Harris has left St Kitts and Nevis ‘thick with hopelessness’, says Douglas

Last updated: November 2, 2017 at 22:08 pm

The leader of the opposition in St Kitts and Nevis has launched a stinging attack on the current administration.

The state of the economy came under particular scrutiny, with the lack of investment held up as an example of failures.

Denzil Douglas, speaking at the party’s extraordinary press conference this afternoon, told reporters that the performance of the Team Unity government positions the St Kitts-Nevis Labour Party “as the only alternative to the current administration.”

“Contrary to their loudly touted promises of economic progress, our once enviable economic health as suffered significantly in just two and a half years,” said the former prime minister.

“Further compounding that unfortunate fact is the disappointing reality that not one member of the government has attracted a single foreign investment for our country over the last years.”

'Dreaded halt'

Almost every member of the government had instead set up their own enterprises to become “rich and wealthy” quickly, Douglas added, at odds with both conflicts of interest and their responsibility to serve the people of St Kitts and Nevis.

“The result of this is a dwindling revenue stream, widespread financial hardships in addition to people rapidly succumbing to stress- and strain-related illnesses.

“There is a growing sense of separation among the youth as once plentiful opportunities for self-empowerment have been destroyed.

“Here, in this country, it is now thick with hopelessness as the country has begun to realise that things are grinding to a dreaded halt.”

Douglas, who was prime minister between from 1995 until 2015, said that the current coalition had "brought about unprecedented holistic regression in St Kitts and Nevis."

Under the microscope

Only this afternoon did the government report that the relationship between the Team Unity administration and the private sector had been lauded by the president of the St Kitts and Nevis Chamber of Industry and Commerce.

Jose Rosa praised the level of accessibility that exists in the interactions between the CIC and senior policymakers.

Despite a series of positive reports on the fiscal state of St Kitts and Nevis, the country was recently downgraded in the World Bank's Ease of Doing Business rankings.