By Spokesman Newsroom
– LOCAL NEWS – 3 BASSETERRE, St. Kitts (Tuesday 9th January 2024) – “Your young people have vision and they have passion and they are acting on it. They’re building up their communities and they are building up this country.” So said Minister of Women and Gender Equality and Youth in Canada Hon.
Marci Len, Keynote Speaker at the second annual Prime Minister’s New Year Gala-hosted by Prime Minister Hon. Dr. Terrance Drewheld on Friday 5th January 2024, at the Marriott Dome in Frigate Bay, celebrated under the theme ‘Unwavering Vision For a Sustainable Tomorrow’.
She expressed such sentiments having touched on interacting with members of the St. Kitts-Nevis Youth Parliament Association (SKNYPA) after also speaking about the decade partnership between local Clarence Fitzroy Bryant College (CFBC) and the Nova Scotia Community College in Canada as she recapped her interaction with CFBC President Andrew Abraham and beneficiary students of the partnership programmes.
According to her: “Young people here in St. Kitts and Nevis, and in Canada and around the world see themselves as global citizens and they should. Members of the youth parliament spoke about post-secondary opportunities and they told me about trying to eliminate gender-based violence, they talked about mental health and the importance of it.” She referred to the words of SKNYPA President Hasani McDonald “who broke it down for me like this.
Hasani said… It’s about youth as a driving force in this country.” Minister Len went on to talk about climate change and sustainability. “Then there’s climate change, and young people know that can’t stand by as floods and hurricanes devastate nations and displaced countless people .In Canada, there have been a record number of forest fires that have had massive consequences.
Climate change has different faces but they all show us that more must be done and the clock, ladies and gentlemen as you know, is ticking. How do we focus more on the work and how do we define sustainability? Because it is a word that’s used when talking about the environment but it means so much more than that.” She continued: “People and sustainability go hand in hand and there is now a requirement to look at all of the challenges that people face.
This is exactly why as the minister of women and gender equality and youth, I act as kind of the glue that connects different ministries, and my ministry represents populations that are just proportionately impacted by things like climate change. So, sustainability means providing quality education, sustainability means building a more gender equal society, sustainability means reducing inequality period.” Minister Len shared her view that St.
Kitts and Nevis understands sustainability. “Your country understands this so well because you live here on the island and you understand the impacts of climate change, you know the reverberating impact of colonialism, you know that education is a key component of success.
Your national flag-because I did a little bit of research tells the story of this place. Fertile lands, the struggle from slavery to independence, your African heritage and most importantly hope and liberty and lots of hard work; values that we Canadians hold close to our hearts as well…” Front Page Image: Keynote Speaker at the Prime Minister’s Gala New Year Gala Minister of Women and Gender Equality and Youth in Canada Hon.
Marci Len during her presentation on Friday 5th January 2024 at the Marriott Dome in Frigate Bay, celebrated under the theme ‘Unwavering Vision For a Sustainable Tomorrow’ (Spokesman Screenshot: Facebook/Hon. Dr. Terrance Drew) – NEWS –
Hazel was sentenced to pay a compensatory sum of one hundred and eighty thousand Eastern Caribbean dollars (EC $180,000) to the victim’s grandmother on behalf of Xhyionique Nicholas, her three (3)-year-old child. Said payments are mandated to begin on January 1st, 2024, at the rate of five thousand Eastern Caribbean dollars (EC$5,000) per month over the course of three (3) years.
In the event Mr. Hazel defaults on the monthly payments, he will be imprisoned for a period of twelve (12) months An autopsy performed by Resident Pathologist, Dr. Adrian Nunez on Wednesday 1st September 2021, found that David’s death was due to “severe craniofacial trauma as a result of a motor vehicular accident.” As understood, craniofacial trauma is a broad term that speaks to an injury of the face or skull.
Police reported that David was a front seat passenger of the vehicle that crashed into a container chassis in Bird Rock on Friday 27th August 2021, involving motor jeep P6667, which is owned and was being driven by Hazel. Investigations revealed that close to 1 a.m., Hazel exited the parking lot of a club in Bird Rock and collided with a 40ft container chassis.
The St. Kitts and Nevis Fire and Rescue Services extricated David who was in the front passenger seat. Both Hazel and David were transported to the JNF General Hospital via the Emergency Medical Service. Hazel was treated and discharged for injuries to his hand while David succumbed to her injuries close to midnight on August 27.
Front Page Photo: Fatal traffic accident victim 21-yearold Keniqua ‘KK’ David who died in August 2021
