Published 26 September 2017
Buckie Got It, St. Kitts and Nevis Newd Source
HARRIS COMES UNDER LOCAL AND INTERNATIONAL CONDEMNATION OVER MOVE ON THE ST. KITTS-NEVIS CITIZENSHIP BY INVESTMENT PROGRAMME
Thousands of local bloggers and callers to radio stations in St. Kitts and Nevis have forcefully decried the decision by Prime Minister Dr. Timothy Harris for suspending the Sugar Industry Diversification Foundation (SIDF) option and slashing by fifty per cent (50%) the value of the contribution option of the country’s Citizenship By Investment (CBI) programme. One caller to a local radio station remarked that after destroying the CBI programme for political purposes whilst in opposition, the Prime Minister is now using the passage of two hurricanes as a pretext to devalue our programme in the hopes of reviving it.
The incensed caller went on to strongly condemn the Prime Minister for unraveling the SIDF programme which was sanctioned by Parliament under the previous St. Kitts-Nevis Labour Party administration and replacing it by another which has not had the sanction of our Parliament.
Of much greater concern even is the view posited by many citizens that the recent decision by the Timothy Harris administration is an attempt to deceive the investment community and multilateral organisations in an attempt to line his own pocket and that of his close friends. In an article published in the St. Kitts-Nevis Observer newspaper on September 8th, Prime Minister Harris reflected on “how fortunate the Federation (of St. Kitts and Nevis) was after being spared the wrath of Hurricane Irma that devastated nearby islands.” However, in an attempt to now dupe benefactors and agencies abroad, Prime Minister Harris, in a press release dated September 23, lied to the world by declaring that two category 5 hurricanes have made landfall in St. Kitts and Nevis causing devastation that has been phenomenal. This is a most vicious act of deceit that can only be intended for personal aggrandisement; an act which will severely harm the reputation of our country in the medium to long term.
A regional diplomat based in the United Kingdom commended the Rt. Hon. Dr. Denzil Douglas for his recent “statement about Prime Minister Harris’ regrettable opportunism and most unfortunate disregard for the plight of his neighbors.” He went on to describe Dr. Douglas’ statement as a “statement of a mature leader befitting [his] status as an elder statesman of the region.”
The hypocrisy of Dr. Timothy Harris is simply indescribable for while in opposition, he spoke of the then government selling too many passports but this new retrogressive and self-serving move is designed to sell one thousand (1000) passports over the next five to six months. This is truly selling passports like black pudding on a Saturday afternoon. The question now arises as to whether this new passport programme is a legal one and whether the passports issued under this programme not sanctioned by Parliament could stand up to legal scrutiny.
