|
| Essentials • This Week's Paper • Advertise • More Sections: editorial | politics | columnists | letters |
|
| Top News > columnists |
|
 |
7/24/2010 By Sotto Voce Some three tropical depressions combined to inflict quite a bit of damage to several committees here in St. Kitts over the past week. The losses suffered by some residents in St. Paul’s in particular and to residents living on our coastline elsewhere was very heart-rending. It showed, in graphic terms, the need for us to be ever so particular where we choose to erect homes and the critical need for drainage in all areas. Living in low-lying areas can be extremely hazardous in the hurricane season. The high winds and the flooding caused by serious rainfall in our mountains, which cause ghauts to run and mudslides mostly from land bereft of vegetation, can create havoc among affected families. The hurricanes, flooding, mudslides and coast-line damage have no political affiliation or party-card. It does not matter which Prime Minister or political party is in government, weather conditions will be what they are from year to year. What nature and the future holds are known only to the Almighty God. So the efforts by our opposition supporting PAMites on our talk show programmes on radio to give it a political spin is so very puerile, comical and stupid. I call it hurricane/flood damage politics. For some time now the entire world has suffered an economic downturn. Most economists have described it as the worst depression the world has seen for centuries. Things are bad all over. We look at news on our televisions and see and hear the negative effect it has had on some of the major economies of the world. We hear of the lay-offs of thousands of workers and the closing-down of many businesses in the mighty-rich USA, for example. No nation on earth has escaped the adverse effects of this depression in some form or degree. But here in St. Kitts and Nevis if you listen to the PAM opposition, its supporters and affiliates, you would think that only in St. Kitts & Nevis there is a downturn in the economy. And, as the Leader of the Opposition has said, all this he lays squarely at the feet of our Prime Minister, Dr. Denzil Douglas and the Labour Party. This man Dougie real large for true. If he could bring about a world-wide economic downturn and depression all by himself in a country with 45,000 people? What a man! You mean our high national debt mashing up all them big world economies? So the PAMites, their supporters and affiliates put their own political spin on it. I call it economic downturn politics, or worldwide depression politics. What a PAM! What a Sheriff! The government here has already given notice that it will introduce Value Added Tax (or VAT) in St. Kitts and Nevis in November 2010. In the entire Caribbean region, only St. Lucia and St. Kitts-Nevis have not already introduced it. It now operates in over 150 countries in the world. This is not a tax created by Dr. Douglas and his Labour Party out of the blue, just so. What is more, we are told that all the nations had agreed and pledged to have VAT on their law-books sometime ago. St. Lucia are scheduled to bring it on stream by 2011. Here in St. Kitts, the VAT will replace some ten to twelve existing taxes including Consumption Tax which currently stands at 22%. We are told that VAT will make some goods cheaper; others will be about the same price, while others will be more expensive. We shall soon see how our prices are affected by it in time. We have the experiences of all our fellow Caricom brothers to draw on. However, if you listen to PAM, its supporters and affiliates the Labour Government is bringing this dreadful plague called VAT into St. Kitts to kill our citizens and also much suffering in the land. That is the essence of their contribution to the VAT Debate. This unlearned spin by PAM, I term VAT politics. So it seems that with PAM, politics in everything. And that is why nothing escapes their branding. To them, politics is everything. They put it in crime with the gang-rivalry shootings. The gang shootings are prevalent in Trinidad & Tobago, in Barbados, in St. Lucia in Antigua, in Jamaica, and in St. Kitts-Nevis too. We have not escaped. But if you listen to these famous PAMites on radio shows, the gang shootings were created by Labour and Dr. Douglas here in St. Kitts. Amazing! I was listening to hear how they would tie the government and Dr. Douglas into our latest homicide. That is the killing of the young girl in Saddlers with the wound to her neck caused by a sharp instrument. One of their talk-show mercenaries would soon be told how to set that one up. They are that creative I know. Just recently, I was near the Basseterre Police Station when a young PAMite was shouting out at her two brothers who were among a group of young men in police custody on suspicion for being involved in the shooting of persons in the Village area. She identified them loudly and publicly and shouted “K.M.S. for life” two or three times. She even interacted with a member of the Security forces who was armed and coming out of a vehicle that transported some of the young men to the police station. Members of the public, looking on, appeared to be surprised at this public show of identification and camaraderie by a young lady for a local gang, self styled “Killer Mafia Soldiers” or (KMS). She had the public’s attention with her surprising outburst. Then when they had all entered the police station she turned to another young lady close to her and said “Is Douglas got the country so you know”. Having before then identified her relatives as “KMS for life” it appeared that she remembered the golden text she was taught at PAM Headquarters to say on occasions like this, that the Prime Minister or the Government is to blame for the gang-related shootings. What a PAM! |
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Contact
Us | Privacy
Policy ©
2008 The Labour Spokesman