Last Updated on July 3, 2019, 1:37 PM AST by Anthony Morris
St Kitts and Nevis’ Prime Minister Dr the Hon Timothy Harris, who continues to block the publication of the IMF report on the economy of St Kitts and Nevis for 2018, on Tuesday proved Leader of the Opposition, the Rt Hon Dr Denzil L Douglas was right when Dr Douglas recently stated that Dr Harris “is incapable of being truthful and deception has become part of his own personality and character.”
During Dr Harris’ press conference on Tuesday, he mislead the nation on several issues including crime, the debt to GDP and good governance.
On the issue of the debt to GDP, Dr Harris stated that under the former administration. the debt to GDP was about 200 percent of GDP sourcing his information from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Country Report No. 11/270.
What Dr Harris did not go on to state was that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Country Report on St Kitts and Nevis (No 15/248) dated September 2015 had stated “that stronger growth in 2013 and 2014 and sizable advance repayments have improved the debt outlook of the twin-island Federation and the St Kitts and Nevis’ debt-to-GDP ratio declined to 79 percent of GDP at the end of 2014.”
Dr Harris also refused to inform his listeners that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) of the United States also reported on its website that the Government of St Kitts and Nevis.
During the press conference Dr Harris made mention of what he referred to “the exceptional ranking relating to the World Justice Project Rule of Law for 2017.
He stayed far away from the 2019 Report which highlighted the decline in St Kitts and Nevis’ position on the World Justice Index for 2019 which it said is an indication of a slide toward a weaker rule of law and rising authoritarianism under the Timothy Harris Unity Government.
“At 30th place out of 126 countries worldwide, St. Kitts and Nevis declined two positions for overall rule of law performance in the WJP Rule of Law Index 2019 edition,” according to the World Justice Project press release on St Kitts and Nevis country report dated February 28, 2019.
On the issue of crime, Dr Harris went all around the mulberry bush on murders saying things were quiet since the seven murders in seven days this year but failed to mention the gruesome killing of two elderly women – one of who was strangled to death in his own constituency two weeks ago.
One year ago, this month, an IMF team led by Dr Arnold McIntyre, deputy division chief in the Caribbean Division at the IMF’s Western Hemisphere Department visited St Kitts and Nevis and met with the prime minister, the Cabinet and other government officials, the Leader of the Opposition and opposition parliamentarians and non-governmental bodies such as the St Kitts and Nevis Chamber of Industry and Commerce and the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank in preparation of the 2018 Article IV Consultation on the St Kitts and Nevis economy.
In September 2018, the IMF reported that Prime Minister Harris has refused to allow the international financial institution to publish the report.
“The authorities (government of St Kitts and Nevis) have not consented to publication of the staff report and the related press release,” the IMF said in a statement posted on its website in September 2018
Dr Harris’ refusal to release the report means the true economic and financial state of St Kitts and Nevis remains in the dark and off limits to the people of St Kitts and Nevis, local businesses and investors.
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.
