Much of the successes of the tripartite coalition government were outlined on Saturday (March 16) by the various presenters who addressed the public session of the 2019 People’s Labour Party’s (PLP) third annual National Convention, held at the Patsy Allers Playing Field.
In a powerful and well received feature address to the massive crowd, Prime Minister Harris, who is the National Political Leader of the PLP, stated that the Team Unity Government of which he leads, has performed exceptionally well in just four years in office.
“Our economy has grown over the last 4 years. We are an above average performing economy. Our good governance successes are acknowledged by independent observers. We rank number one (1) on the Rule of Law in the OECS and second (2) in CARICOM,” the prime minister said.
The honourable prime minister further added that his administration has adopted a number of programmes and policies over the years that have impacted all sectors.
“VAT [Value Added Tax] has been removed from food, from medicine and from education supplies; we repaid the IMF [International Monetary Fund] $117 million of Douglas debt left behind; we started a second cruise pier; we have started a brand new police station in Sandy Point. For all of the life of young people, the police station there has always been in rented property. In four years, your Team Unity Government is delivering to the people of Sandy Point and District B their own police station,” Dr. Harris said.
Moreover, Prime Minister Harris said he is particularly pleased that the work of the Team Unity administration has significantly enhanced the lives of the ordinary citizens and residents of St. Kitts and Nevis, including the more than 2,000 families that benefited from the payout to former sugar workers.
Dr. Harris pointed out that no comprehensive road resurfacing programme had taken place in St. Kitts and Nevis since the period 1993-95, “But in four years of Team Unity we are doing that which was not done before and we have started a massive road resurfacing programme going east and west, giving St. Kitts and Nevis the best road network in the Caribbean.”
Mention was also made of the more than 2,600 households that benefited through the visionary hurricane roof repair programme; the FRESH START Programme that assisted more than 500 persons either start or expand their small businesses, as well as the much-improved relationship that now exists between the Federal Government and the Nevis Island Administration.