Published 15 February 2018
Buckie Got It, St. Kitts and Nevis News Source
by: Media Source
Liburd: Harris launches personal attack to avoid
honest responses to Port Authority legislation
Basseterre, St. Kitts, February 15, 2018 – Member of Parliament for St. Christopher 2 (Central Basseterre), Hon. Marcella Liburd says the personal attacks on her by Prime Minister Dr. the Hon. Timothy Harris during meetings of the National Assembly is his only response to her “tackling the issues so that the ordinary citizens and residents can understand and to expose the government.”
“Clearly with all the noise the prime minister was making when he spoke, he was never able to address any of the issues that I raised with respect to the St. Christopher Air and Sea Ports Authority Bill. Dr. Harris did not deny that the aim is to sell the assets of the Port Authority – the airport, the cargo port or the cruise ship pier at Port Zante. Dr. Harris was not able to deny that the purpose of the Bill was to seek further financing through unsecured loans and promissory notes when the second cruise ship pier which is still to be constructed already has a whopping US$48 million (EC$129.6 million) price tag,” said Liburd during the Eboni Brandon interview on Kyss 102.5 FM.
SCASPA has secured a US$34 million (EC$91.8 million) loan from National Bank to finance the second cruise ship pier. The St. Kitts and Nevis Social Security Board is putting in a further US$7 million (EC$18.9 million), the St. Kitts and Nevis Sugar Industry Diversification Foundation (SIDF), US$5 million (EC$13.5 million) and the St. Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla Trading and Development Company (TDC), US$2 million (EC$5.4 million).
“The prime minister could not deny that SCASPA always had the ability to borrow,” said Liburd, who further pointed out that if the Port Authority has to raise funds and already has the ability to borrow, “why is the Team Unity Government amending that section just to include unsecured loans and promissory notes – the most risky forms of borrowing?”
“Dr. Harris has no answers to these queries and concerns and his best answer was to attack personally. That is who he is and it comes out in everything that he does.”
Liburd said the Port Authority is a public asset that belongs to the people of St. Kitts and Nevis and the people should not accept a government coming to parliament and rush major legislation through all three readings without consultation with the general public and more importantly the employees and other stakeholders.
The interviewer, Eboni Brandon, noting that Prime Minister Harris “always goes after you in the most nastiest of ways and the personal things said about you were completely unrelated to the debate in the House,” expressed shock by the remark of Speaker Michael Perkins that Liburd had opened the door for Harris’ personal attacks. “It was just in poor taste,” said Brandon.
Photo 1 – Hon. Marcella Liburd
Photo 2 – Robert L. Bradshaw Airport
Photo 3 – Cruise ship pier at Port Zante
Photo 4 – SCASPA Headquarters
