Speaking at the Prime Minister’s New Year’s Gala on January 5 at the St. Kitts Marriott Resort Ballroom, Dr. Harris said that the Executive arm of government “will continue to govern well on behalf of the people.”
“I must thank the people of St. Kitts and Nevis for the support they have given me as prime minister and the other ministers of the Team Unity Administration. The support of a government by its people plays a big part in its ability to make the deliverables possible for this wonderful Federation. We were pleased by the outcome of a scientific poll conducted by CADRES, which showed that the vast majority of people in St. Kitts and Nevis preferred the leadership of Team Unity. The majority of persons indicated that we deserve another term,” Prime Minister Harris said.
“Tonight, I salute all citizens and residents of St. Kitts and Nevis for standing firm with Team Unity and I pledge of behalf of our government to work always on behalf of all the people. Our country needs all hands-on deck and my government will support the efforts of all our citizens to excel and do well,” he added.
Touting his Government of National Unity as a model to be patterned in the Caribbean region, he said “political pundits have marvelled that we have been a model of how unity governments ought to work.”
He said that the coming together of three rival political parties, namely, the People’s Action Movement (PAM), the Concerned Citizen’s Movement (CCM) and the People’s Labour Party (PLP), which he leads, was “not out of political convenience necessitated by the arithmetic of general election outcomes” but what was in the best interest of the country “to share a common vision for the development of this great country that we all love and cherish.”
Although there are challenges to be faced and many miles yet to go, unity must pervade every facet of the nation’s life including from sports and culture to respect and tolerance for one another, he said, while calling on all to put the country’s motto of “country above self” into practice.
“Unity of purpose must drive our nation to new heights of greatness. Unity must be our mantra and modus operandi. Unity must be felt in all our institutions: our schools, our churches, our community groups, our Parliament and our Government. We are reminded of Psalm 133: How pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in Unity,” Prime Minister Harris added.
The Prime Minister’s Gala was attended by Governor General, His Excellency Sir S. W. Tapley Seaton, Cabinet Ministers, Members of the Diplomatic and Consular Corps, senior government officials, and a wide-cross section of society. The guest speaker was retired President of the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), the Right Honourable Sir Charles Michael Dennis Byron, a national of St. Kitts and Nevis. Guest performer was Roy “Gramps” Morgan, Jamaican Reggae artist and instrumentalist.
