By: Spokesman Newsroom
BASETERRE, St.Kitts (Thursday 24th August 2023)- Leader of the opposition People’s Labour Party (PLP) and immediate former prime minister Dr. Timothy Harris is accusing Prime Minister Dr. Terrance Drew of the St.Kitts-Nevis Labour Party (SKNLP) administration of “playing politics” on the topic of the Development Bank.
Responding to a question posed by a local reporter at a PLP press conference held on the morning of Wednesday 23rd June 2023 about the near collapse condition situation of the bank which the new government met, Dr. Harris claimed no stabilization is necessary.
“There is no stabilization necessary in relation to the bank. It’s just for the government to do its duty as a shareholder of the bank; as the entity which would have requested the bank to pursue certain socio-economic policies… and then you ask yourself why he chose Development Bank except for politics,” he commented.
“whenever he speaks you could hear a meanness about him, he’s after somebody, he has to embarrass somebody…,” Dr. Harris also claimed.
According to him: “When Dr. Drew attempts to create a scare or to scandalize somebody, it tells me that he is out of his depth. He doesn’t understand the realities of the very organization. When he said he stabilize what does he mean? How can he as an external party stabilize the bank and not the board of directors, and what did he do?”
Meanwhile, Finance Minister Dr. Drew who spoke on Freedom FM’s ‘Issues’ programme that afternoon while maintaining that the matter is a serious one linked to mismanagement under the Harris-led government, said in part: “I would have allowed the processes to take place to gather the information in such a way that when it is presented, it is factual…and that it does not have any inkling of malice or targeting but really laying facts out and allowing the facts to fall where they may, and so I have been objective.”
The PLP held its first press conference following its convention held in June 2023.
Dr. Harris said the party has embarked on a programme to build out.
“The People’s Labour Party has emerged from that convention bigger, stronger and we are better together. The People’s Labour Party is ready to serve the beloved people of St.Kittts and Nevis. Over the last 12 months, we have observed, analyzed, did our introspection and our prospection.”
He added: “We have embarked methodically on a programme to build out our party- as we indicated bigger, better, stronger together. We have made substantial progress in this regard with the organization of the People’s Labour Party in all constituencies and in activating the units of the Party. We are meeting regularly and various subcommittees are now active. We in the PLP are preparing ourselves well for the future. In a manner of speaking, the future is here with us.”