is heavily peopled by Nevisians; everybody accepted the bright little boy when he came to spend his school holidays in St. Kitts with his mother and grandmother. No one ever discriminated against him for his grandmother, who was married to a shopkeeper was well beloved and highly respected.

Today, that same Mark Brantley is an avid SECESSIONIST. I pose the question again, “Who will be the BENEFICIARIES of SECESSION from St. Kitts? Have the people of Nevis been notified as to what benefits will be accrued were the island to break away? Point me a finger to any Nevisian who does not have a family in St. Kitts? How many Nevisian men are married to Nevisian women and how many Nevisian women are married to St. Kitts men? I keep harping on the fact that SECESSION was never a Black Nevisian thing; it was the white inhabitants who protested the forcible annexation of Nevis onto St. Kitts in 1883. The white people in Nevis were recognized for their Culture: Who is who resided in Nevis; on the other hand, those in St. Kitts were somehow uncouth (lacking refinement) ST. Kitts Black people and Nevis Black people could not even vote, never mind to have political aspirations in the running of things, so, why all this hatred amongst us Black people who are bonded by blood? Is this a Willy Lynch case of “DIVIDE and RULE?” Why is it that all Nevisian Leaders have had good relations with Kittitians, were treated with love and respect whilst living down here, yet, on their return home, they become antagonistic towards anything Kittitian and St. Kitts?”Why is this so?”

When are we as a people united by blood ties, going to discover the guts, the inner strength to stand up to those who profess to be our leaders and tell them point blank that all a we is one family? “WHEN?” How long are we going to continue to take up this white man’s cudgel (1883-2018= 135 years ago)? So, why the SCESSION ROUTE? Why the Division? Why all this hatred? Why are we the most nuclear armed country in the world with nuclear tipped missiles of hatred for each other? Why can’t we find or attempt to find the bonds that unite us as the one people who we really are? Why can’t we live in peace and harmony with each other? Isn’t there a saying that “Blood is thicker than water?” If BLOOD is thicker than water, we should all be ONE BIG, GREAT HAPPY FAMILY, greeting each other with a hug every time we encounter each other rather than the hostility with which we hold for one another. From a distance you look like my family even though we are separated by water. From a distance I feel the Nevisian Blood coursing through my veins. We have wasted a whole century and almost a half hating each other and for what?
Let the New Year 2018 be spent mending those fences of hatred which the politicians have erected to divide us. Let us break down those barriers which we ourselves assisted the politicians to erect, for we should have smelled the blood a very long time and shouted at them to HALT the acrimony and the disharmony which they have been feeding us with for so very long. Everybody is coming into our Federation and living better than where they originated and we who are tied to each other are cutting one another’s throats? Why can’t we take pattern from how the Spanish live? Don’t we witness the togetherness of the Guyanese? Look at the cohesive spirit of the Jamaicans who have a vibrant Jamaica Association here? Why can they unite, why can they build who are only from the same country? They are not bonded by BLOOD the way we are bonded and yet they can unite and live and help each other while we are at each other’s throats. They are building, while we are destroying; they are uniting white we who are blooded are hating! There comes a time in the history of mankind when he comes to his senses and declares that ENOUGH is ENOUGH! It is therefore high time for us to change our THINKING! It is high time for us to change our behaviour.

It is high time that we chart a new course. That we soar like Eagles, shedding our yard fowl mentality of being only content to scratch the surface of the earth, satisfied with the roaches, the centipedes, the worms of hatred and division which separate us. In soaring high above, we are drawn nearer and closer to our Creator, we now soar on the clouds of peace and harmony, in soaring, we are now possessed with choices and not contentment; in soaring, we now glide on the currents of LOVE, TOGETHERNESS PEACEFULNESS, HAPPINESS, discovering the brotherliness and the sisterliness in all of us, wishing that we had discovered this blissful feeling many moons ago. What a joy it is to dwell in the company and the comforting presence of each other as one family? May each of you, my truly beloved and newly discovered sister and brother enjoy the New Year 2018 and may we continue to climb the upward path to LOVE, PEACE and HARMONY! This New Harmonious relationship will drive away the ominous clouds of hatred and crime for we are now viewing each other with LOVE and RESPECT and not with envy, hatred and rancour. Steve Maraboli in his quote, Unapologetically You said, “Live your truth. Express your love. Share your enthusiasm. Take actions towards your dreams. Walk your talk. Dance and sing to your music. Embrace your blessings. Make today worth remembering!” PART (3) BY Earle Clarke, 16/01/ 2018:

“When one with honeyed words, but evil mind persuades the mob, great woes befall the state.” Euripides, Orestes.

Dear reader, a beautiful lady from Nevis visited my home during the Christmas Season and, when she was departing, she informed me that she is a great reading fan of my articles and listens keenly whenever I am on the radio giving my views. On December 30th, I visited the land of my mother’s birth and was satisfied to learn of the many reading fans I have over there. Then, there was this lady who was travelling to England for medical purposes, who met me in Church Street and told me that she was going to purchase some copies to take up to England for some of her friends and family have requested that she travels with them. I must be performing a gigantic task in the education of my people and I promise to continue in the same vein as an unbiased referee presenting the facts and blowing the whistle whenever there is an infringement. It is my fervent hope and New Year’s wish, that more of us as a people could emulate the Eagle by soaring high on wings of Principles and Integrity, instead of emulating the yard fowl which can only fly as high as the limb on which it will perch for the night, and which can only scratch the surface of the earth, totally content with whatever emerges out of the ground.

I wish to pose the question here and now, “Why is it that the Nevis Politicians, in order to hold sway with the Nevis Electorate, always turn to the topic of “SECESSION” and in doing so, build up this VENOMOUS HATRED for St. Kitts people who are their Blood Brothers and Sisters? Why do they perform this TREACHEROUS ACT? Is it Love of Nevisians or manipulation of them? If there is SECESSION, who wins and who loses? If there is a Timothy Harris who wants to achieve the Prime Ministership at any cost and by any means possible, it would be business as usual; but, if it is a leader who has been elected by the people, if it is a leader who possesses the same National Fervor like his Nevisian counterparts, it definitely would not be business as usual, because we will become two separate entities. It would not be St. Kitts-Nevis anymore. It would be an independent St. Kitts and an independent Nevis, each paddling its own canoe. What if St. Kitts sets up its boundaries and deny Nevisian fishermen from selling their fish in St. Kitts? What if Kittitians rise up and say that all Nevisians must obtain a permit to travel to St. Kitts?
What if Kittitians demand that Nevisians do not come to St. Kitts to work? Kittitians also possess NATIONAL PRIDE as well you know! The disastrous thing about this SECESSION BUSINESS is that those, who are calling for Secession are not truly and honestly educating their people about its cause and effects. We only have to look at the dire consequences of the BREXIT MOVEMENT, where the people were not thoroughly educated. The impression given was that too many Europeans were invading England and taking away jobs, but English people were in other European lands working. English made goods had a market in Europe, but, with its exit, it would not be business as usual; England now has the time of its life negotiating with the European Union. The English pound has even been weakened. Granny used to say, “All that glitter is not gold!” “A bird in the hand is better than forty in the bush!” “Monkey is sure of what is in its belly, not what is in its mouth!” “Beware of false prophets!”

The perpetrators of the Brexit Movement should have journeyed to St. Kitts to be educated about some of granny’s words of wisdom, and they would have been spared the writhing agonies they are now experiencing. Our brothers and sisters in Nevis do not have to travel far to learn, for they are just across the road from St. Kitts. I could well remember when I was the Corporal in charge of New Castle Station 1962-1963, how this particular Lawyer who was a Secessionist used to travel over there encouraging those who lived near to the sea-side to sell their land to white people. He was the Lawyer for the white people and still the Lawyer for the locals. Wasn’t this an indication that, if Nevisians were encouraged to sell their land near to the sea that they and their children would not be able to enjoy this natural resource? There was this Nevis Lawyer whose client worked in Tortola and who got injured down there. She returned home and solicited his services. The US Dollar when she employed him was E.C$1.68. When the case was tried the exchange rate skipped to E.C$2.70, yet, the lady was paid in US Currency but at the rate of $1.68. See how much those who bellow Secession love their people?

Who gains and who loses were Nevis to SECEDE from St. Kitts? What amazes me is that most of the leaders who preach SECESSION are those who worked in St. Kitts unmolested, undiscriminated by Kittitians and were a vital part of the Labour Movement down here, yet, when they returned home and entered politics, they began spouting this venomous hatred for everything St. Kitts. Eugene Walwyn was born in Nevis but lived in St. Kitts at a very tender age where he attended school, attended University and opened his law office here before returning to his borning land. Nobody ever showed him a bad face, but yet, when he returned to Nevis and entered politics, he began spouting SECESSION from St. Kitts. Theodore Hobson lived in St. Kitts. He played cricket in St. Kitts, was viciously against Secession, but afterward acquiesced to the Secessionist Movement even writing a letter in the Nevis Observer of June 02, 2006 condemning the NRP for not supporting the CCM in its bid for SECESSION! Mr. Hobson ran four times in Nevis’ elections-1983, 1984, 1987, and 1992 always losing in the exercise. Simeon Daniel, upon returning from England was in young Labour with me; he worked for the Labour Government but, upon returning home and entering politics, became vehemently hateful of St. Kitts and its people who accepted him without reservations, realizing that we are one people. Yet, he was like a viper with his hatred for St. Kitts people?

The first leader of the CCM travelled to St. Kitts regularly to seek the cooperation of the younger elements in the Labour Party to help him to form his political party. The discussions were held upstairs Mrs. Stanley’s (a born Nevisian and strong Labour supporter) shop at the corner of Central and Mid College Streets, mostly on a Saturday. Articles were even written in the Mouthpiece (The Labour Spokesman) of the Labour Party in assisting the CCM to emerge on the political landscape. Public Address systems (with technicians) were loaned to them to assist in their public meetings, yet this hatred for St. Kitts people is being vented and Secession from St. Kitts is being preached. Mark Brantley’s mother lived near to Trafalgar Village; the Village area (# 3 Constituency – a Labour Stronghold) is heavily peopled by Nevisians; everybody accepted the bright little boy when he came to spend his school holidays in St. Kitts with his mother and grandmother. No one ever discriminated against him for his grandmother, who was married to a shopkeeper was well beloved and highly respected.

Today, that same Mark Brantley is an avid SECESSIONIST. I pose the question again, “Who will be the BENEFICIARIES of SECESSION from St. Kitts? Have the people of Nevis been notified as to what benefits will be accrued were the island to break away? Point me a finger to any Nevisian who does not have a family in St. Kitts? How many Nevisian men are married to Nevisian women and how many Nevisian women are married to St. Kitts men? I keep harping on the fact that SECESSION was never a Black Nevisian thing; it was the white inhabitants who protested the forcible annexation of Nevis onto St. Kitts in 1883. The white people in Nevis were recognized for their Culture: Who is who resided in Nevis; on the other hand, those in St. Kitts were somehow uncouth (lacking refinement) ST. Kitts Black people and Nevis Black people could not even vote, never mind to have political aspirations in the running of things, so, why all this hatred amongst us Black people who are bonded by blood? Is this a Willy Lynch case of “DIVIDE and RULE?” Why is it that all Nevisian Leaders have had good relations with Kittitians, were treated with love and respect whilst living down here, yet, on their return home, they become antagonistic towards anything Kittitian and St. Kitts?”Why is this so?”

When are we as a people united by blood ties, going to discover the guts, the inner strength to stand up to those who profess to be our leaders and tell them point blank that all a we is one family? “WHEN?” How long are we going to continue to take up this white man’s cudgel (1883-2018= 135 years ago)? So, why the SCESSION ROUTE? Why the Division? Why all this hatred? Why are we the most nuclear armed country in the world with nuclear tipped missiles of hatred for each other? Why can’t we find or attempt to find the bonds that unite us as the one people who we really are? Why can’t we live in peace and harmony with each other? Isn’t there a saying that “Blood is thicker than water?” If BLOOD is thicker than water, we should all be ONE BIG, GREAT HAPPY FAMILY, greeting each other with a hug every time we encounter each other rather than the hostility with which we hold for one another. From a distance you look like my family even though we are separated by water. From a distance I feel the Nevisian Blood coursing through my veins. We have wasted a whole century and almost a half hating each other and for what?
Let the New Year 2018 be spent mending those fences of hatred which the politicians have erected to divide us. Let us break down those barriers which we ourselves assisted the politicians to erect, for we should have smelled the blood a very long time and shouted at them to HALT the acrimony and the disharmony which they have been feeding us with for so very long. Everybody is coming into our Federation and living better than where they originated and we who are tied to each other are cutting one another’s throats? Why can’t we take pattern from how the Spanish live? Don’t we witness the togetherness of the Guyanese? Look at the cohesive spirit of the Jamaicans who have a vibrant Jamaica Association here? Why can they unite, why can they build who are only from the same country? They are not bonded by BLOOD the way we are bonded and yet they can unite and live and help each other while we are at each other’s throats. They are building, while we are destroying; they are uniting white we who are blooded are hating! There comes a time in the history of mankind when he comes to his senses and declares that ENOUGH is ENOUGH! It is therefore high time for us to change our THINKING! It is high time for us to change our behaviour.

It is high time that we chart a new course. That we soar like Eagles, shedding our yard fowl mentality of being only content to scratch the surface of the earth, satisfied with the roaches, the centipedes, the worms of hatred and division which separate us. In soaring high above, we are drawn nearer and closer to our Creator, we now soar on the clouds of peace and harmony, in soaring, we are now possessed with choices and not contentment; in soaring, we now glide on the currents of LOVE, TOGETHERNESS PEACEFULNESS, HAPPINESS, discovering the brotherliness and the sisterliness in all of us, wishing that we had discovered this blissful feeling many moons ago. What a joy it is to dwell in the company and the comforting presence of each other as one family? May each of you, my truly beloved and newly discovered sister and brother enjoy the New Year 2018 and may we continue to climb the upward path to LOVE, PEACE and HARMONY! This New Harmonious relationship will drive away the ominous clouds of hatred and crime for we are now viewing each other with LOVE and RESPECT and not with envy, hatred and rancour. Steve Maraboli in his quote, Unapologetically You said, “Live your truth. Express your love. Share your enthusiasm. Take actions towards your dreams. Walk your talk. Dance and sing to your music. Embrace your blessings. Make today worth remembering!”

THE THREE WISE MEN

Spokesman Editor
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Scripture: Matthew 2: Verse 11

The Three Wise Men were Gentiles who came from the East that may include, but not limited to: Arabia, Mesopotamia, Babylon, Sheba or Saba (Isa. 60: 6) to Bethlehem in Judea, at the birth of Jesus Christ and during the reign of king Herod.

They were philosophers, men of learning who were curious in examining the works of nature and studying the motions of the heavenly bodies.

They were wise in that they were versed in the Holy Scriptures and acquainted with the prophecies of the Prophets. This knowledge guided them to the One and True God.

God favored them with some extra-ordinary revelations as He did to others who were not of the seed of Abraham. At the fulfillment of prophecy, a star in the East, by divine illumination, escorted them to Bethlehem in Judea to Worship and to pay Homage to the child Jesus Christ.

They brought gifts of: GOLD that is symbolic of the royalty, divinity and humanity of Jesus Christ. FRANKINCENSE that represent the holiness, righteousness, glory, power and presence of God in the baby Jesus Christ. MYRRH that depict the birth, life, suffering, bitterness, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ for mankind that whosoever believe in Him should not perish, but have eternal life and inherit the Kingdom of God. (1 Tim. 1: 16).

Eulogy Of Auckland O’Maley Hector

Spokesman Editor
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Delivered by Mr. Charles Wilkin.

QC At the Funeral at St Georges Anglican on Thursday 11th January 2018”.

I have the permission of Patsy to refer to our departed brother as Marley which is the name by which he was fondly known by her and by his school mates at the St. Kitts-Nevis Grammar School. That name followed him throughout his illustrious career in banking and his legendary sporting career.

Marley was born in St. Kitts, the fifth of eight children of Harcourt Hector, originally from Antigua and resident here as a Police Officer in the Leeward Islands Police Force, and his wife Doreen of the Wallace family from Nevis.

The Hector family lived at Baker’s Corner, which placed Marley in close proximity to Warner Park, where no doubt his name will in time grace one of the stands. Living in proximity to the park was a distinct advantage because the work day ended at 4 and football matches began at 4.30 pm.

Marley attended the Basseterre Boy’s School also in close proximity to his home.
It is noteworthy that his Headmaster was William Dore, who was famous as a teacher, a disciplinarian and a promoter of sports. As did many of the outstanding sportsmen and other successful citizens who started at the Boy’s School, Marley benefited from that primary education. He moved on to the St. Kitts-Nevis Grammar School where he was a good, disciplined and well behaved student. One of his class mates refers to him as a wizard in maths and logic. He passed the Cambridge School Certificate and spent a year in the sixth form. He did not need the equivalent of 10 or 15 CXC subjects to excel in his career. No one really does. He benefited from the focus at the time of providing children with a rounded education with participation in sport and other organized extracurricular activities being compulsory.

Marley was part of a group of students of the Grammar School who when not at school or playing a game would congregate at the top of Fort Street or on the Greenlands wall to socialize. They were very good at heckling each other and passersby, all in good fun of course. They developed a form of dialect called “Trim” which combined words and phrases of Latin, French, Spanish and English and became popular in the school. It was unintelligible to the uninitiated which frustrated many adults including the teachers of whom we could make fun without them realizing. New words and phrases were being created all the time. Trim was truly a work of art.

I mentioned at the beginning the house system at the Grammar School. That system was not limited to sports. Points could be gained for your House through a variety of activities even from picking cotton grown at Bird Rock before that area was fully developed for housing. Competition between houses was very intense and there were house competitions at every level in every sport.

Marley was also a proud member of the School Cadet Corps which added to his rounded upbringing and helped to prepare him for his productive life. And I might mention for the younger among us that the students built the tennis and basketball courts at the school and often had to prepare the cricket pitch for house matches. I mention also that the Grammar School team played in the top divisions of club cricket and football. Marley was playing against the best in the island in both sports by the age of 15. And he was a star. Large numbers of schoolchildren went to cheer on the school teams whenever they played. Marley thrived in that camaraderie and atmosphere.

After leaving school, Marley taught for a year at the Basseterre Senior School. He then moved into banking which he made his career working first for the Industrial Bank and then for Bank of America.

He married Patsy Simmonds on 18th September 1969 at the ripe young age of 24 reflective of his maturity and serious nature. They have two children Dwayne and Deirdre whom they nurtured and loved at their home at Harbour View. He leaves two grandchildren Tyla and Tye of whom he was very proud and who have inherited his sporting genes. Patsy has fond memories of their good times together.

Marley was a good father. He had a unique relationship with each of Dwayne and Deirdre. He was always available for them with guidance and advice as they grew and in their adulthood. He followed their progress closely throughout and was giving advice even in his parting days. Deirdre describes him as her “shrink”. The children in the Harbour View neighbourhood were very fond of him but wary not to misbehave in his presence.
Marley had a good relationship with all his siblings. He was very close to his younger brother Ken.

After Bank of America closed its doors in St. Kitts, Marley moved into management with Bank of Commerce before taking the position in 1981 of General Manager of the Development Bank of St. Kitts and Nevis. The Bank was established to facilitate and encourage savings and investment, to maintain and finance manufacturing and development enterprises, to promote small business enterprises and to provide loans for tertiary education. Marley’s personality – intelligent, humble, low key but firm, patient, calm, compassionate, patriotic, disciplined and a team player, together with his banking acumen- suited him ideally for that role in which he excelled until his retirement in 2006 after 25 years of service to the Bank. Under his leadership the Development Bank grew to become the important contributor to economic development that it was conceived to be. Marley also served for 30 years as a trustee of the FND which has paid a glowing tribute to his contribution to that important organization which is reproduced in the Funeral Programme.

Marley’s commitment to the community led him to join the Rotary Club of St. Kitts of which he was a member for over 30 years and served as a director and President. His contribution to the work of Rotary in our community was recognized by the award of Paul Harris Fellow a distinguished recognition among the membership of 1.2 million Rotarians in 200 countries throughout the world. Particularly in his younger days Marley was active in the many hands on projects undertaken by the Rotary Club in St. Kitts. Wherever he went in the island on those projects he was fondly recognized for his sporting achievements and his management of the Development Bank.

Now a look at Marley’s legendary sporting career. He represented St. Kitts at cricket, football, tennis and golf and if the island had a table tennis team he would have been first selected. He was also good at athletics. He represented and captained the Leeward Islands at cricket and should have made the West Indies side. The best opportunity he had in 1969 was cruelly frustrated by the captain of the Combined Islands, a fellow Kittitian. The reminscences of Marley in the local media have included references to the abominably unfair treatment referred to. It raises my blood to mention it. But not once in the 48 years since did I hear Marley mention it. He took it stoically. That was his way.
Marley made his debut for St. Kitts while in his teens and played in the strongest teams ever produced by the island which dominated the Leeward Islands tournaments in the 1960s. He led the St. Kitts team to that championship in 1973. The photo of him proudly holding the Hesketh Bell Shield is in the programme.

The same year Marley represented the island in the Davis Cup the major international tennis tournament. He joined Lionel Berridge and Mackie Jeffers in that team which played in the Bahamas.

As a footballer Marley was a legend. He terrorised defenders and goalkeepers with his quick and mazy runs from either wing and his powerful shots with right and left foot. The crowd buzzed with excitement when with his hands outstretched he signaled the beginning of one of his runs. Every young person interested in football at the time copied that famous move.
Marley played for the Grammar School in the first division of the local league. He and his schoolmates then on leaving school formed Santos (in the famous white with maroon) which immediately began to dominate the league.

Their matches, particularly against Manchester United which featured the Shine brothers, attracted thousands of spectators, yes in the afternoon right after work because there were no lights. Nor was there TV to watch the international players. Marley, his Santos captain Nelon Bowry, the Shine brothers and the other stars of the time received very little coaching and relied on natural talent and sporting intuition. Marley was always followed to and from matches by young fans who idolized him. It is said that they would not allow him to carry or tie his own boots. The top teams at that time were as good as the best teams now in this age of coaching and TV and participation in regional and international competitions. I am yet to see in St.Kitts a better Kittitian winger or forward for that matter than Marley.

Just as his amazing one handed catch down the leg side off Basil Butcher in 1966 can in St. Kitts cricket history be justifiably called “the Catch” so can his goal direct from a corner with a swerving banana shot be called “the Goal”.

In 1975 at Warner Park before a huge crowd St. Kitts was 2-1down to Antigua with less than ten minutes to go when Marley took over. He ran circles around the Antigua defence. We won 3-2. I had the honour of scoring the winning goal but I just had to tap the ball in as Marley had left the whole defence on the ground. It was a joy and privelege to play with him.

Marley was a boss of the steeplechase which was a major athletics event at the Grammar School in those days. He also ran for Red house on sports day.

After his retirement from the contact sports Marley resorted to golf. His competitive spirit would not allow him to play that sport only on a leisurely basis. His golf colleagues have written a short tribute to him which you will find in the programme.

As you have heard in the preceding tribute Marley returned to cricket in his later years taking the reins of management of St. Kitts and Leeward Islands cricket at a critical time.
What was not said is that as soon as he had successfully completed the reorganization of the Leeward Islands administration the other islands turned on him and ousted him from the Presidency and from the seat on the West Indies Cricket Board which was their real goal. Marley took that betrayal in stride because he was not after power and position but wanted to serve the game he loved so much.

Marley was always highly respected by his former schoolmates, sports mates, work colleagues, Rotarians and wide array of friends who admire his modesty, soft spokenness, calm demeanour, discipline, thoughtfulness and
perceptiveness. Everyone close to him with whom I have spoken since his death highlight the fact that he was very private and a non complainer which perhaps explains why he was able to keep his fatal illness from so many until close to the end. He was a man of faith who expressed that faith in his worship at the St. Georges and St. Barnabas Anglican Churches. May the memory of this outstanding national and phenomenal sportsman be truly recognized here on earth and may his soul rest in the eternal peace of our true home.

Things Just Do Add Under This Government

Spokesman Editor
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By: Thinking Citizen

A story has been making the rounds for some time now that a minister in the Team Unity Government cannot account for a missing sum of EC$ 10,000 of campaign funds donated to his party by supporters of his party living in Canada.

The Minister’s party is known to have within its membership persons of high qualifications in Economics, Finance and Accounting, so it is difficult to understand how it is possible for such a large sum of money to have gone missing for such a long time without a trace.
No such thing has ever been heard or said about the St. Kitts – Nevis Labour Party or its predecessor organization in all its 80 years or so of existence. Nothing of the sort was ever said about the Labour Party during Bradshaw’s time or Southwell’s time or Lee Moore’s time.

More recently, no reports or rumours of missing campaign funds have emerged since Dr. Douglas became the steward of the party.

Bradshaw built his home on Basseterre along Red Cross Road in Western Basseterre. E. St. John Payne built his home at Bird Rock on Basseterre.

St. John’s construction of his home at Bird Rock was challenged by PAM Party on the allegation that the land in which his home was built was Government land was not paid for, as it had been government land which had been given to St. John free. This was later proved to be false to the satisfaction of all concerned.

Lee Moore built his home on the lands of a small private estate named Mardenborough on the western slopes of Monkey Hill in St. Peter’s. Again, just like St. John, Lee Moore’s building was challenged on the basis that he had not bought his land which had been given to him by Government. It was later proven publicly that Lee Moore had bought his land from the late Austin Eddy, who was then a Real Estate agent selling land for private owners on the open market. PAM had not been able to break the reputation of the Labour Party for Honesty and Integrity one bit.

PAMites should also remember the controversy that followed the arrival of the MV Caribe Queen to the Federation to carry out the daily ferry runs between Nevis and St. Kitts.
Shortly after the Caribe Queen began its ferry service between Nevis and St. Kitts, word started to make the rounds to the effect that the Government had not bought the ferry as had been previously said. It had been said previously that the vessel was not a gift, but a purchase. What is the truth of the matter? Your guess is just as good as mine.

We move next to the Team Unity Government. The Government received a grant of several million dollars from the Government of Venezuela to compensate the Sugar Workers who lost their jobs as a result of the closure of the sugar industry in 2005.

A certain Government Minister made the announcement and stated that the grant was in US currency. However, sometime later the Government changed the story and announced that the grant had been made in EC currency. US $16 mil is a far cry from EC $16 mil.

Several months ago the Ministers in Team Unity made me laugh. One Cabinet Minister announced that nothing about the Stem Cell Research had ever been discussed in Cabinet. Another Cabinet Minister declared that the matter of the Stem Cell Research had been discussed truly in cabinet. The matter apparently had been approved. Truth apparently is no longer a precious thing.

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