By: Spokesman Newsroom
BASSETERRE, St. Kitts (Wednesday 31st March 2021) — The National Secretary of the St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Party National Executive Diana Williams-Humphrey gave a positive but cautious assessment of a meeting organized by the National COVID-19 Task Force with representatives of all political parties in St. Kitts and Nevis, held on Tuesday 30th March 2021 at the NEMA Headquarters in Lime Kiln, Basseterre.
“One of the things we emphasized is that we hope it is not just for the optics. We hope that this is a step in the right direction where finally all persons can be involved in this very important discussion about COVID-19 and its effects on the country because at the end of the day COVID-19 transcends politics and we have to recognize that. It is about the people of St. Kitts and Nevis,” she said.
The parties represented at the event were the SKNLP, the Concerned Citizens Movement (CCM), the Nevis Reformation Party (NRP), the People’s Labour Party (PLP), and the People’s Action Movement (PAM). Williams-Humphrey described the session as an “important consultation with the task force with regard to the COVID-19 vaccine rollout programme,” and said SKNLP emphasized that it supports vaccination “but we recognize that it’s a personal choice and for persons to make an informed choice there must be education, sensitization and consultation.”
SKNLP candidate for Constituency Three, Konris Maynard, highlighted the lateness of the invitation: “We did express our disappointment that it has taken 12 months to invite the single largest political party in the Federation that commands the support of the single largest block of people in the country.” Beyond vaccine promotion, Maynard noted strong representations about economic hardship — including the non-payment of severance, difficulty in feeding families, and challenges buying medication. “People are suffering at the moment because of this pandemic and so it must be an all-inclusive approach,” he said.