Last Updated on July 11, 2019, 3:59 AM AST by Anthony Morris
Three-term parliamentarian and political leader of the People’s Action Movement (PAM), Hon Shawn Richards, lost a golden opportunity at the conclusion of the 2015 general elections, to become Prime Minister of the twin-island Federation of St Kitts and Nevis.
“Hon Shawn Richards, the present representative for Sandy Point, Fig Tree and La Valle, this is his third term representing Sandy Point. The very first two terms he told the people of Sandy Point that his ‘hands were tied.’ He could not do anything for them and to give him another chance. They gave him a third chance. This time was for real, because the Peoples Action Movement (PAM) in 2015 won four seats of the seats. He had a perfect opportunity to be the prime minister and the leader of this country. He gave it all up to a man (Dr Timothy Harris), whose (PLP) had only one seat,” said His Excellency Ambassador Kenneth “Kenny” Douglas, the St Kitts-Nevis Labour Party (SKNLP) candidate who will challenge Richards for the St Christopher 5 seat in the upcoming general elections.
Ambassador Douglas, a guest on Kyss 102.5 FM’s “Ask the Leader” programme on Tuesday night told listeners that Richards, the deputy prime minister in the three-party Team Unity Government is still telling his constituents his ‘hands are tied.’
“Presently while doing my canvassing in Sandy Point, Fig Tree and La Valle, I am being told by the people, because I love to talk to the people, that Mr Richards is saying that his ‘hands are still tied’ and he ‘cannot deliver’ to them, because he is not getting from the prime minister what he wants for the people of Sandy Point,” said Douglas, who was accredited to the Republic of Cuba.
Ambassador Douglas that Richards for the first four years as deputy prime minister was absent from the constituency.
“He has waited for the last moment trying to convince the people that he is the better candidate,” said Douglas.
“I am saying to them this evening that there is nothing that Shawn Richards can say to you to change your mind from asking him to go aside. As I said in the upcoming general elections, Shawn will be gone,” said ambassador Douglas, who was accredited to the Republic of Cuba, resident in Havana.
Shawn Richards’ PAM with four seats and Mark Brantley’s Concerned Citizens Movement (CCM), with two seats, together form a majority in the St Kitts and Nevis National Assembly. Harris’ Peoples Labour Party (PLP) has one seat, the St Kitts-Nevis Labour Party, three seats and the Nevis Reformation Party (NRP), one seat.
Anthony Morris covers stories related to politics and regional developments. His in-depth reporting about governance and reforms makes him stand out in regional journalism, with a deep analysis of political trends and their impact on Caribbean communities.
