His Excellency the Governor-General Sir Tapley Seaton; Prime Minister Dr. the Honourable Timothy Harris; his esteemed Cabinet colleagues; Dr. the Rt. Excellent and the Rt. Honourable Sir Kennedy Simmonds, St. Kitts and Nevis’ first Prime Minister and only living National Hero; Mr. Anthony Gonsalves QC; Dr. Vance Gilbert; specially invited guests, ladies and gentlemen, girls and boys, members of the media…
It is my distinct honour and pleasure to welcome you to the 3rd Prime Minister’s Independence Lecture Series held under the aegis of Prime Minister Dr. the Honourable Timothy Harris. Under his distinguished patronage, this eminent lecture series has broken new ground and attracted increased interest and acclaim.
Breaking with tradition since the Annual Prime Minister’s Independence Lecture Series was inaugurated on September 16th, 1999 – National Heroes Day – Prime Minister Harris took the strikingly inclusive decision to hold it for the very first time in Nevis in 2016. This was a bold and deliberate move that was also meaningful and well received, for it signified the enhanced camaraderie and collaboration between St. Kitts and Nevis under a Team Unity Government.
In another progressive move that reflects the leadership and temperament of Prime Minister Harris, he outstretched his hand and invited Dr. Vance Gilbert, his former political opponent in St. Christopher #7, to be tonight’s Chairperson. Dr. Gilbert accepted the Honourable Prime Minister’s offer of goodwill, and we are happy to have him here to chair tonight’s proceedings.
Following up on the success of the previous two lectures, tonight’s edition is highly anticipated, as much for the prestige of the presenter, Mr. Anthony Gonsalves QC, as it is for the heightened satisfaction of the public to have it come back after Hurricanes Irma and Maria forced itscancellation last year.
This year’s presenter follows in the tradition of earlier speakers such as Nevisian-born, Her Excellency Sherry Tross who is now the Federation’s High Commissioner to Canada (she spoke in 2015) and Mr. Larry Quinlan, who serves as Global Chief Information Officer at Deloitte LLP (he spoke in 2016). Like them, Mr. Anthony Gonsalves QC is highly accomplished and respected, and, importantly, he has something significant to say concerning how we can bring our best selves to work together to achieve the common goal of nation building. We look forward to hearing and learning from this legal and intellectual powerhouse.
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Without further ado, I will take my leave to make way for the introduction of tonight’s speaker. However, before doing so, I want to thank so many of you who have come out tonight, even in the face of inclement weather.
I look forward to seeing all of you at our other national events that are scheduled to commemorate Independence 35 with Love, Service, Patriotism and Pride. Lastly, I encourage you to attend the ceremony at the National Heroes Park on Monday, September 17th and witness the unveiling of the statues in honour of our five National Heroes. I thank you.
