BASSETERRE, ST KITTS, November 29, 2021 — In his final message to the delegates of the St Kitts-Nevis Labour Party (SKNLP) as National Political Leader, The Right Hon. Dr. Denzil L. Douglas called for members and supporters to be fully energized and committed to working with his newly elected successor.
“I stand ready, Comrades, to ensure that our new Party Leader will be well positioned to benefit from the vast and varied regional, and international relationships I have so effectively developed over the decades,” said Dr Douglas, who remains as Leader of the Opposition in the St Kitts and Nevis National Assembly.
He noted that all three candidates nominated to succeed him are “honourable, capable, and committed candidates from whom to choose. The three leaders — Dr Terrance Drew, Dr Geoffrey Hanley, Mr Konris Maynard — are all capable, all dynamic, all ready to place our Federation, once more, on a positive and cohesive trajectory.”
He told the delegates: “We have no time for divisiveness. We have no time for strife. Together, our priorities must be cohesion and solidarity. And together, we must strive to build bridges across the boundaries of age, class, race, and political affiliation. Comrades, we will leave here today fully energized, fully committed, in a spirit of celebration and thanksgiving for a new National Executive.”
He closed by quoting from his very first Address delivered as Prime Minister to the Annual National Conference on May 19, 1996: “Members of this great Party, you have got to turn your thoughts to constructive action in order to achieve unity of purpose. I am convinced that a united St Kitts-Nevis Labour Party, working to one goal, is and will always be unbeatable. But unity can be destroyed, I warn you, by envy, by jealousy, by greed, by gossip, by backstabbing, by second guessing, by slander, and by unjust and unnecessary casting of criticism.”