Published 6 March 2020
Buckie Got It. St. Kitts and Nevis News Source
PM Harris says residents of St. Christopher Six can count on him for support
BASSETERRE, ST. KITTS, March 6, 2020 (PLP PR Media Inc.) — Residents of St. Christopher Six, and Saddlers Village in particular, responded favourably when Prime Minister Dr the Hon Timothy Harris hosted one-on-one consultations at the Saddlers Primary School on Wednesday March 4.
“I want to commend the people of Number Six for taking this opportunity and treating it with the seriousness it deserves,” remarked Prime Minister Harris at the end of the consultations. “Part of my own way of governing is that we try to be inclusive and that we try to be of service to the greatest number of people of St. Kitts and Nevis.”
Residents of St. Christopher Six and Saddlers in particular would have been given notice on Tuesday March 3 that Prime Minister Harris would be available for the one-on-one consultations the following day and that notwithstanding, they turned out in great numbers and the Prime Minister could not see all of them in the allotted time.
St. Christopher Six is one of the three constituencies on St. Kitts whose representative is not in government. The others are St. Christopher Number Two (Central Basseterre) and St. Christopher Number Three (West Basseterre). Prime Minister Harris has previously hosted one-on-one consultations in Central and West Basseterre.
“We are mindful that St. Christopher Number Six does not have a representative in government and we therefore, and I as the Prime Minister, have taken it as my own personal duty to be of better service to those who in some way may feel that they are disadvantaged because their representative is not in government.”
Prime Minister Harris, who vowed to give all support to the people of Constituency Number Six, noted that they suffered under the previous administration because they were known to be stalwart supporters of the party in power then, and who could not turn back on the party.
They were never prioritised and the backlash are some of the concerns that they raised in terms of the development of squatting settlements which are creating tension even in a community like Saddlers. People there feel locked-in into communities as enough attention was not paid to the proper expansion and development of the areas, which resulted in the establishment of unchecked haphazard development.
“St. Kitts and Nevis can’t develop without all the people developing, and somebody has to break the cycle of the party politics and say we will help people because they have genuine needs,” said Prime Minister Harris. “We will help people within the limits of our resources to do so, but those who are more vulnerable we really will try to make them the priority of the government.”
The representative for Number Six, noted the Prime Minister, has never written to him or to any government minister – that he is aware of – specifically bringing in some of the concerns the people have. However, people in the constituency have continued to benefit from government’s programmes like the Poverty Alleviation Programme, and the House Repair programme among others.
“We are a government for all people and the people of Saddlers, and Number Six, are part of the country,” said the Honourable Prime Minister in conclusion. “They could count on Timothy Harris both as a person, a citizen first and foremost, as somebody in government with a capacity and ability to do something to really take on the responsibility of ensuring within the limits of the government’s financial resources their concerns are being addressed, and we will try our best.”
