Published 11 December 2022
Basseterre
Buckie Got It, St.Kitts and Nevis News Source
YOUTHS, VULNERABLE GROUPS AND WOMEN WILL BE THE TOP PRIORITY of a Nevis Reformation Party (NRP) administration said party leader Dr Janice Daniel-Hodge speaking to a large crowd of -passionate supporters at an elections campaign.
These three areas, Daniel-Hodge said, are critical to revitalising Charlestown.
“We will ensure that the necessary steps are taken to guarantee our youths and vulnerable groups are taken care of. Now, if we simply say that we want to provide jobs for our youths we look at our natural resources. Right here in Charlestown, we have the hot springs, as long as this government had been in place, we say tourism is the backbone of our economy,” the NRP leader counselled.
“We have such natural resources right here and what has been done, not just to be appealing to tourists, but to provide jobs for our people. Right next door you have Gallous Bay, a beautiful beach, but what has been done to clean and maintain it? When you look around and you see a number of weed whackers and the number of people involved in landscaping (it helps) create additional jobs, and once we really believe that tourism is a significant part of our economy, then we must do what is necessary, it wouldn’t operate on its own,” she counselled.
According to the female political leader, there is a number of natural resources that can be leveraged to create employment on the island. She reasoned that if any government in Nevis is to succeed, they must make the necessary investment in its people.
“It would not be appealing to people unless we invest (in them). We must invest in our natural resources; we must invest in our people and that is what the CCM (Concerned Citizens Movement) government lacks. It (lacks) the understanding how to create job opportunities and to leverage the natural resources that we have. I can assure you that the hot springs under a NRP government would be a tourist attraction like none in the Caribbean. Some people do not understand why King Meeko said that Nevis nice. Some people do not understand the value of our natural resources; some people do not understand the value of our people, and they need to ensure that they can be proud and have a good paying job,” she declared.
She plans maximising the abundance of natural talent in Nevis and her administration will tap the sporting disciplines and allow it to develop rapidly. Part of her vision is to launch a sport festival bring current and potential athletes together for two weeks in an effort to showcase the rich talent that exists in Charlestown.
“When you look at the natural talent here, there is no organised way to get our athletes to benefit,” Daniel-Hodge complained.
She spoke of improving the drag strip; rehabilitating horse-racing “that has been allowed to disappear” and re-popularising the cross-channel swim, football, basketball and cricket during the proposed two-week sports festival.
“Imagine people coming to Nevis for two weeks, and everyday it is the high expectation in sport competition. These are things that we can do. The last couple of weeks when St James Primary almost beat Charlestown Primary in inter-primary football, you saw the amount of excitement that was generated. How many people can do a little vending? How many busses got a little extra work to do? How many people benefited? There are so many things that can be organised,” she noted.
“Under a NRP government, our sports will be organiised so that we can have scouts coming in to provide scholarships to our students. We will have our sports organised so that we can have major sponsor. I can tell you about organising sports because some people do not recognise that fishing can be a sport as well.”
Fisherfolks also want big paydays ad are complaining that they can no longer rely on the little they ern from the trade.
“I am saying that under NRP we will attract sponsors who can provide big sponsorships where the grand prize can be a car (or) the grand prize is EC$50,000.00. We must be able to attract investors and have the contribute to the development of our society.”
“That is what is lacking.” Daniel-Hodge observed.
